18 July to 2 September. Term dates are set council by council, so treat the edges as approximate. The long break runs on a different economy: six-plus weeks means the expensive days need rationing and the free ones need a rota. The parks, beaches and free museums below are the backbone; the paid days are the punctuation.
Collected from the councils, libraries, theatres and venues running them, and refreshed nightly. More arrive as organisations publish their programmes, so this list grows between now and the break.
A Pokemon trading-card trail through the Tudor hall's gardens: find the giant cards, scan the codes, battle the boredom. Runs to early September.
The North Park becomes a Play Hub with giant deckchairs, den building, log piles and lawn games, plus Pokemon play zones this year. Runs right through to the first week of September.
A prehistoric trail winding through a garden centre, with interactive stops along the way. The most talked-about local event of the summer by a wide margin.
Decorated pianos dotted around Liverpool ONE all summer, free for anyone to play. Five minutes of chopsticks between shops, or stay for whoever sits down next.
The libraries' free summer challenge - read six books, collect the stickers, finish with a certificate. This year's theme is music. The single cheapest way to fill the quiet days between days out.
Free arts and crafts on the floating village through the holidays, with a Saturday LEGO club until 22 August.
An urban beach on the park above Liverpool ONE with family rides and six weeks of entertainment. Sand in the city centre; bring a bucket.
Extra shows, storytelling and activities added to the usual treehouses and zipwires for the summer. Reviewers put the sweet spot at ages 2 to 10.
Water play and outdoor games in a walled garden. Free if you already have National Trust membership, which makes it one of the better value days out if you do.
A Winnie the Pooh trail through the gardens, pitched at the under-sevens. The estate farm runs its own summer activities alongside it.
A wolf-pack sculpture trail around the wonkiest Tudor house in England. Cross the moat, count the wolves, and let the hall's crooked floors do the entertaining.
Lifelike dinosaur puppets roam the museum with storytelling, crafts and sensory play on Wednesdays and Thursdays through the holidays.
Walk through a pair of giant lungs, meet a supersize brain and follow the digestive system to its logical conclusion. New gallery, runs to December.
Inflatables set up in the town centre square every day through the holidays. No tickets, no booking, and it is right next to the shops and cafes if you need a sit down.
Hands-on farm activities on the Tatton estate, separate from the parkland and the Pooh trail. Barns mean it survives a wet forecast.
Garden games, trails and play activities across the Tudor estate for the summer holidays.
Guided family nature sessions across two St Helens parks, aimed squarely at primary-age children and under-fives.
Runs on 5 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 12 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 48 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Starts at 11am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Meet DJ Mu-Mu who will demonstrate the art of turntables and vinyl at our Read & Rave activity!
Join us for a family craft session at Chadderton Library.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Songs and stories for children under 5 and parents/carers.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Relaxed and informal Stay and Play at Wigan Library.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Take part in a musical adventure and join the summer reading challenge too.
Join us for our monthly pre school meet at Foulshaw Moss nature reserve.
Join Jim Wallace for a fun and relaxed beginner ukulele session for children.
Starts at 10am to 2.30pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 5 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
School holiday nature-based outdoor sessions for your little ones.
Runs on 14 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Join us for family crafts at Greenfield Library.
Baby Bubbles and Rhymes is a free interactive children's event aimed at children aged 0-5 years with the use of musical instruments and play activities such as parachute play and ball pool.
Come along and enjoy rhymes, singing, musical instruments and bubbles.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Perfect for 0, 4’s explore songs, rhymes, stories and sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme sessions.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
At baby clinic, families can discuss any health issues and have their child weighed and measured.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Join us for this fun and interactive performance Betty is a beekeeper-in-training and is very excited to get started… but her bees have all disappeared!
Join us for this fun and interactive performance Betty is a beekeeper-in-training and is very excited to get started… but her bees have all disappeared!
Starts at 10am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Starts at 11am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Celebrate National Playday with us at the Hive!
Learn new print making skills with local artist, Kim Hubball Get creative and learn new print making skills with local artist Kim Hubball.
Create your own seed bombs Make your own seed bombs with Gallery Oldham’s bee keeper.
A group for parents/carers and their little ones.
Drop in, pick your favourite bricks and build anything that takes your fancy.
This is a free, dop-in session with no booking required.
Runs on 6 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Join our playful sessions and meet new friends, explore the library spaces, learn new rhymes and songs and enjoy some sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme Sessions.
Come and join the fun at Limehurst Library’s Lego Club.
Come and join the fun at Northmoor Library’s Lego Club.
Everything on the what's on board129 more not shown here
A wet-week plan saves the whole holiday. These are the reliable indoor days, ranked by the venues families rate most.
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
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.
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.
Free, right in the city centre, and properly set up for children: the Lion's Den family gallery has its own play space and the family activity programme costs nothing. Closed Mondays.
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
A small entry fee now, then a pay-per-play card for the attractions: a giant sand and water quarry, mini golf, go-karts and play areas, funded by a world-record ice cream shop. Cheap after 3.30pm, glorious in any weather.
Planning further ahead? The rolling school holidays page always shows the current or next break, and the what's on board has everything dated across the region.