Free things to do in Derby 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

Abbey Pumping Station

Leicester

Industrial museum with beam engines and vintage vehicles - free entry, but only open on holiday Mondays and special event days.

ToiletsWheelchair accessibleOutdoor playPicnic area+3 more

Allestree Library

Derby · ages 0-3

Free rhymetimes and storytimes for babies and toddlers, plus sensory board books to borrow, in a library with short opening hours.

Alvaston Library and Learning Centre

Derby · ages 0-3

Free rhymetime and story sessions for babies and toddlers, plus a browse of the children's book shelves.

Toilets

Alvaston Park

Derby · ages 0-99

Free 85-acre riverside park with a PlayZone, BMX track, science garden and a lake to walk round, with a café for when everyone flags.

Accessible toiletCaféFree parkingOutdoor play+2 more

BACKLIT

Nottingham

A free contemporary art gallery in Nottingham with step-free access, open Thursday to Sunday afternoons.

Step-free access

Bennerley Viaduct

Awsworth

A free, buggy- and wheelchair-friendly skywalk 18m above the Erewash Valley, with a café (Thu-Sun) and wildlife-rich nature reserve below.

Accessible toiletCaféFree parkingFood on site+6 more

Bestwood Country Park - Mill Lakes

Nottingham

A free walk around a quiet lake with birdwatching, a Saturday morning café and no fishing or swimming to worry about.

CaféDog friendly

Blagreaves Library

Derby

Free rhymetimes, storytimes and a book club in a small local library, with membership free from birth.

Hearing loopParkingToiletsWheelchair accessible+1 more

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

Chaddesden Park

Derby · ages 0-99

Free park with a BMX track, water play and football pitches, plus a café that shuts mid-afternoon.

CaféFree parkingOutdoor playPicnics allowed+2 more

Cosy Club Derby

Derby

All-day brunch and dining in Derby Cathedral Quarter with a kids menu, baby change and grand interiors.

Baby changeBirthday partiesDog friendlyGroup bookings+3 more

Cromford Mills

Cromford, Derbyshire

A free mill yard, shops and exhibition, with paid tours telling the story of the world's first water powered cotton mill.

CaféGift shopPicnic area

Darley Playing Fields

Derby

Free playground, tennis courts and riverside park walks, with a tea room for when everyone needs sitting down.

Accessible toiletCaféFree parkingOutdoor play+2 more

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

Derby Arboretum

Derby

A free public park with lawns and mature trees for a picnic and a wander, no ticket, no time limit.

ToiletsOutdoor playParkingPicnic area+1 more

Derby Cathedral

Derby

Free to walk round, with a tower tour worth booking and monuments that'll keep older kids busy for a bit.

ToiletsCaféGift shop

Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Derby · ages 0+

Free city museum on The Strand - Joseph Wright gallery, Royal Lancers displays and a Coffee House.

Bike parkingCaféGift shopFood on site+3 more

Felley Priory Garden

Underwood · ages 0-16

Underwood - Felley Priory gardens near the M1, under-16s free, free parking, tea room (no dogs or picnics).

Accessible toiletBooking requiredCaféFree parking+7 more

Flamsteed Observatory

Brailsford

Peer through the society telescopes on a public observing night - check the date before you set off.

Parking

Foxfield Steam Railway

Stoke-on-Trent

A steam train ride through the countryside on a heritage line that only runs Sundays, with a locomotive museum to poke around too.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBlue badge parking+9 more

Glenfield Tunnel

Leicester

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

Booking required

Great Central Railway (Nottingham)

Nottingham

Free site entry, £3 parking and a flat, buggy-friendly 25-acre site with steam trains, old buses, mini railway rides and a dog-friendly café.

Baby changeBike parkingBlue badge parkingCafé+13 more

Green's Windmill & Science Centre

Nottingham · ages 0+

Free-entry restored windmill, science centre and garden in Nottingham, climb the mill (when not under repair), try science experiments, and let the kids run round the community garden.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredGift shopGroup bookings+6 more

Greenhead Park

Huddersfield

A free park with a double zip wire and a miniature steam railway that only runs on Saturday afternoons.

Changing PlacesOutdoor playToiletsWheelchair accessible

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

Inspirational Languages

Heanor · ages 0-14

Spanish lessons for babies through to teens, taught with stories, songs and role play rather than worksheets.

Booking required

Leicester Cathedral

Leicester

A free-to-enter cathedral with a Richard III history gallery, guided tours and quiet corners worth a wander with kids.

ToiletsCaféGift shop

Leicester Guildhall

Leicester

Free 600-year-old timber Guildhall with medieval galleries and a family quest - open daily near the Cathedral.

ToiletsWheelchair accessibleGift shop

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

Manor Fields Park

Sheffield

Free park with two playgrounds, a sandpit and a boardwalk, plus Tudor ruins you can touch but not climb.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesKids menu+4 more

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

Mayfield Park

Manchester

Free outdoor park with a play yard of six slides built around a daylighted stretch of the River Medlock.

