Days Out Near Chichester With Children, Checked October 2026

The days out most Chichester families plan around are the Weald & Downland Living Museum at Singleton, Fishbourne Roman Palace, WWT Arundel and, a little further north, Fishers Farm Park. For a cheaper day, West Dean Gardens lets under-16s in free. Every entry checked against the venue’s own site on 29 October 2026, including winter hours.

We have not visited these places to test them, and this is not a ranking. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: prices, opening hours, age rules, dogs and parking, with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating for the café where we could match one. Prices are the standard price without the optional Gift Aid donation unless we say otherwise. Several places switch to winter hours or close for the season in the next few days, so the closing dates are in each entry.

In and around Chichester

Weald & Downland Living Museum, Singleton

An open-air museum of historic buildings rescued from across the south east and rebuilt in the Downs, with working craft demonstrations: the museum lists “blacksmithing, milling, spinning, Tudor cooking and more”. Adults £18.75, children 5 to 17 £9.75, under-5s free; families £51 (two adults and three children) or £33 (one adult and three children). Universal Credit tickets are £5 an adult and £1 a child, and Blue Light and Carer Card holders get 15% off. Winter hours run from 27 October to 29 March: 10am to 4pm, last admission 2pm, closed 23 December to 2 January. Dogs are welcome on a short lead. One car park is free for everyone, about 400 yards from the shop. The café holds an FSA hygiene rating of 5 (January 2025). Town Lane, Singleton, PO18 0EU. Opening times and tickets.

West Dean Gardens, West Dean

The restored gardens of the West Dean estate, with Victorian glasshouses, a walled kitchen garden, a 100-metre Edwardian pergola and the 49-acre St Roche’s Arboretum, plus what the gardens call “the occasional surreal fibreglass tree”. Children under 16 go free. Adults pay £13.75 to the end of October and £7.95 from November to February, when the gardens open 9am to 4pm daily, last entry an hour before closing; closed 24, 25 and 31 December. An autumn explorer trail runs to 1 November at £1 a child, and Bonfire Night on Friday 6 November is £6. Free parking; the Gardens Kitchen restaurant takes cards only. Sat nav postcode PO18 0RX. Opening times and admission.

Fishbourne Roman Palace, Fishbourne

The Sussex Archaeological Society’s site, which it calls “the largest Roman home in Britain”, with the largest collection of mosaics still in place in the UK and recreated Roman gardens. Adults £15, children 5 to 17 £7.50, under-5s free; families £42 (two adults and up to four children) or £28 (one adult and up to three). Open daily 10am to 4.30pm until 1 November, then 10am to 3pm from 2 November to 6 December, last admission an hour before closing. Free parking, and Fishbourne station is a five to ten minute walk. The Roman Kitchen café holds an FSA hygiene rating of 5 (August 2026). Roman Way, PO19 3QR. Fishbourne Roman Palace.

Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Tangmere

A museum on the former RAF Tangmere airfield, with aircraft, cockpit sections and flight simulators in its halls. Adults £15, children 5 to 16 £7, under-5s free; family tickets £37 (two adults, two children) or £24 (one adult, two children). Carers come free with suitable ID, and children must be with an adult. The museum says it is currently open every day from 10am to 5pm. The Cockpit Cafe holds an FSA hygiene rating of 5 (April 2026). Gamecock Terrace, Tangmere, PO20 2ES. Tickets and visiting.

Stansted Park, Rowlands Castle

A 2,000-acre estate of ancient forest and parkland just over the Hampshire border, run by a charitable foundation. There is no entry fee for the estate and parking is free. The light railway runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am to 3.30pm, weather permitting, at £3.50 for adults and £2.50 for children (under-3s free). The yew maze, with giant games and three holes of mini golf at £2.50 a person, closes for the season after the October half term and reopens on Mothering Sunday; the house is open Easter to September. The Pavilion Tearoom is open daily 9am to 5pm and holds an FSA hygiene rating of 5 (August 2026). Main car park postcode PO9 6DU. Visit Stansted Park.

Arundel and the Arun valley

WWT Arundel Wetland Centre, Arundel

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s wetland centre at Arundel, with reedbed trails, the Pelican Cove and Coastal Creek aviaries, adventure play areas and pond dipping. Keeper talks run daily at noon in Coastal Creek and 2pm in Pelican Cove. Booked online the day before: adults £14.63, juniors 3 to 17 £9.36, family (two adults, two children) £40.77; on the day it is £16.25, £10.40 and £45.30. Under-3s and carers assisting disabled visitors go free. Open 10am to 4.30pm every day except Christmas Day, last admission an hour before closing. Mill Road, Arundel, BN18 9PB. Tickets.

