Britain's first country park: a clifftop path above the Dee, a fossicking beach below and bird hides in between. Wild-feeling without being remote.
Check the tide before climbing down - the beach is the treasure hunt. The visitor centre explains what the finds actually are.
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One of the biggest indoor soft plays in the UK, by its own account: more than 30 themed zones, giant slides, ball cannons and a role play mini city on the New Brighton seafront. School-day tickets are £8.50 and let you stay all day.
A hands-on science centre built precisely for this age group - walk-through lungs and a supersize brain in the new Bodies gallery, inventions to test, and the ferry stop is literally outside. Entry converts to an annual pass, which changes the maths entirely.
Beach, marine lake and Fort Perch Rock at the river mouth, with the Liverpool skyline across the water. Sandcastles when the tide allows, chips on the front to finish.
University of Liverpool's gardens above the Dee estuary: family trails, a wildflower meadow, a good playground and views across to Wales. Quieter than the National Trust circuit and better value.
A free community farm under Bidston Hill: pigs, goats, alpacas and hens, a woodland on the doorstep, and a café doing proper bacon butties. One of Merseyside's best zero-cost mornings.
The park Central Park was copied from: two lakes, a covered Swiss Bridge, a playground with a climbing boulder and acres of flat grass, all free. The visitor centre has the cafe and the toilets.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.