If the children are looking for action this Easter holiday, here at Stagecoach we have just the ticket – for a maximum of £3 per bus journey to family-friendly events across the county.
You’ll see that the Easter Bunny has been busy hiding eggs, but there’s much more going on including 10p swimming sessions, craft workshops, train trips, mine exploring and funfair rides.
Parking can be a headache – especially in the Lake District – so all these venues have a bus stop nearby.
North Cumbria
Tullie, Castle Street, Carlisle
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
Bus stop: Carlisle Market Hall or Carlisle Bus Station
The museum and art gallery has an egg-cellent Easter planned with events to keep the kids entertained throughout the school holidays. Starting with drop-in family crafts on Sunday, April 6 from 1pm to 4pm, there’s also floral basket making, a ceramic Easter bunny workshop, nature folk tales, rag rug making, and an Easter breakfast with Tullie Mouse on Easter Sunday. Some events are free, others involve a fee.
Carlisle Cathedral
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
Bus stop: Carlisle Market Hall or Carlisle Bus Station
Your prayers could be answered with sessions for children of all ages. Older kids inspired by Bake Off can join an Easter cupcake decorating workshop on Monday, April 7 from 2pm to 3.30pm for £25, while there’s a plant pot and flower painting session the following day for younger children for £5 each. On Friday, April 11, pre-schoolers can shine with the Little Stars song and crafts session.
Sands Centre, Carlisle, and Wigton Baths
Bus route to Sands Centre & bus stop: Multiple services into Carlisle, Market Hall/Bus Station
Bus route & bus stop: Wigton & bus stop: 300, 400, 554 & 600, Wigton King Street
Fancy splashing out 10p for a swim? That’s the offer for children aged up to 16 at five Cumberland swimming pools during the Easter fortnight. Times for the offer at the Sands Centre is weekdays (except Bank Holidays) and Sundays, all 10am to 10.50am. Wigton Baths will offer the discounted price on weekdays and Saturdays, phone 016973 42412 for times.
Petteril Bank Community Centre, Burnett Road, Carlisle
Bus route: 61 & 104
Bus stop: Aldi, London Road
If your kids are a dab hand with paint they could decorate plant pots, marble eggs or create Easter chicks with their parents at an Easter crafts morning from 10.30am to midday on Tuesday, April 8. The cost is £9 a child to cover materials.
Acorn Bank, Temple Sowerby, Penrith
Bus route: 563
Bus stop: A one-mile footpath walk from the Temple Sowerby stop
It’s called an Easter Egg hunt but children will be on a roll for the £3.50 fee – there’s nine activities on the trail including traditional games, origami bunnies and den building. They get a free chocolate egg too. It’s being run every day from Saturday, April 5, to Easter Monday at the National Trust attraction, from 10.30am to 4pm.
Belah Centre, St Ann’s Hill, Carlisle
Bus route: 62
Bus stop: Briar Bank
Does face painting make your child’s mouth go up at the corners? If so, there’s that and soft play, games, hunting for Eggs eggs and meeting the Easter Bunny for children up to four years old at the Tiny Tootsies baby and toddler play group from 2.30pm to 4pm on April 12. Prices from £5 to £13.50.
A day trip to Silloth
Bus service: 60 & 400
Bus stop: The Green, Silloth
Silloth is a great place to visit by bus. It’s a proper seaside resort, with wide, tree-lined cobbled streets and a village green next to a long promenade. It’s surrounded by salt marshes and lowland peat mires to the north, with dunes and beaches to the south.
The Victorians came to Silloth to ‘take in the air’ and it’s still popular today with those who want a gentle stroll or bracing walk, and to explore some of the loveliest parts of the Solway Coast. For those with older children, why not take a walk from Silloth to Allonby. This five-mile beach has views across the Solway to Scotland and interesting flora and fauna. On arrival at Allonby, head to The Codfather for delicious fish and chips, or treat yourself to an ice cream at the famous Twentyman’s ice cream parlour.