Arundel Castle and Gardens, Arundel

A castle begun in 1067, with a Norman keep and medieval gatehouse, rebuilt in Gothic style in the late Victorian era, and gardens that won the Historic Houses Garden of the Year award in November 2025. Castle and gardens: adults £29, children 5 to 16 £13, family (two adults and two or three children) £71, booked through the castle’s own ticket site; child tickets can only be bought with an adult. The 2026 season ends on Sunday 1 November, and the castle closes until spring. In season it is closed on Mondays except bank holidays and August, with last admission at 4pm. Arundel Castle Enterprises, the castle’s registered food business, holds an FSA hygiene rating of 5 (July 2024). Arundel, BN18 9AB. Opening times and prices.

Amberley Museum, Amberley

A museum of the South’s working past in a former quarry and limeworks, with over 40 exhibit areas including a narrow-gauge railway, historic buses and rural crafts, and volunteers on hand to demonstrate. Adults £19.50, children 5 to 17 £9.50, under-5s free; families £35 (one adult and up to three children) or £50 (two adults and up to three). Train travellers with a National Rail Days Out Guide voucher get two for one. The main season ends on 1 November; from 4 November to 20 December it opens Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 4pm. Booking is preferred at weekends. New Barn Road, Amberley, BN18 9LT. Plan your visit.

Further afield

Petworth House and Park, Petworth

The National Trust’s 17th-century house, with paintings by Van Dyck, Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough, the historic kitchens in the servants’ quarters, and a 700-acre deer park landscaped by Capability Brown. Admission is £21 an adult and £10.50 a child to 31 October, then £15 and £7.50 from 1 to 27 November, with a family ticket of £37.50 in November; under-5s and National Trust members go free. From November the house is open 10.30am to 3.30pm; the deer park is open until 6pm. Non-members pay £4 for the main car park, which is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the house. The Audit Room restaurant holds an FSA hygiene rating of 5 (May 2026). Petworth, GU28 9LR. Petworth on the National Trust site.

Fishers Farm Park, Wisborough Green

A family-run farm park with animals, tractor rides, outdoor rides, a castle, a maze, indoor soft play and theatre shows, which it says is “best suited to ages 0-12”. It is open 10am to 5pm every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Admission is charged from age 3 to 59, with a lower rate for 2-year-olds and over-60s, and under-2s free; the farm says booking online is cheaper and guarantees entry, with limited full-price tickets on the door. Some rides, including pony rides and mini tractors, take £1 tokens on top. The park is cashless, dogs are not allowed except assistance dogs, and parking is free. Newpound Lane, Wisborough Green, RH14 0EG. Plan your visit.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth

The naval dockyard museum site with HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose Museum, the Royal Marines Experience and HMS M.33, plus the submarine and Explosion museums across the harbour at Gosport. A one ship or museum day ticket is £36 for adults and £26 for children 3 to 15; the Ultimate Experience annual ticket, covering every attraction for 12 months, is £51 an adult, £36 a child, or £120 for two adults and up to three children. The dockyard says there are no booking fees. From November the site closes at 5pm, last entry 4pm. Victory Gate, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, PO1 3LJ. Tickets and prices.

How we chose

These are the days out Chichester families search for, chosen from what the venues publish, not on taste. We included the attractions within about 45 minutes’ drive that publish current prices and opening hours on their own websites, and favoured independent museums and charities. We left out places that are closed for the winter as of this week: Bignor Roman Villa’s 2026 season ends on 31 October, Uppark is closed until its Christmas opening on 6 December, and Chichester Harbour Water Tours runs harbour and seal trips only until the end of October. Earnley Butterflies, Birds and Beasts says on its website that it is closed until further notice. Prices, hours and rules come from each venue’s own pages, the National Trust’s figures from its official listings, and hygiene ratings from the Food Standards Agency; everything was checked on 29 October 2026. Winter hours change, so check before you set off.

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

For wet days, see soft play and rainy-day places near Chichester; for outdoor play and walking, Chichester playgrounds and walks near Chichester; and for somewhere to eat, Chichester cafes, Sunday roast in Chichester and Chichester restaurants. For more ideas, see things to do in Chichester and what’s on in Chichester this month, or browse local businesses in Chichester in our directory.

Frequently asked questions

What is free to do with children near Chichester?

West Dean Gardens lets children under 16 in free (adults £13.75 to the end of October, £7.95 from November to February). Stansted Park charges nothing to enter the estate and parking is free, though its light railway costs £3.50 for adults and £2.50 for children.

Which days out near Chichester are open in winter?

The Weald & Downland Living Museum, WWT Arundel, Fishers Farm Park, Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, West Dean Gardens and Petworth all stay open through the winter, mostly with shorter hours. Fishbourne Roman Palace is open daily until 6 December. Amberley Museum opens Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 4 November to 20 December. Arundel Castle’s 2026 season ends on Sunday 1 November.

How much is the Weald & Downland Living Museum?

Adults £18.75, children aged 5 to 17 £9.75 and under-5s free. A family ticket is £51 for two adults and three children or £33 for one adult and three children. Universal Credit tickets are £5 for adults and £1 for children. From 27 October the museum is open 10am to 4pm with last admission at 2pm.