Free things to do in Birmingham with kids

Abbey Fields

Kenilworth

A free park with a play area, a lake and easy flat paths from the car park, good for a no-cost couple of hours outdoors.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféPushchair friendly+2 more

Bagots Castle

Coventry

Free ruins of a 14th century castle to poke about in, with a visitor centre and a picnic spot, open weekends only.

Picnic area

Bantock House

Wolverhampton

Free house museum with a mouse trail to hunt round the rooms and a nine-hole pitch and putt outside.

Baby changeBlue badge parkingBreastfeeding friendlyCafé+4 more

Café Craft Pottery Painting

Birmingham · ages 0+

Pick a piece from over 150 pottery designs, paint it at your own pace, then wait a week to collect the finished mug or plate.

Birthday partiesCaféFree parkingIndoor seating

Caludon Castle Park

Coventry · ages 0-99

A free park with a play area for younger children, walking trails and outdoor gym kit to work through.

Outdoor playParking

Canalside Farm, Shop & Cafe

Great Haywood

Pick your own pumpkins or strawberries straight from the field, then walk the canal towpath before cake in the café.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféFood on site+3 more

Clowes Wood Nature Reserve

Solihull

Free woodland walking trails with a proper bluebell show in spring, and mud underfoot once winter sets in.

Dog friendlyParking

Coventry Canal Basin

Coventry

A free wander along the towpath and old canal buildings, good for stretching legs without spending a penny.

ParkingToilets

Daventry Country Park

Daventry

Free to get into, with an adventure playground, a reservoir to walk round and a café for when everyone's flagging.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféDog friendly+4 more

Dudley Library

Dudley

A free, wheelchair-friendly library with Rhyme Time for babies and toddlers and a Creative Writing group for older kids.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingFree parking+4 more

Eastside Projects

Birmingham

A free contemporary art gallery in Digbeth, open Wednesday to Saturday afternoons during exhibitions.

Bike parkingToilets

Glenfield Tunnel

Leicester

Seasonal guided walks into a historic 1829 railway tunnel near Leicester - free with donation, book via LIHS.

Booking required

Hartshill Hayes Country Park

Nuneaton

Free woodland park with a play area and walking trails, plus a hill worth the climb if you fancy the view.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesCaféDog friendly+6 more

Hatton Locks

Warwick

Free canal walk past 21 locks stacked up a hillside, with a flat towpath that's easy going for buggies.

CaféParkingToilets

Heart of England Forest Coxmere Wood

Stratford-upon-Avon

Free waymarked forest walks with den building and bug hunting through holiday clubs, no ticket needed.

Outdoor playParking

Highbury Hall

Birmingham · ages 0+

Free entry to a historic hall with model railways, old bicycles and family walks around the grounds.

Hilltop Farm & Zack's Barn

Leamington Spa

A working farm shop and café where you can watch the animals over breakfast and let the kids clamber over a real combine harvester.

Allergy awareCaféDog friendlyIndoor seating+3 more

Ikon Gallery

Birmingham

Free contemporary art exhibitions in Birmingham plus hands-on family Saturdays like a clay-making day.

CaféGift shopWheelchair accessible

Jephson Gardens

Leamington Spa

Free gardens with a lake full of ducks, a play area in Mill Gardens, and flowerbeds and sculptures to wander past on the way.

Accessible toiletBaby changeOutdoor playPicnics allowed+3 more

Junglebugs Indoor Play Centre

Rowley Regis

Blackheath Soft Play with under-3s zone, sports net and cafe near Rowley Regis.

CaféFood on siteBirthday partiesUnder-5s area+4 more

Lapworth Museum of Geology

Birmingham

Free museum of fossils, rocks and prehistoric creatures on the University of Birmingham campus, no booking needed.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingGift shop+4 more

Leasowes Park

Halesowen

A free woodland and meadow park for walking, duck feeding and picnics, open round the clock with no entry fee.

Dog friendlyFree parkingPicnic areaPicnics allowed

Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield

Wander a genuinely huge medieval cathedral for free, spot the carved Lichfield Angel, and climb the library's spiral steps if legs allow.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+4 more

Lickey End Recreation Ground

Bromsgrove

A free outdoor play park with a spider net crawling into a slide and climbing wall, toddler swings and a rope swing for the bigger ones.

