Walby Farm Park
Cumbria's big family farm park: animal handling, giant jumping pillows, pedal go-karts and an indoor play barn big enough to lose a wet afternoon in. The far-north option when you are up that way.
Tullie
Carlisle, Cumbria
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery became just Tullie in 2024, and the rebrand came with actual money: a new entrance, welcome space and Carlisle Gallery opened in April 2025, with more phases to come. For families the maths is the appealing part. Kids go free, an adult pays £8.50, and for £16 the ticket becomes an annual pass.
Galleries open 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, 11am on Sundays. There is no car park, but Castle Car Park on Devonshire Walk is next door, and Carlisle Castle is five minutes' walk, so the two pair naturally. Fair warning: the Border Galleries and Wildlife Dome are shut for redevelopment until around summer 2027, so it is a smaller museum than it will be.
Summer 2026 is a good window regardless: a Play Zone soft play runs 13 June to 31 October, alongside an automata exhibition of wonderfully daft mechanical toys, and drop-in craft sessions appear every school holiday.
Know before you go
- The Border Galleries, Costume Gallery and Wildlife Dome are closed for redevelopment until around summer 2027, so temper expectations if you remember the old museum.
- Ask at reception for the free trail sheets, and post a letter to Tullie Mouse in Old Tullie House - replies have been known.
Looking for more museums & science near Carlisle?
Also in Carlisle
Carlisle Castle
A working border fortress for 900 years, not a fairytale castle: a squat red keep full of prisoners' carvings, ramparts to walk and a military museum inside the walls. English Heritage, so members go free and everyone else should book online for the discount.
Bitts Park
Carlisle's big riverside park, right under the castle walls: a large play area for all ages, a free splash park in the warmer months, skate park and acres of grass where the Eden and Caldew meet. The obvious free half of a Carlisle day.