West Cumbria
Beacon Museum, Whitehaven
Bus route: Multiple services into Whitehaven
Bus stop: Lowther Street
Big bubbles, no troubles is the promise at Bubble Magic workshops on Friday, April 18. Entertainers will reveal tricks of the trade so children can go home and wow their mates. Or your youngsters may prefer to pick up some adorable and unusual pets at Pet Encounter sessions on Thursday April 10 and April 17. All sessions cost £7.50 for a child, £4.50 for an adult, and start at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
Senhouse Roman Museum, Maryport
Bus route: 30, 60 & 300
Bus stop: Curzon Street / St Mary’s church (10 minute walk)
Built on cliffs overlooking the Solway Firth, this great little museum is packed with artefacts excavated from a neighbouring Roman fort. And if your little ones don’t ‘dig’ that, they can do an Easter egg hunt from Saturday April 5 until Easter Monday, plus there’s laurel wreath making on Wednesday, April 9, and a Roman coins family craft drop-in on April 16.
Maryport Aquarium, Maryport
Bus route: 30, 60 & 300
Bus stop: Curzon Street / St Mary’s church (10 minute walk)
The children will want to dive in to see the fish, then swim across for a round of crazy golf and crawl over to the aquarium’s recently opened adventure playground. There’s a lot to see here, so you might want to splash out at the cafe too. Admission from £8 for children, with various family deals.
Keswick Museum, Station Road, Keswick
Bus route: 553, 554, 555, 509, 77, 77A, 78, X4, X5
Bus stop: Keswick bus station
Here’s a museum that’s just right, with its exhibition celebrating creator of the Three Bears story Robert Southey. There’s no porridge on Wednesday, April 9, but for £5 youngsters can decorate egg cups during sessions starting at 11am and 1.30pm. The following week there’s a canvas art session.
Wordsworth House & Graden, Main Street, Cockermouth
Bus route: X4, X5 or 600
Bus stop: Cockermouth Main Street
You can hear a Rucksack of Rhymes at various times (2pm and 3pm) on Tuesday, April 8. The team from Wordsworth Grasmere will reveal what the planet was like when William and sister Dorothy lived here 200 years ago, through songs, play and craft. For children aged up to five.
Honister Slate Mine, Keswick
Bus route: 77, 77A
Bus stops: Honister Slate Mine
Here’s an activity venue with highs and lows – climbing challenges, a vertigo-inducing infinity bridge, or for the younger ones, a slate mine tour. The 90-minute mine tour descends into the tunnels of Fleetwith Pike that lead to vast caverns. Children go free with a paying adult, who’ll have to dig into their pockets for £17.50.
Lake District Wildlife Park, Bassenthwaite, Keswick
Bus Service: X4
Bus Stop: Lake District Wildlife Park
With 100 species living in the 24-acre site there’s a lot of looking-after to do. So for £1 a bag (on top of the admission fee) children can feed alpacas, goats, zebus, donkeys and pigs – and follow an Easter trail to find a golden egg while they’re at it. Billed as “Easter Fun with the Animals” the event runs until April 14.
Florence Arts Centre, Egremont
Bus route: 22 & 30
Bus Stop:
It’s play days not grey days at the arts centre on April 16 and 17, with clay modelling, building outdoors, storytime, outdoor trails and drawing. Sessions cost from £3 per child, or £5 for activities such as ‘pet encounters’ and ceramic dog painting. Sessions run from 10.30am to 3.30pm.
Egremont Market Place & Red Lion Hotel (10 Minute walk)
Cockermouth Leisure Centre, Workington Leisure Centre and Copeland Pool in Whitehaven
Cockermouth: X4, X5 (Castlegate Drive bus stop) & 600 (Main Street bus stop)
Workington: All services to Workington Bus Station
Whitehaven: 30 (The Haven bus stop)
The children can swim for a tenner this Easter – 10p, that is. The top deal, subsidised by Cumberland Council, covers kids up to age 16. It’s not for all sessions, so you’ll need to call the pools to find out when it applies, but most days during the school holidays are covered.
South Cumbria
Dock Museum, North Road, Barrow
Bus route: 2 & 5
Bus stops: Dock Museum Hindpool,
Leg it to the Dock Museum and the kids can marvel at a thigh bone from a Cumbrian who lived in the area 10,000 years ago. Once they’re done with that they can learn about Barrow’s Vikings, its railway and shipbuilding industry, before burning off some energy in the playground. Open from Wednesday to Sunday each week. And the price for all this? Nothing. It’s free.
