Days Out Near Croydon With Children, Checked October 2026

For a day out with children near Croydon, most families start with Crystal Palace Park, where the dinosaurs, the playground and the farm are all free. Next come the free museums at Honeywood in Carshalton and the Clocktower in town, then a drive into Surrey for Bocketts Farm or the British Wildlife Centre. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own website on 28 October 2026.

We have not visited these places for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: prices, opening days, what there is for children and the house rules. Several places cut their opening days from November, so we give the winter pattern where the venue lists it. Prices and hours change, and school holidays get busy, so check before you set off.

In and next to the borough

Crystal Palace Park, on the Upper Norwood border

The park’s thirty Grade I-listed dinosaur sculptures stand on islands in the lower lake, and are free to see. The park’s regeneration finished in July 2026, which took them off Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. The dinosaur playground, opened by Bromley Council and the Crystal Palace Park Trust in March 2026, has a skeleton climbing frame, a footprint-shaped sandpit and accessible swings, slide and roundabout, with a Changing Places toilet nearby. The park farm is run by Capel Manor College and is free. It opens from 12pm to 3.30pm every day except Wednesday, and on bank holidays, Capel’s farm page says. The gates open by 7.30am, and there are toilets by the information centre near Penge Gate, according to Bromley Council’s record. Crystal Palace station is next to the park. Thicket Road, SE19 2GA. More from the park trust.

Historic Croydon Airport Visitor Centre, Purley Way

A volunteer-run museum, opened in 2000, inside Airport House, Britain’s first integrated airport terminal and control tower. It opens only on the first Sunday of each month, and visits are by guided tour. Book ahead: a tour of about 12 people takes roughly an hour, through the building and up into the control tower, and you are then free to look round the museum for up to 30 minutes. A one-off child ticket costs £2.50 plus a booking fee. On the day, places on a tour cost £11 if there is room. Parking is free, and Anita’s Kitchen in the building, rated 5 by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in February 2026, sells drinks and cakes. The next open day is Sunday 1 November. Airport House, Purley Way, CR0 0XZ. historiccroydonairport.org.uk

Museum of Croydon, Croydon Clocktower

The borough’s museum is free and, its visit page says, opens Wednesday to Saturday from 10am, not on bank holidays. The Special Exhibitions and Riesco galleries open 10am to 4.30pm. The current exhibition, Shaping Croydon: Architecture and Ambition, runs until July 2027. In the school holidays the museum runs craft clubs, the next being “Creepy crafts” on Friday 30 October from 11.30am to 1pm. A Model Railway Weekend runs on 20 and 21 November, 11am to 4pm. George Street tram stop is about an eight-minute walk, and East Croydon station half a mile. The nearest car parks are Fairfield (Barclay Road) and Surrey Street. Katharine Street, CR9 1ET. Call 020 8604 7501. museumofcroydon.com

A short trip out

Honeywood Museum, Carshalton

Sutton’s local museum is a Grade II-listed house overlooking Carshalton Ponds, with parts dating back to the mid-17th century and Victorian and Edwardian rooms added later, among them a billiard room and a Victorian scullery. The Friends of Honeywood site says it is free, “Families Welcome”, and open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. For children there is a Childhood Room with a collection of Edwardian toys, and a term-time Friday group for parents and babies up to 3. Millie’s Magical Spells and Potions Trail runs to 31 October (£2 on entry), and the Carshalton Frost Fair is on Saturday 5 December from 1pm. The tea room opens 10.15am to 3.45pm Monday to Wednesday and to 4.45pm Thursday to Sunday. Carshalton station is a short walk. Honeywood Walk, Carshalton, SM5 3NX. Call 020 8770 4297.

Whitehall Historic House, Cheam

Whitehall is a Grade II*-listed Tudor house in Cheam Village, built around 1500. Sutton Council owns and runs it, and it opened as a museum in 1978 after a local campaign, the council’s heritage page says. Entry is free. It opens Thursday and Friday, 10am to 4pm, and Saturday, 12pm to 4pm, and the council warns that hours “may occasionally vary”, so check its service updates first. A refurbishment funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund improved access, and free Sensory Sacks for visitors with special educational needs and disabilities can be borrowed from the front desk. The Beans and Bloom Coffee Shop in the building opens Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. Cheam station is nearby. 1 Malden Road, Cheam, SM3 8QD.

