World Museum, Liverpool
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.
Volair Huyton (Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park)
Liverpool, Merseyside
Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park on Longview Drive is the borough's flagship centre and it runs 6am to 10pm, longer hours than most council pools keep. The swimming programme is split sensibly: public swimming for everyone, parent and toddler for the small ones, lane swimming for people who want to count lengths, adult-only for people who want quiet, and aquafit for people who want neither.
Pricing is straightforward and cheap. Under-5s go free all year. A junior is £4.40, an adult £6.40, and a family ticket covering two adults and two juniors is £18. Passport to Leisure concession rates take an adult down to £3.90 and a junior to £2.70. Under-8s must have a parent in the water with them, which is standard and still catches people who turn up with three children and one adult.
In summer 2026 Volair scrapped the junior charge for the holidays: every under-16 swam free at public swim times from 21 July to 31 August across Huyton, Kirkby, Halewood and Stockbridge. That offer has ended and there is no word yet on whether it comes back. Halewood's pool closed on 10 August for about ten weeks of refurbishment, so if that was your plan, come here instead, and expect company into the autumn.
What it costs: Volair pay as you go swim: adult £6.40 standard or £3.90 Passport to Leisure concession; junior under 16 £4.40 or £2.70 concession; over 60s £4.40 or £2.70; under 5s free; family of two adults and two juniors £18.00. Sauna, steam and swim £8.40 peak or £6.80 off peak.
Know before you go
- Under-5s swim free all year, and the £18 family ticket covers two adults and two juniors. The free under-16 swimming ran only to 31 August 2026.
- Volair Halewood's pool shuts from 10 August 2026 for roughly ten weeks of refurbishment and those swimmers will be redistributed, so expect Huyton to be busier than usual into October. Volair also publishes prices and opening hours centrally but not a pool-by-pool specification, so you cannot tell from the website how deep the water is or whether there is a learner pool at this specific site. The timetable is the only reliable guide to what is on when.
Worth knowing: Under-8s must be accompanied by a parent in the water.
Looking for more water & swimming near Liverpool?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.3 across 986 Google reviews.
Read all 986 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Liverpool
Speke Hall
A Tudor hall with woodland walks, a maze and a natural play area in the grounds. Free if you have National Trust membership, and the indoor house is a good rain fallback.
Museum of Liverpool
The city's story with an overhead railway carriage to climb aboard and Little Liverpool, a dedicated hands-on gallery for under-6s. Free, on the waterfront, and the window views are half the fun.
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Closed until 2028. The Maritime and International Slavery Museums shut in early 2025 for a full redevelopment. The Albert Dock around them is still worth the walk, and the city's other national museums remain free and open.
Mersey Ferries River Explorer
The famous ferry across the Mersey run as a 50-minute sightseeing loop with commentary, and the honest truth is kids love the boat more than any museum. Hop off at Seacombe for Eureka! next door.
Calderstones Park
South Liverpool's favourite park: lake, playground, ancient trees and the Storybarn, The Reader's hands-on storytelling space in the old coach house. The neolithic Calder Stones are older than Stonehenge, which is a good fact to deploy.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.