Days Out Near Chester With Children, Checked October 2026

The days out most Chester families look for are Chester Zoo at Upton, the biggest by far; Beeston Castle for a hilltop ruin and a cheap ticket; Delamere Forest for a free walk with play trails; and Blue Planet Aquarium at Cheshire Oaks for a rainy day. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 29 October 2026.

Winter hours start at several of these places in the first week of November, and prices change, so check the venue’s own page before you set off.

Days out near Chester compared

In Chester

Chester Zoo, Upton

The zoo on the northern edge of the city says it has “over 130 acres to explore and thousands of animals to discover”. It opens daily from 10am, with the main entrance and Bembe Grill open from 9.30am; it gave its hours on 29 October as 10am to 4.30pm, with last entry at 3.30pm, an hour before closing. It closes on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Online tickets, which include a 10% donation, run from £25 to £38 for adults and £25 to £28 for children aged 3 to 15, depending on the day; at the gate they are £42.50 and £30. Toddlers aged one and two pay £2.50, and babies and carers go free. Car parking on site is free. From 13 November the zoo also runs its evening Lanterns and Light trail, which is ticketed separately (our Lanterns guide). Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 27 March 2026). Upton-by-Chester, CH2 1EU. chesterzoo.org

Chester Cathedral

The cathedral says that “for the majority of the year, the Cathedral is free entry”, with a small fee during the summer and at Christmas, when children aged five and under stay free. It opens Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5.30pm, and runs tower tours and discovery tours on set days. It describes itself as fully accessible, with a portable ramp on request for some areas. Cafe 1092 in Abbey Square holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 20 March 2026). The Christmas Tree Festival is the cathedral’s big winter event. St Werburgh Street, CH1 2DY. chestercathedral.com

Deva Roman Experience, Bridge Street

A Roman-themed attraction off Bridge Street, built around the remains of the legionary fortress, where visitors join “the XX Legion Valeria Victrix”. It opens to the public at weekends, 10am to 6pm with last entry at 5pm, and on weekdays only for schools in term time; in the school holidays its booking page shows which public slots are open. Tickets are £8 for adults, £7 for students and £5 for children aged 5 to 15, with under-fives free; it takes card payments only. It says entry is step-free and the attraction is fully wheelchair accessible, with an accessible toilet, but warns of strobe lighting, water splashes, loud noises and bad smells. There is no buggy storage. Pierpoint Lane, off Bridge Street, CH1 1NL. devaromancentre.co.uk

ChesterBoat half-hour city cruise, The Groves

Sightseeing cruises on the River Dee from the boating station on The Groves. The half-hour city cruise costs £9.50 for adults and £4.50 for children aged 5 to 15 if bought online, or £10 and £5 on the quayside; a family ticket for two adults and up to three children is £26 online or £28. Under-fives travel free. Boats leave hourly from 11am to 4pm, and every 30 minutes at busy times such as weekends and school holidays. ChesterBoat says it does not take reservations for particular sailings, and that it sails every day, weather permitting, until mid-December. The Boating Station, Souters Lane, The Groves, CH1 1SZ. chesterboat.co.uk

Ellesmere Port and the Wirral side

Blue Planet Aquarium, Cheshire Oaks

The aquarium beside the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, which describes its collection as “Europe’s largest collection of sharks”, with sand tiger and nurse sharks in its Ocean Tank. It is open daily from 10am, currently until 5pm, and closed only on Christmas Day, with last entry an hour before closing. Prices show only on its booking page; it offers free entry for carers on a one-to-one basis for eligible visitors and hires wheelchairs for a £10 returnable deposit. Parking is £3 a vehicle for the day. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 3 December 2025). Longlooms Road, CH65 9LF. 0151 357 8804. There is more on its quieter days in our soft play and rainy-day guide.

National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port

The Canal and River Trust’s museum on the historic docks, with locks, boats and Grade II listed buildings, exhibitions, discovery trails, self-led craft activities, a waterways-themed playground and a boat trip. Day tickets are £13.25 for adults and £9.95 for children aged 6 to 15, and under-sixes go free. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Parking is free, including accessible bays, with a 2.1m height limit. Friendly dogs on a lead are welcome in the museum, but only assistance dogs on the boat trip. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 16 February 2026). South Pier Road, CH65 4FW. 0151 355 5017. canalrivertrust.org.uk

Ness Botanic Gardens, Ness

The University of Liverpool’s botanic garden, “spread across 64 acres” with views over the Dee estuary to North Wales. Admission is £8.50 for adults and £4.50 for children aged 5 to 16, or £9.25 and £4.85 with a Gift Aid donation; under-fives are free and a family ticket for two adults and three children is £21.50. Carers go free. Winter hours, which run to 28 March 2027, are 10am to 4.30pm, with last admission at 4pm. Only assistance dogs may enter the gardens, but there is a dog-friendly patio next to the Botanic Kitchen cafe. The gardens can close in high winds, snow or ice, and suggest calling 0151 795 6300 first in bad weather. Botanic Kitchen at Ness holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 24 January 2026). Neston Road, Ness, CH64 4AY. liverpool.ac.uk/ness-gardens

Castles, forests and farms

Beeston Castle and Woodland Park, Beeston

English Heritage’s medieval castle on its sandstone crag near Tarporley, with woodland around the foot of the hill. Its prices page gives off-peak online tickets, including a donation, of £10.20 for adults, £5.10 for children and £25.50 for a family; on standard-price days they are £11.90, £5.95 and £29.75, and at the gate £14, £7 and £35. Booking online by midnight the day before saves up to 15%. English Heritage members go free. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm. It is open Thursday to Sunday to 1 November, then weekends only from 2 November to 20 December; it closes on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, opens daily from 28 December to 3 January, and then returns to weekends until mid-February. Chapel Lane, Beeston, CW6 9TX. 01829 260464.

