Free Days Out in Northampton

Sywell Aviation Museum logs indoor and outdoor space, which at aerodrome sites generally means display buildings plus something parked outside. Aviation collections tend to hold children who have no interest in history at all, because an aircraft is a large object with an obvious purpose. Opening at small volunteer-run museums is often limited to certain days or seasons, so this is one to confirm rather than assume.

Both are built around water and both need a drive, but they suit different lengths of visit. Brixworth Country Park sits by a large reservoir with long routes available, which suits older children and confident walkers. Sywell Country Park is more contained. Water in a park always changes the supervision required, and neither is somewhere to let a small child get ahead of you on the path.

Abington Park is the in-town option and the one that gets used for ordinary afternoons rather than planned outings. Large municipal parks of this kind usually carry a mix of open grass, formal gardens and play equipment, which means a family with a wide age range can all find something. It is also the entry that needs no preparation at all, which has its own value on a day that has gone sideways.