Free things to do in Stoke-on-Trent 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

Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre

Northwich

Free to visit engineering landmark with a boat trip, a play area and a maze made from the lift's old counterweights.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+2 more

Apedale Heritage Centre

Newcastle-under-Lyme · ages 5+

A real drift mine you go down with a guide, plus a museum, a light railway and mining kit you can actually get close to.

Accessible toiletCaféDog friendlyFood on site+3 more

Astbury Mere Country Park

Congleton

A flat mile-long lake loop with a play field, free entry, and kayaking if you fancy getting on the water.

CaféCard onlyDog friendlyOutdoor play+5 more

Barewall Art Gallery

Stoke-on-Trent

Free gallery visit with colouring books inspired by local artist Arthur Berry to keep kids busy while you look round.

Gift shop

Blakemere Village

Northwich

Free entry village with a mini railway, Segway forest rides, falconry and archery, plus a playground for the ones too small for any of it.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesBlue badge parkingCafé+9 more

Blaze Farm & The Potty Sheep

Macclesfield

Free entry to watch lambing in spring, sheep-shearing in summer, and a nature trail to wander in between.

Birthday partiesBlue badge parkingCaféFree parking+3 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

Caverswall Creamery

Stoke-on-Trent

A working dairy farm where you buy fresh milk, eggs and ice cream from vending machines, plus a maize maze and pumpkin patch in season.

Cheddleton Flint Mill

Leek

Two watermill wheels still turning to grind flint for the pottery industry, with free entry and grounds you can wander all week.

Booking requiredFree parkingFood on siteParking

City Farm

Stoke-on-Trent

Free drop-in visits to meet farm animals, learn where eggs come from, and see how big the different animals really get.

Café

Congleton Paddling Pool

Congleton · ages 0-11

Free shallow paddling pool in Congleton, open all summer in two-hour sessions with no booking needed.

Baby changePicnics allowedToiletsWheelchair accessible

Crosby Beach

Liverpool

A wide stretch of sand dotted with 100 cast-iron statues by Antony Gormley, free to wander any time.

Dudson Museum

Stoke-on-Trent

Free ceramics museum in Stoke-on-Trent with two centuries of pottery history and a café, open weekday mornings and early afternoons.

Accessible toiletCaféWheelchair accessible

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

Glebe Farm

Congleton

Book a proper hands-on animal experience, groom a Highland cow or walk an alpaca, then browse the farm shop before the café shuts.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredCaféFree parking+5 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

Lancashire Mining Museum CIO

Manchester

Wander round a real colliery site with a 98ft headgear to gawp at, colliery cottages and a miner's canteen to poke round, all free to get in.

Café

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

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

National Trust - Formby

Liverpool

Sand dunes, pinewoods and two beach trails to explore, with sand wheelchairs on loan and no fires allowed to keep the wildlife happy.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+11 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

Pavilion Gardens

Buxton

Free Victorian gardens with outdoor play parks, then hop the miniature train or boats when you fancy a paid treat.

ToiletsParkingCaféRestaurant+6 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

Queen's Park

Stoke-on-Trent

A free, open park for a walk or a bike ride, open daily from 8am until dusk with free parking and dog walkers welcome.

Dog friendlyFree parkingToilets

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 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

Runway Visitor Park

Altrincham

Climb aboard a retired Concorde and a DC10 parked up outside Manchester Airport, with runway views thrown in free.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféGift shop+7 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.

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

Silk Museum

Macclesfield

Free galleries on 300 years of silk history, plus a timed-entry mill tour with working Jacquard looms you have to book ahead for.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingBooking required+6 more

Spode Museum

Stoke-on-Trent

Free gallery of Spode pottery history with hands-on digital models and a café tucked in a walled garden.

Baby changeCaféCard onlyGift shop+3 more

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

Swanshurst Park

Birmingham

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

The Clubhouse Stoke

Newcastle-under-Lyme · ages 0-90

An 18-hole indoor crazy golf course in a basement bar, with table tennis, darts and karaoke rooms alongside it.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesCard only+6 more

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

Walton Gardens and Hall Zoo

Warrington

A free zoo and estate where the animals are only part of it, alongside crazy golf, a land train and a proper high ropes course.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBlue badge parking+7 more

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

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