Delamere Forest, Delamere

Forestry England’s forest between Chester and Northwich, with its own railway station on the Chester to Manchester line. Its page lists waymarked circular walking trails, two cycle routes, the interactive Room on the Broom family trail, the accessible Eddi’s Hillfort play area, and the climb up Old Pale “for views stretching all the way to Liverpool”. The forest is free to enter and dogs are allowed. Parking at the Visitor Centre and Treetops car parks costs £4 for an hour, £7.50 for two, £11 for three and £12.50 for longer, and is cashless; it is free for those arriving without a car. The car park is open 8am to 5pm in winter. Go Ape’s Delamere site lists the Treetop Adventure for ages 4 to 10 over 1m tall from £20.95, and the Treetop Challenge for ages 10 and up from £36.95. The Delamere Forest Cafe holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 17 November 2025). CW8 2HZ. Our cafe listing.

The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall

A farm attraction built around ice cream, south-east of Chester. Its FAQ gives entry from £2 a child and £1.50 an adult, with babies under one free; the entry ticket includes parking and unlimited play in Daisy’s Garden. Other attractions are pay as you play, normally £4.50 a play, or bought in bulk with a Play Pass. Indoors are Honeycomb Canyon, a covered sand and water play area, and the Fun Factory soft play; outdoors are Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf, a Silvercone race track, tractors and Gemstone Cove. Only assistance dogs are allowed on site, though dogs are welcome at the Ice Cream Drive In next door. Its pages give slightly different hours, from 9.30am to 5pm or 5.30pm on weekdays and to 5.30pm or 6pm at weekends. It closes to the public from 2pm on 6, 7 and 8 November for its fireworks. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 12 February 2025). Newton Lane, Tattenhall, CH3 9NE. 0333 049 1011.

Lion Salt Works, Marston, near Northwich

A former salt works about a mile from Northwich town centre, now one of the West Cheshire Museums. Children aged 16 and under go free; its visit page lists adult admission at £7.50 and concessions at £6.70, with carers free and an adult annual pass at £20. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, and usually on bank holiday Mondays. The museum says it is fully accessible, with designated disabled parking bays, lifts to the first floor, accessible toilets and a hearing loop. The large car park is free. The cafe holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 3 June 2026). Ollershaw Lane, Marston, CW9 6ES. 01606 275066.

Over the border

Erddig, Wrexham

A National Trust house and garden south of Wrexham which, in the Trust’s words, “tells the 250-year story of a gentry family’s relationship with its servants”, with a restored 18th-century garden and a 1,200-acre landscape park by the River Clywedog. The estate is free to walk; admission covers the house, garden, restaurant and shop. A whole-site ticket is £19 for adults, £9.50 for children aged 5 to 17 and £47.50 for a family, or £20.90, £10.50 and £52.30 with Gift Aid; the garden alone is £12, £6 and £30. Under-fives and National Trust members go free, and parking costs nothing. The house opens 11.30am to 3pm and the garden, restaurant and shop 10am to 4pm; the parkland is open dawn to dusk. The Trust says the house route varies through the year because of conservation work, and that car park capacity is reduced after recent rain. Erddig Hall holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 27 May 2026). LL13 0YT. 01978 355314. nationaltrust.org.uk

How we chose

We started with the family days out Chester people search for and the ones local listings return, kept places within about half an hour’s drive, and then kept only those whose own website was live and showed current opening on 29 October 2026. Prices, hours and quotes come from each venue’s own pages, and from the National Trust’s and English Heritage’s own price data for Erddig and Beeston; hygiene ratings come from the Food Standards Agency register. We left out places we could only find on third-party listings, and the Anderton Boat Lift, which the Canal and River Trust has closed to the public for 2026. We have not been to any of them for this guide. For indoor play, see soft play near Chester; for outdoor play and walks, the Chester playgrounds guide and walks near Chester; for food, Chester cafes and Chester restaurants. There is more in things to do in Chester, what’s on in Chester this month and the Chester business directory.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@chesteronline.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

What free days out are there near Chester?

Chester Cathedral is free to enter for most of the year, with a small charge only in summer and at Christmas. At the Lion Salt Works near Northwich children aged 16 and under go free, and at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port and Ness Botanic Gardens under-sixes and under-fives go free. Delamere Forest costs nothing to enter; you pay only for parking, from £4 for an hour, or nothing if you arrive by train at Delamere station.

Which days out near Chester stay open in winter?

Chester Zoo, Blue Planet Aquarium, Ness Botanic Gardens, Delamere Forest and Chester Cathedral open every day through the winter apart from Christmas. Beeston Castle opens only at weekends from 2 November to mid-February, with extra days after Christmas. The Deva Roman Experience is open to the public at weekends, and the National Waterways Museum Tuesday to Sunday. ChesterBoat’s half-hour cruises run until mid-December.

Can I take my dog on a day out near Chester?

Delamere Forest allows dogs, and the National Waterways Museum welcomes friendly dogs on a lead, though not on its boat trip. Ness Botanic Gardens and The Ice Cream Farm admit only assistance dogs; Ness has a dog-friendly patio by its cafe, and the Ice Cream Farm welcomes dogs at its Drive In next door.