A day out in Liverpool with a 1-3 year old

Liverpool Indoor Funfair

A traditional fairground brought inside the Exhibition Centre Liverpool on King's Dock, in a climate-controlled hall. The ride list is graded by height, and the younger end of it — small inflatables, a play centre, children's chairs — is where a one to three year old will spend their time. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult, so you are riding too.

The guide puts a typical visit at three hours. With a toddler, treat that as a ceiling rather than a target; an hour of rides is often plenty before the noise starts to tell. Quiet sessions with reduced numbers and noise are scheduled within each run, and for this age they are worth building the day around. Sessions are timed and sell out, so check current session times before you travel. The funfair runs in blocks during school holidays, typically around Easter, summer and Christmas. There is a café on site with hot and cold food and fair snacks, and baby changing.

Victoria Gallery & Museum

The deliberate slow point. Free to enter, in the red brick Victoria Building on the University of Liverpool campus, with art alongside the university's scientific, medical and natural history collections. A toddler will not read a label, but stuffed and skeletal things in cases hold attention surprisingly well, and the tiled interiors give you somewhere handsome to push a buggy in circles if the morning has caught up with them.

The Waterhouse Cafe is on the ground floor and is the natural lunch stop. The museum also runs workshops, talks and events for different ages, worth checking in case something lands on your day.

Imagine That!

Back on their feet. Four zones — a role-play village with shops and restaurants, a construction area, an art space and a science zone with live demonstrations. The centre is aimed at roughly one to ten year olds, and the role-play village is usually where the youngest settle. Staff-led workshops such as slime and bath bomb making run through the visit and children take home what they make.

Toddler-focused midweek sessions run in term time, which is the gentler option if you have the choice. Visits are booked in advance, with timed entry at weekends and in school holidays. There is a cafe on site.

Liverpool Aquatic Centre

Held back for a day that goes wrong, or an afternoon with energy left over. The 20m pool runs at 30 degrees and is 0.9m to 1.5m deep, which is the warmer and more sensible of the options with a small child; the 50m pool sits at around 27 degrees. Public swim sessions run through the week with no need to book, which is what makes this a late decision rather than a commitment. Access is flat with automatic doors, there is lift access to the viewing gallery, and accessible toilets throughout.

The gaps between stops are short, but with a toddler the transition is the hard part, not the distance — a buggy and a snack for each hop will do more than good timing.

If the day is going badly, drop Imagine That!; it is the premium stop and the one that needs booking, so decide early. The gallery is free, so leaving after twenty minutes costs nothing. If it rains, change nothing — all four are indoors — and if the fairground block is not running when you visit, start at the gallery and go on to Imagine That! for the longer play.