City
7 Best Activities In Deal
Two castles, and they are not the same visit twice. Deal Castle is the low, thick-walled artillery fort, built to be shot at rather than lived in, and it works on children who would rather explore a building than read about one. Walmer Castle and Gardens went the other way and softened into a residence with grounds attached, which gives you lawns to release everyone onto when the rooms stop holding them.
Around that pair the town's seven entries do the practical jobs. Betteshanger Park is the open ground, Tides Leisure Centre covers a swim, and Solley's Ice Cream Parlour exists for the end of the afternoon when goodwill is running out. Five of the seven have a roof over them and five have open air, so the weather rarely closes off the whole day.
Showing 1–7 of 7
Children's FarmsSolley's Ice Cream Parlour
CastlesWalmer Castle and Gardens
SightseeingThe Lane Afternoon Tea
Parks and PlaygroundsBetteshanger Park
CastlesDeal Castle
Swimming PoolsTides Leisure Centre
AdventureDeal Treasure Hunt Treasure Trail
12 more within 10 miles of Deal
St Margarets Bay
Dover District Leisure Centre
Dover Transport Museum
Fan Bay Deep Shelter
Dover Castle
The Wartime Tunnels at Dover Castle
Cineworld Dover
Playbase
Gamebase
East Kent Railway
Rib Request
Dover Sea Safari
Build the day around one castle, not both. Choose the fort if your children want passages and steps, the gardens if they need space, and keep the park in hand for the hour when nobody wants another room.
Visiting Deal with kids: FAQs
Is it worth trying to fit in both castles?
You can, but younger children tend to run out of enthusiasm partway through the second one. Deal Castle suits explorers who like enclosed spaces and stairs; Walmer Castle and Gardens suits families who want grounds to spread out in. If you only have an afternoon, pick by temperament rather than trying to see everything.
Our youngest is two. What is there beyond the historic stuff?
Betteshanger Park gives you open ground and a pushchair-friendly afternoon without asking anyone to keep quiet or keep off things. Tides Leisure Centre is the indoor option for a swim. Between those two you can fill a morning for a toddler and leave the castles for an older sibling another time.
What can we do here without going outside?
Five of the seven places listed for the town are indoor or partly indoor, including the castle interiors, the leisure centre and Solley's Ice Cream Parlour. That is enough to reshape a wet day rather than abandon it, though a coastal town in bad weather is always a shorter day than a fine one.