Fun filled day out on a budget.

So, the October half term decided to, very helpfully, fall the very week before I got paid.  It was my week off with the little man and I was keen to make it a fun one; though we were on a budget. 

One of our most memorable days out during the holidays was also one of the cheapest, I kid you not, and the little man still hasn’t stopped talking about it.

We had an actual full day of fun family adventure for under £20!

Our journey started at the Albert dock ferry terminal where we bought our tickets and were pleasantly surprised to find out that Mersey Travel were running a half term promotion. Three attractions for the price of one: Ferry ride, Spaceport and the U-boat Story.

We hopped aboard the ferry and sat outside on the top deck to listen to some fascinating facts about Liverpool.

Our first port of call was Seacombe Ferry Terminal for Spaceport. Spaceport was a two minute walk from the terminal and the helpful signs led the way. Once inside we went into a space pod and were blasted off into space to begin our adventure…

The first thing we saw was the solar system. The little man was excited to learn about the other planets and their habitats. He especially liked playing on the interactive games and finding out how much things would weight on different planets. 

We then travelled through the wormhole, deeper in to space to learn all about the Milky Way. We really enjoyed finding out about the life of stars and the little man was fascinated to discover that we can still see stars after they die. We loved looking at the constellations; it took us back to our holiday earlier this year when we travelled out to the desert to see them through a telescope and I was surprised by how much the little man remembered.

Up to the next level we entered the fantastic Wallace and Gromit in Space exhibition. We had a chance to play with more interactive learning games, including a gravity defying ball game that I still can’t fathom, and we made our own aliens!

Our journey in space concluded in the space dome, we learnt all about Chad the astronaut and his job in space. The staff in the space dome were very helpful and answered all of our questions about space. The little man has since been asking me about Chad and his space suit every night before bed.

Back to Seacombe to wait for the ferry and what better way to wait than in a coffee shop with (joy) a children’s play area.

We pulled up at ferry terminal number two, Woodside, to find that our next destination was within the terminal. TheU boat story is an exhibition about the U-534 German war boat which was sunk in 1945 after failing to surrender. It was very interesting to see the inside, thanks to the glass panels, of a real war boat and learn about life on board.

We were both fascinated to learn about this mysterious piece of history and the little man particularly enjoyed the interactive games. Especially, sinking his own battle ship using a combination of water and air! The little darlings at Woodside even announced when our ferry home was due.

Back on the ferry and Liverpool bound the only question left was when can we come back.

With the Spaceport’s Ben Ten exhibition only days away I have a feeling it might be soon!