Boats, apes and donkeys
Taste gin at The Cholmondley Arms or hit the taproom at Weetwood. Go Ape at Delamere, have a flutter at Chester Races, or rent a canal boat at Tattenhall Marina. Get pampered at Carden Park Hotel or play golf on the famous Nicklaus course. Ride the Llangollen Railway and meet Thomas, or navigate a zombie apocalypse at VR World Manchester.
Country kids
Alton Towers isn’t far away: head down there to brave Nemesis Reborn and Wicker Man, while younger kids meet their TV friends in CBeeBies land. Discover poisonous frogs, colourful corals, piranhas, sharks and stingrays at the Blue Planet Aquarium. Or journey through life in the last open-pan salt-making site at Lion Saltworks Museum.
Take your budding astronauts down to Jodrell Bank to discover the wonders of science. Burn off steam at Bounce Below, a crazy trampoline park in a disused mine. Or ride the world’s fastest zip wire at Zip World and hang around to race the quarry karts. Catch the latest films at Vue Cinema at Cheshire Oaks and theatre at Storyhouse.
Escape from Forgotten Tomb, Dark Magic, Cursed Carnival and more at Chester Breakout Room. See where special effects can take you at VR World Manchester and navigate a zombie apocalypse, the mystery of the deep oceans or the secrets of outer space. Or meet 31,000 animals in 128 acres of gardens at Chester Zoo.
Cross the Welsh border to ride the Llangollen Railway and meet Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. Ride up to The Wirral for a day on Thurstaston Beach and don’t forget the cycling trail, farm and tearooms. Or head to Tatton Park for 1000 acres of parkland, a working farm, and 100 events and activities each year.
For the grown ups
Unleash the inner crafter with sewing workshops in Tattenhall. Or consider needle-felting workshops or doodle embroidery at Stitch. Head to The Cholmondley Arms for gin-tasting sessions or dine at some of the finest pubs in Cheshire, all on your doorstep. Or hit the taproom and shop for beers and spirits at Weetwood, while finding out how your tipple is made.
Feeling active? Book an hour or two at Wrexham Tennis Centre and, if your game’s rusty, sign up for lessons at Bunbury Tennis Club. Try the Formula 1 Grand Prix track at Apex Kart in Chester and stick around for the championship golf courses. Or see the Cheshire countryside from dizzying heights on the Vertigo aerial course at Carden Park.
Hack the countryside with Willington Riding School or learn how to play Polo in Great Barrow, shoot laser clays at Carden Park, or Go Ape at Delamere. Dress up to the nines and have a flutter at Chester Races. Climb Bickerton Hill and take the Sandstone Trail or walk the canal pathways at the back of Tattenhall and Beeston.
Rent a canal boat at Tattenhall Marina, try an off-road Land Rover Experience at Peckforton Castle, or ride the wild waters at the National White Water Centre. Fish in the Bickerton Hills on the eight lakes at Hampton Springs. Get pampered in the spas at Carden Park Hotel. Or head back into history at Chester Cathedral and Beeston Castle.