Free parkingOutdoor play

Lightwoods Park and House

Smethwick

Free park with a play area, skate park and outdoor gym, plus a restaurant if you fancy skipping the packed lunch.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesDog friendly+6 more

Little Aston Recreation Ground

Sutton Coldfield

A free park with a trim trail to clamber over, wildlife events through the year, and an ice cream man parked up for teas and soft drinks.

Long Lane Library

Halesowen

Free rhyme time sessions and stories for babies and toddlers, with reading groups for older kids too.

Blue badge parkingParkingToiletsWheelchair accessible+1 more

Manor Farm Park

Birmingham

Free park with two playgrounds, meadow trails and wooded bits to explore, plus spots for a picnic.

Outdoor playPicnic area

Market Bosworth Country Park

Nuneaton

Free-to-enter country park with a play area, an arboretum and wildflower meadows to walk through, though parking soon adds up.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingOutdoor playParking+3 more

Martineau Gardens

Birmingham · ages 3-10

A woodland garden with a shipwreck play area and a Stick Man trail to hunt down, free to wander round.

Bike parkingFood on siteOutdoor playParking+2 more

Mary Stevens Park

Stourbridge

Free water play, a big playground and a duck pond in one park, with a café for when everyone's soaked and hungry.

Accessible toiletCaféDog friendlyFree parking+3 more

Meriden Park

Birmingham · ages 0-17

A free, fully staffed adventure playground with a zip line, sandpit and a real fire pit for cooking and fire safety chat.

Booking requiredOutdoor playToilets

Meriden Park Parkour Park

Birmingham

Free outdoor bars and concrete obstacles for pull ups, parkour moves and street workout drills.

Outdoor play

Moseley Park and Pool

Birmingham

Eleven acres of parkland, a lake with fish and water fowl, and a free Wednesday opening that's the easiest way in.

Accessible toiletPublic transport nearbySensory friendlyToilets+1 more

National Cold War Exhibition

Shifnal · ages 4+

Free entry to a huge aircraft hangar, then extras like the Spitfire cockpit or a 4D theatre ride you pay for on top.

Baby changeBlue badge parkingBooking requiredCafé+9 more

Nottingham Beach

Nottingham

A free pop-up beach with sand, a pool and paid rides in the middle of the city, open all summer.

Card onlyCash onlyToilets

NQ64 Arcade Bar - Birmingham

Birmingham · adults only (18+)

A retro arcade and bar with Laser Quest in the basement, but it's an over-18s venue except for one Sunday morning kids' session.

Accessible toiletCard onlyCash onlyFood on site+2 more

NQ64 Laser Quest

Birmingham

Retro arcade tokens, pinball and a laser tag arena in one Birmingham venue, with a bar serving snacks and soft drinks.

Accessible toiletCaféCard onlyFood on site+1 more

Oak House Museum

West Bromwich

A half-timbered Tudor and Stuart house with original 17th century rooms to poke round, plus a playground for afterwards.

Accessible toiletOutdoor playSchool visitsStep-free access+1 more

Oaklands Recreation Ground

Birmingham

A free recreation ground with two play areas, a skate spot, basketball court and jogging routes to wear out any age.

Outdoor playParking

Outwoods, Leicestershire

Loughborough

Ancient woodland walks, a natural play area and a bird feeding station, with bluebells in spring and free entry all year.

CaféGroup bookingsOutdoor playParking+1 more

Perry Hall Park

Birmingham · ages 0-99

A free park with a sensory garden, a full-size grass football pitch and paths that are easy going with a buggy.

ParkingToilets

Playland Fun Park

Stourport-on-Severn

A pay-as-you-go ride park on the river with go karts, bumper boats and a pony ride, plus riverside meadows for a picnic.

Picnic area

Pooley Country Park

Tamworth

Free woodland park with a balance trail, a clue-hunt walk and soft play upstairs in the café, for the cost of parking.

Birthday partiesCaféDog friendlyIndoor play+5 more

Red Lion Farm Ice Cream & Cake Shop

Stafford

Watch Jersey cows being milked and Highland calves up close, then feed the animals before ice cream in the tea room.

Bike parkingCaféFood on siteToilets

RSPB Middleton Lakes

Bodymoor Heath

Free trails, a play meadow and pond dipping among the reedbeds, with several kilometres of paths for spotting birds.

