The Dock Museum
Built over a Victorian graving dock, with collections running from Vikings and Romans to the shipbuilding that made Barrow. Free entry, free parking, and an adventure playground outside.
Wacky Warehouse at the Owl & Pussycat
- Cost
- £6 a child, adults free
- Ages
- 1 to 10
- Where
- Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Walk-ins accepted; booking advised
This is the Greene King formula, and it works: a soft play warehouse attached to the Owl and Pussycat pub on Hindpool Road, with swings, slides, tunnels and ball pits, a separate area for tots and an outdoor play area for when the rain stops. Staff run games and craft sessions, and there are tables in the play area for the adults, first come first served, with a hot drink and cake for £4.99.
General admission is £6 a child, and adults and babies under 12 months get in free, which keeps it cheap for a wet afternoon. On term-time weekdays from 9am to 3pm, Tots Club drops it to £4.50. It opens at 9am every day and closes at 7pm, or 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with last admission an hour before. Parking on site is free.
What it costs: General admission £6 per child. Tots Club £4.50 per child, 9am to 3pm on term-time weekdays. Adults and babies under 12 months free. Hot drink and a slice of cake £4.99.
Know before you go
- Last admission is an hour before closing.
- A play booking does not include a table in the pub. If you want a proper meal afterwards, book the table separately.
- Walk-ins are accepted, but the venue advises booking a play slot ahead to avoid being turned away.
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★★★★★ 4.5 across 47 Google reviews.
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Barrow Park
Forty-five acres of Victorian park in the middle of Barrow, with a boating lake, a miniature railway on Sunday afternoons, putting, a glasshouse and a play area. Free, and next door to the swimming pool.
Barrow Park Leisure Centre
Barrow's main pool has a proper leisure pool beside the 25m lanes, with a wave machine, a water slide and a Pirate Cove water play area. Pay as you go, no membership needed.
Furness Abbey
The ruins of what was England's second richest Cistercian abbey, in a wooded valley on the edge of Barrow, with a small exhibition of knights' effigies and a build-your-own-city trail for children. Book by the night before and it is 15% cheaper.
Mini and Me Role Play Village
A child-sized pretend village in Barrow with eight themed pods, from a supermarket and a vets to a salon, a building site and a sensory snug. For under-8s, booked sessions only, and small on purpose.
South Walney Nature Reserve
The southern tip of Walney Island, where Cumbria's only grey seal colony hauls out and about 250 bird species have been recorded. Cheap, wild and memorable, as long as you check the tide first.
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.