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Best theme parks and attractions near you
Fun days out around the country – according to our latest survey
We asked more than 2,000 fun-seekers about the best days out they’d had in the past two years – and the results were surprising.
Rollercoasters were conspicuous by their absence from our top 10. Some famous names appeared near the bottom of the table, while smaller quirky parks make the cut, alongside such big hitters as Harry Potter, Legoland (but not the Windsor megapark you’d expect) and Game of Thrones.
Following on from surveys of the best historic buildings, museums and galleries, gardens and wildlife attractions we’ve now, with the help of well over 2,000 day trippers who filled in our survey, compiled an unbeatable list of the best theme parks and other attractions.
Taken from that list, here are the highest rated amusement parks, tourist attractions and other fun days out around the country. Many of them are Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs).
North-west
Eureka! Science + Discovery, Merseyside, 85% WRP, £16.95
The north-west is lucky enough to have the highest rated attraction in the country – and one of the best in terms of value for money.
Eureka!, on the banks of the River Mersey, aims to inspire children about science with fun, interactive activities.
Contributors to our survey told us it was as educational as a museum, but more fun than many theme parks – without the long queues.
Scotland
Camera Obscura, 79% WRP, £24.95
The magic of the camera obscura, projecting an image of Edinburgh on to a table, has been wowing the crowds since the 19th century.
The addition of a hall of mirrors and interactive illusions has brought the Camera Obscura right into the 21st.
London
Warner Bros Studio Tour Harry Potter, 79% WRP, £58.50
All eight films in the epic series were shot here at the Warner Bros Studio Tour, just outside London. Fans can wander around the original Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the room-sized model of Hogwarts Castle used for all the exterior shots.
It’s not cheap, but visitors in our survey still gave it four stars for value for money.
Northern Ireland
Game of Thrones Studio Tour, County Down, 76% WRP, £20-25
The blockbuster fantasy series is still going strong here in the Northern Irish countryside, where you can walk around the original Winterfell and Castle Black sets. And while there is no dedicated House of Dragons exhibition, a new green screen Conquer the Skies dragon ride launched last year.
Inventive use of technology also means you can try out your archery skills against digital screens and become a White Walker using motion capture cameras.
South-east England
Paultons Park, Home of Peppa Pig World, Hampshire, 76% WRP, £46.75
The nine gentle rides at Peppa Pig World are the perfect introduction to theme parks for under-five-year-old fans of the ubiquitous Peppa.
Outside her pink-hued wonderland there are more adventurous rides, such as the Flight of the Pterosaur, which cater for kids all the way up to early teens and a range of other attractions, including a splash park and a zoo.
Midlands
Legoland Discovery Birmingham, 73% WRP, £26
If your child wants to visit the much more famous (and expensive) Legoland Windsor, perhaps convince them to travel to Birmingham instead (there is one in Manchester too).
Legoland Discovery may be much smaller, but the visitors in our survey gave it a much higher customer score. It’s cheaper, there are some fun rides, loads of Lego to build and, crucially, you won’t spend hours hanging around in queues.
North-east and Yorkshire
Jorvik Viking Centre, York 76%, £17.50
Ask any child what they remember about the Jorvik Viking Centre and they’ll mention the smells.
Visitors to this fascinating and spectacularly well-preserved archaeological site are taken on electric ‘time cars’ through a recreated Viking city. They’ll see animatronic figures bickering in Old Norse, amid streets that are exactly as they would have been 1,000 years ago.
Famously, visitors also get to experience the earthy aromas that, scientists assure us, the original inhabitants would have whiffed back then.
South West England
Crealy Theme Park & Resort, Devon 72%, £20.50
Crealy Park, just outside Exeter, was higher rated in our survey than Thorpe Park, Alton Towers or Chessington World of Adventures. It was also cheaper.
It has 60 rides and other attractions, as well as shows for children, a petting farm and a zoo with meercats, emus and wallabies.
Wales
Barry Island Pleasure Beach 61%, free (pay for rides)
The highest rated theme park in Wales didn’t do all that well in our survey. A score of 61% puts it near the bottom of the table, with a one-star rating for toilets telling its own story.
Adventurous families might want to seek out the Go Ape adventure at Margam Country Park, near Swansea. Go Ape got an outstanding customer score of 80% across all its locations.
In South Wales an excellent alternative is the St Fagans National Museum near Cardiff – one of the best museums in the UK .
See our full list of the best theme parks in the UK – including heavyweights such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventure, plus details of how we carried out our survey.
How we checked prices
In April 2026 we checked the standard adult online price for visiting on Sat 9 May 2026.
Other great UK days out
Across all five of our Days Out surveys 11,852 people, Which? members and members of the British public have now given us their views.
The result is an unbeatable list of the best days out in the UK.
The best museums and galleries
The best theme parks and other attractions