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, near Ulverston
Bus service: 6 & X6
Bus stop: Railway Crossroads
Young ones should be chuff chuff chuffed with a trip on a steam train through the Leven Valley. The heritage railway runs every day from April 5 through to November 2 between Haverthwaite and Ambleside – a 3.2 mile run that takes around 18 minutes. Or you could get off at Lakeside and connect with a steam boat cruise on Windermere. Child returns are £7 and under-threes ride for free.
Laurel & Hardy Museum, Ulverston
Bus route: 6, X6
Bus stop: Victoria Road
What’s that – your kids don’t know Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy? All the more reason to switch Bluey off the telly and march them down to the museum at the old Roxy cinema. Once Hollywood’s most famous comedy duo, Stan was born in Ulverston in 1890. And the children can sample the duo’s slapstick comedy on the cinema’s silver screen. Open every day, under 16s £3.50, adults £7.50.
Kendal Museum, Kendal
Bus route: All services to Kendal
Bus stop: Kendal Bus Station
Founded in 1796, the museum has had years to perfect its attractions for young visitors. So little ones can play with dressing up clothes, toys, games and a rocking horse, while older kids can follow trails through the galleries stuffed with collections of local and world natural history. Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm, admission for children is £2 and under-fives are free.
Dove Cottage, Grasmere
Bus route: 555 & 599
Bus stop: Dove Cottage
Children won’t want to hear chapter and verse about the lives of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, but they may like Dove Cottage’s traditional Easter egg hunt and rainbow trail. And if they’re still not convinced, tell them there’s a chocolate egg or fuzzy chick prize at the end. Open Tuesday to Saturday, children £8, under-sixes go free.
Allan Bank, Grasmere
Bus service: 555 & 599
Bus stop: Heaton Cooper Studio
If your youngsters go nuts for red squirrels, they might spot one or two in the grounds of this peaceful Georgian villa. Then for £3.50 they can follow an Easter trail with a chocolate egg and bunny ears gift at the end while you pour yourself a free hot drink. Admission is £4.25 for children, under-fives go free.
World of Beatrix Potter, Crag Brow, Bowness
Bus service: 6, 508, 555, 599 & 755
Bus stop: St Martin's Church / Bowness Pier
Though he’s been very busy helping the Easter Bunny, Peter Rabbit will be taking selfies with his young fans on Tuesday April 8, April 15 and April 16. Sessions of 20 minutes will be run from 10.30am to 4pm. There’s also biscuit decorating and sculpture painting for kids on other days.
Bus and boat ticket for Windermere
Bus service: 6, 505, 508, 516, 555, 599 & 755
Bus stop: Waterhead Pier / Brockhole / Windermere Jetty Museum & Bowness-on-Windermere
Enjoy a family adventure on Windermere, and explore it at your own pace. Stagecoach's bus and boat ticket whisks you on a fun-filled day. Cruise the sparkling waters on a scenic boat journey, taking in breathtaking views and fresh lake air. Hop on and off at charming Lakeside villages like Bowness and Ambleside. The ticket lets you get on and off at different piers, making it easy to find a perfect picnic spot or visit lakeside attractions.
Windermere Jetty Museum, Rayrigg Road, Bowness
Bus route: 508
Bus stop: Windermere Jetty Museum
The Jetty Museum is promising a ripping time for youngsters during its Easter card craft sessions with tissue paper, stamps and collage materials. On other days staff will run leaf and flower print workshops for children, plus there’s Easter eggs hidden around the museum. An annual admission pass for children is £6, under-fives go free.
Brockhole, Windermere
Bus service: 505, 516, 555 & 599
Bus stop: Brockhole gates
Children can see fair play in action at Brockhole this Easter – Taylors Funfair is running a ferris wheel and carousel. The visitor centre on the shores of Windermere is always a hit with active kids with its archery sessions, adventure playground and mini golf. Plus there’s the Great Golden Bunny to find in the grounds, and prizes to be won. Admission is free, Easter egg hunt is £5.