Horniman Museum and Gardens, Forest Hill

The museum and gardens are free. The aquarium (£2 to £16.80), the Butterfly House (£2 to £28.60) and Voyage to the Deep (£2 to £30) are paid, and booking ahead is recommended, the Horniman’s visit page says. Under-3s go free to the paid attractions but still need a booked time slot. The museum opens daily from 10am to 5.30pm, and the Butterfly House from 10.30am to 4pm. In the gardens there is the Kusuma Nature Play Area, with baby changing in the toilets nearby. The Nature Gallery and Nature Discovery Den are closed until 5 February 2027. Both bus stops outside are closed because of burst water mains, so walk up from Forest Hill station, five to ten minutes uphill; Forest Hill is on the Windrush line from West Croydon. There is no car park beyond a few Blue Badge spaces. 100 London Road, SE23 3PQ.

Down House, Downe

Charles Darwin lived and worked at Down House, and English Heritage runs it with its garden and grounds. Its prices and opening times say it opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, until 1 November. From 2 November to 20 December it opens on Saturdays and Sundays only. Over Christmas it opens on 27 and 28 December and from 1 to 3 January. Booked online the day before, a standard ticket is £17 for an adult, £8.50 for a child aged five to 17 and £42.50 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Off-peak weekdays are £15.38 and £7.65. On the gate it is £20 and £10. Under-5s and English Heritage members go free. Luxted Road, Downe, BR6 7JT. Call 01689 859119.

Farms and wildlife

Godstone Farm, Godstone

Godstone Farm is a children’s farm with animal handling, a reptile house, a dinosaur trail, bouncing pillows, an adventure playground, soft play and a sensory area, its own site says. Part of the outdoor playground is closed while equipment is upgraded, but the sandpits, swings, ziplines, jumping pillows and toboggan run stay open. It opens every day from 10am to 4.45pm except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Prices are the same for adults and children aged two to 16: £16.95 off-peak and £19.95 at peak times booked online, or £2 more on the day, its prices page says. A one-year-old is £8.50 off-peak online. There is a £2 booking fee on each order. Tilburstow Hill Road, Godstone, RH9 8LX.

British Wildlife Centre, Lingfield

The centre says it has more than forty native species, “from tiny harvest mice to magnificent red deer”, with keeper talks every half hour. It opens to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, and every day in state school holidays, but is closed to the public on term-time weekdays, its opening dates page says. From November to February it opens 10am to 4pm, with last entry an hour before closing. Winter tickets booked online by 10am on the day are £16 for an adult, £9 for a child aged 3 to 15 and £13.50 for over-65s; on the door they are £17.50, £10.50 and £15. Under-3s and essential carers go free, the prices page says. It opens daily from 19 December to 3 January, except 24 to 26 December, and says it is accessible by wheelchair. Eastbourne Road, Newchapel, Lingfield, RH7 6LF. Call 01342 834658.

Bocketts Farm, Fetcham

A family-run working farm near Leatherhead, with animals, tractor rides, pig racing and play areas indoors and out. It says it opens every day of the year, 10am to 5pm, and recommends booking online. On standard days an adult is £19.50 and a child aged 3 to 17 £21.50, falling to £16.50 and £17.50 off-peak; a two-year-old is £18.50, a one-year-old £7.50 and under-1s are free, with a £1 booking fee online. Most November weekdays carry a separate winter weekday rate, shown on the booking calendar. From 2 November to 15 December, an after-school ticket from 2.30pm on term-time weekdays is £7.50. Extras such as pony rides (£3.50) and tractor rides (£2) are paid on the day. Father Christmas is in his grotto from 20 November to 24 December, with separate tickets. Young Street, Fetcham, KT22 9BS. Prices and opening times.