CaféDog friendlyParkingPicnics allowed+3 more

RSPB Sandwell Valley

Birmingham

Free reserve of meadows, lakes and woodland trails where kids can go wild-play spotting and get properly muddy.

Baby changeBlue badge parkingFree parkingOutdoor play+3 more

Saltwells Local Nature Reserve

Brierley Hill

Free nature trails through a nature reserve where kids can spot dragonflies and birds without you booking a thing.

Seventh Circle - Artworks & Aesthetics Ltd

Birmingham

Free contemporary art gallery with hands-on workshops like making your own ceramic pumpkins or trying watercolours.

Free parking

Sheldon Country Park

Birmingham · ages 0-99

Free farm animals, a playground and a flat nature trail, with planes coming into land right over the fence.

Accessible toiletCaféFree parkingPushchair friendly+2 more

Snibston Colliery

Coalville

Former-miner surface tours plus the Into the Dark coalface simulation - no real underground, but a proper Leicestershire pit day out.

ParkingBlue badge parkingEV chargingCafé+7 more

Square Peg Activities

Sutton Coldfield

A sensory garden, forest garden and indoor play space with Stay and Play sessions, after school clubs and holiday events.

Booking requiredChanging PlacesSensory roomWheelchair accessible

Stafford Castle

Stafford

Free ruined castle grounds with a woodland loop path, a hidden mouse trail in the Ancient High House, and explorer backpacks to borrow.

Accessible toiletFree parkingFood on siteToilets+1 more

Stanleys Farm Shop & Pick Your Own

Kidderminster

Head out to the fields and fill a basket with whatever's ready, strawberries in summer, sprouts once winter comes round.

Swanshurst Park

Birmingham

A free park with a playground and a patch of woodland to poke about in, no rides despite the label.

The Exchange

Birmingham

A free city centre exhibition space with step-free access, a proper café and long opening hours to build a day around.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesDog friendly+3 more

The New Art Gallery Walsall

Walsall · ages 0-99

Free art gallery with drop-in workshops, sensory sessions for babies, and a Costa on site for when everyone's had enough culture.

Bike parkingCaféGift shopPublic transport nearby+1 more

Triumph Factory Visitor Experience

Hinckley

A free 90-minute tour round a working motorcycle factory, plus an exhibition on Triumph's history.

Booking requiredCafé

Victoria Park

Stafford

Free outdoor play in Stafford with a 7m climbing net, a 5m slide and a splash pad for summer days.

CaféOutdoor playPicnics allowedToilets+1 more

Wall Roman Site

Lichfield

Free Roman ruins and a small museum on the edge of Lichfield, with a bathhouse footprint you can walk right up to.

Free parkingToilets

Walsall Arboretum

Walsall

Free park with a splashpad, playground, skate park and miles of paths to explore, and it costs nothing to get in.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingBooking required+5 more

Wappenbury Wood Nature Reserve

Rugby

A free waymarked woodland trail with bluebells in spring and old trees worth stopping to guess the age of.

Free parkingPushchair friendlyWheelchair accessible

War Memorial

Coventry

Free to visit, with a visitor centre, a skate park nearby, and a bistro for whoever needs feeding.

CaféGift shopFood on siteParty rooms+1 more

Warley Woods

Smethwick

Free woodland park with a play area, sledging slopes when it snows, and trails that make for a proper muddy wander.

Accessible toiletBike parkingCaféDog friendly+8 more

Waseley Hills Country Park

Birmingham

Free hills to climb, an adventure play area and waymarked trails, with a café for when everyone's flagged.

Accessible toiletBike parkingBlue badge parkingCafé+8 more

Wicksteed Park

Kettering · ages 0-8

Over 25 rides, a duck-feeding lake and a miniature train, with a wristband that lets small legs go round again and again.

Birthday partiesBlue badge parkingCaféDog friendly+8 more

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Wolverhampton

Free family trails, an art-making space and a Pop Art play area to explore, with the Warhol show a small add-on cost for adults.

Blue badge parkingCaféPublic transport nearbyStep-free access+3 more

Wren's Nest

Dudley

Fossil hunting on free geological trails where you might spot the Dudley Bug on a guided walk.

Blue badge parkingPushchair friendlyWheelchair accessible

Wythall Library

Birmingham

A free, quiet library with a Chat and Craft group for kids, plus a café to break up the visit.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféWheelchair accessible+1 more