Dog friendlyOutdoor playToilets

Mercia Marina

Derby

Free wander round a working marina with a sculpture trail, canal boat trips and enough water to keep small kids gawping.

CaféFree parkingGift shopFood on site+1 more

Mundy Play Centre

Derby · up to age 12

A free outdoor play park in Derby with a proper ropes course, mini golf, BMX bowl and a paddling pool in summer.

Blue badge parkingOutdoor playParkingToilets+1 more

Museum of Making

Derby · ages 0+

Free entry to a museum built on Derby's 300 years of making, with workshops and maker spaces to poke around in.

Bike parkingBlue badge parkingCaféGift shop+3 more

Naturescape Wildflower Farm

Langar, Nottingham

A free-to-visit wildflower garden with two ponds, a play area and a tearoom for cake afterwards.

CaféDog friendlyGift shopIndoor play+6 more

New Art Exchange

Nottingham

Free gallery visits and a Saturday art club with hands-on making, right opposite the Forest tram stop.

Allergy awareBlue badge parkingCaféGroup bookings+4 more

Newarke Houses Museum

Leicester

Free social-history museum with toys, a 1950s street and gardens - limited Saturday and holiday opening, so check dates.

School visitsGroup bookingsPicnic areaLockers

Nottingham Arboretum

Nottingham

Free tree trail walks through 800-plus trees on flat paths, right by Nottingham's tram stops.

CaféDog friendlyFood on siteOutdoor play+5 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

Nottingham Heritage Railway

Ruddington

Steam and diesel trains, a miniature railway and a working bus depot to explore near Ruddington.

ParkingToiletsCaféGift shop+1 more

Nottingham Industrial Museum

Nottingham

Volunteer-run heritage museum in Wollaton Hall's stables, free entry for accompanied kids, five hands-on galleries, and monthly Steaming Days when the engines actually run.

CaféGift shopGroup bookingsFood on site+2 more

Nottingham Society Of Artists

Nottingham · adults only (18+)

A free city centre gallery showing work from Nottingham's artists, open to over-18s only.

Nottingham Winter Wonderland

Nottingham

Free entry to Old Market Square festive site - skate, Sky Skate, Observation Wheel and market stalls once you book the paid bits.

Food on sitePublic transport nearbyCard only

Nutbrook Canal Ilkeston

Ilkeston · ages 6+

Learn to fish on the Nutbrook Canal with Canal & River Trust coaches - kit, bait and day licence included from age 6.

Free parkingBooking required

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

Pickford's House

Derby · ages 0+

Free Georgian townhouse museum on Friar Gate - rooms, toys and a garden shop, Tue-Sat 10-5.

Bike parkingFree parkingGift shopParking+2 more

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

RSPB Consall Woods

Stoke-on-Trent

Six waymarked trails through wood pasture and riverside woodland along the Churnet, free to walk and open for a proper muddy ramble.

Accessible toiletBaby changeParkingPicnics allowed+3 more

Sandall Park

Doncaster

Free park with a zip-wire play area, woodland adventure play and football pitches, plus a café for when everyone flags.

CaféOutdoor playParkingPicnic area+1 more

Sherwood Pines

Kings Clipstone

Race the play trails and pedal paths under the pines - free forest entry, pay for parking.

CaféParking

Silverhill Wood

Sutton-in-Ashfield

Free reclaimed colliery woodland near Mansfield with cycling trails, orienteering and a dog selfie spot, no parking charges.

Dog friendlyFree parkingOutdoor playParking+2 more

Sinfin Moor Park

Derby · ages 0-99

A big open park with a play area and a Nature Club, plus a Saturday café run by park volunteers.

CaféFree parkingOutdoor playParking+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

Southwell Minster

Southwell

Southwell - free-entry minster (£5 suggested donation), dog-friendly grounds and carved stone leaves for kids to spot.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesBlue badge parkingCafé+10 more

Stonebridge City Farm & Gardens

Nottingham

Nottingham - Stonebridge City Farm free community farm. Donations welcome; barn from noon; car park fills fast.

Booking requiredCaféFree parkingGift shop+9 more

Surface Gallery Limited

Nottingham

Free contemporary art shows in a small Nottingham gallery, open only when there's an exhibition on.

Swanshurst Park

Birmingham

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

The Old Lock Up Gallery

Matlock

Free gallery shows and creative workshops in a converted lock-up, though the ten stone steps to the door rule out buggies and wheelchairs.

The Phillip Whitehead Memorial Library Chaddesden Park

Derby · ages 0-3

Free rhymetimes and storytimes for babies and toddlers, with library membership free from birth.

Toilets

Tissington Trail

Ashbourne

A traffic-free 13-mile trail along an old railway line for walking or cycling, taking in Tissington village and the stepping stones at Dovedale.

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

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

Watermead Country Park

Leicester

Free country park with a Jurassic play trail, a lake full of birds and meadows thick with dragonflies.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingDog friendlyOutdoor play+3 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