Hills and big houses in the Surrey Hills and Kent

Box Hill, Tadworth

The National Trust calls Box Hill “the perfect place to discover a family walk” on the North Downs, with views over the surrounding countryside and wildlife including the Adonis blue butterfly. The countryside is free and open dawn to dusk, and the Trust’s walks can be downloaded or collected on site. The Trust’s opening calendar shows the café open 10am to 4pm from 1 November, and the servery 8am to 4pm. Fires, barbecues, overnight parking and camping are not allowed. The Trust lists Box Hill as family-friendly, with disabled access, cycling and dog walking. Check parking on the Trust’s Box Hill page before you go. The Old Fort, Box Hill Road, Tadworth, KT20 7LB. Call 01306 885502.

Polesden Lacey, near Dorking

An Edwardian house and gardens on a 1,600-acre estate that the National Trust describes as having “plenty of room to play”. Admission is £18 for an adult and £9 for a child aged 5 to 17, or £45 for a family of two adults and up to three children; under-5s go free. You do not need to book. Non-members pay £5 all day to park. The garden opens 10am to 4pm. Only the ground floor of the house is open this year, and the Trust’s calendar shows the house closed from 2 November until 21 November, when the Christmas season starts. The café serves hot food from 12pm to 3pm. Members must bring their physical card. Great Bookham, near Dorking, RH5 6BD. Call 01372 452048. Polesden Lacey.

Chartwell, Westerham

Chartwell was Winston Churchill’s family home, and the National Trust runs it. Its Chartwell page lists play areas in the woodland with a two-storey treehouse, swings, climbing and balance beams. The garden and studio ticket is £17 for an adult and £8.50 for a child aged five to 17. With the house it is £24 and £12. Under-5s and members go free. The house needs a timed ticket, and the rest can be bought on the day at the visitor centre. Parking is £6 a car. Dogs on short leads are welcome in the garden. On 28 October the garden opened 10am to 4pm. Christmas events run from 19 November to 3 January. Mapleton Road, Westerham, TN16 1PS.

How we chose

These are the days out Croydon families search for. We chose them on the public record, not on taste. Each one had to publish its own prices, opening days and what there is for children, and each had to be open now. Places run by the National Trust, English Heritage, Sutton Council and Croydon Council were checked on those bodies’ own pages. National Trust prices and hours come from the Trust’s published place data. The one food hygiene rating quoted is from the Food Standards Agency register. Shirley Windmill is not here because its open days run from June to October; it is in our things to do in Croydon guide. Prices and hours are as published on 28 October 2026.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@croydontoday.co.uk.

For rainy days, see our guide to soft play near Croydon. For more, see Croydon playgrounds, walks near Croydon, Croydon cafes, things to do in Croydon and what’s on in Croydon this month, and the businesses in our Croydon business directory.

Frequently asked questions

What free days out are there near Croydon for children?

Crystal Palace Park is free, including the dinosaur sculptures, the dinosaur playground and the park farm, which opens from 12pm to 3.30pm every day except Wednesday. The Museum of Croydon in the Clocktower is free from Wednesday to Saturday. In Sutton, Honeywood Museum in Carshalton (Thursday to Saturday) and Whitehall in Cheam (Thursday to Saturday) are free, and so are the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill and the National Trust countryside at Box Hill.

Which days out near Croydon are open on winter weekdays?

Bocketts Farm near Leatherhead and Godstone Farm open every day, and so do the Horniman Museum, Crystal Palace Park and Box Hill. The Polesden Lacey garden opens daily, though its house shuts from 2 to 20 November. The British Wildlife Centre at Lingfield is closed to the public on term-time weekdays and opens at weekends and in state school holidays. From 2 November Down House opens only at weekends until 20 December.

When is Croydon Airport visitor centre open?

The Historic Croydon Airport visitor centre in Airport House on Purley Way opens on the first Sunday of each month, by guided tour. Tours should be booked ahead; the next open day is Sunday 1 November.