Burrs Country Park
Riverside country park on the Irwell with a playground, old mill remains and its own East Lancashire Railway station, so a heritage steam train can be part of the day rather than the whole of it.
Days out with the kids in Bury
14 places in Bury, Greater Manchester, 5 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
14 in Bury5 free8 indoor
Steam is Bury's thing. The East Lancashire Railway runs real steam trains between Bury, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall, with themed family days all summer - Peppa Pig, fairytale specials - and a day rover ticket that lets you hop off for lunch in Ramsbottom and catch the next train back. It is the rare heritage attraction where the transport is the day out rather than the thing you endure to reach it.
Burrs Country Park is the free half of the equation: riverside meadows, an activity centre and its own request stop on the railway line, so the two combine without touching the car. The town's Victorian market is worth a detour for black pudding you will eat and the children will refuse. Check the railway's events calendar before committing to a date - the themed days sell out, and an ordinary timetable day is cheaper and quieter anyway.
Places in Bury
Clarence Park
Twenty hectares, the biggest park in the borough, and the one Bury has actually spent money on: a concrete skate park went in for 180,000 pounds, and there is a playground, tennis, a cafe and a boating lido.
Nuttall Park
Ramsbottom's big riverside park, 600 metres on foot from the town centre, with a play area, tennis courts, sculpture trail pieces and a volunteer tea room at weekends. The free half of an East Lancashire Railway day.
Outwood Country Park
A hundred and twenty-five acres of woodland and meadow on the Irwell, with an old railway platform in the trees, a playground, free parking, a sculpture trail and roe deer if you are quiet. Radcliffe's free afternoon.
Whitehead Park
A mile out of Bury in Elton, with a play area, a youth zone for the ones who think they are too old for swings, a ball court, tennis and two free car parks. Green Flag since 2005.
Bury Transport Museum
A restored 1848 railway goods warehouse full of cars, buses, trucks and trains, just across the road from the East Lancashire Railway's Bolton Street station. Open whenever the railway's trains run, and free with a Day Rover.
Funtastic Play Centre
The long-standing Radcliffe centre, with a multi-tier frame, a proper toddler section and a home-cooked cafe. £5.50 a child on weekdays, and one adult per child gets in free.
Hollywood Bowl Bury
A 24-lane bowling alley inside The Rock with bumpers, ramps and lighter balls for small children. Eat, drink and bowl starts at £8.50, three games from £10, and weekend mornings open at 9am.
Imagination Bay Adventure Play
Beach-themed play in a converted mill: indoor sand, role play, a craft corner and a dance floor rather than the usual three-storey frame. Timed two-hour sessions and no walk-ins.
Jungle Mayhem
Radcliffe's jungle-themed centre: a four-lane slide, a ball pool with suction tubes, a sports zone and a disco room. Adults get in for nothing, which is rarer than it should be.
The Fusilier Museum
A family ticket is £9.95 and works as an annual pass, so the second visit costs nothing. Two galleries of uniforms, medals and soldiers' diaries in the middle of Bury, plus a shooting simulator.
Arcade Club Bury
Four floors of free-play arcade machines, pinball and consoles in an old mill in Bury: pay once to get in and every game is free. Open Thursday to Sunday, but Friday evenings from 6pm are adults only.
East Lancashire Railway
Heritage steam and diesel trains on a 12 mile line from Heywood through Bury and Ramsbottom to Rawtenstall. A Day Rover lets you hop off at any of the seven stations and catch the next one back, and there are themed family trains through the autumn and at Christmas.
Little Luxe Soft Play
A small independent built around inclusive play, with a multi-sensory calming room off the main floor. The one to try if a big noisy centre has gone badly before.
What’s on in Bury
12 dated events coming up, 3 of them this weekend.
Rhyme Time with Claire (Radcliffe Library service) (opens in a new tab)
New Life Church, Radcliffe · Bury
until 14 Dec. Mondays in term time, 10.30am
Radcliffe Library's Monday rhyme time carries on at New Life Church, 10.30am in term time, while the library is closed for its move into the new Radcliffe Hub. Cost is not stated on the council page.
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Rhyme and Chat Time at Bury Library (opens in a new tab)
Bury Library (enter by the ramp opposite the Job Centre, beside Textile Hall)
until 17 Dec. Thursdays in term time, 11.30am to 12.30pm
Free Rhyme and Chat Time at Bury Library on Thursdays in term time, 11.30am to 12.30pm, aimed at early speech and language. No booking. Use the ramp opposite the Job Centre and staff will let you in.
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Movers and Shakers: movement class for 1 to 5s (opens in a new tab)
The Box, The Met, Market Street, Bury BL9 0BW
until 16 Dec. Wednesdays, 1.30pm to 2.30pm, not 28 October
A movement class for 1 to 5s and their grown-ups at The Met in Bury, Wednesdays 1.30pm to 2.30pm until 16 December, with no session in half term. £4.50 a session. Good for burning off energy indoors.
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Bury Youth Dance (opens on The Met, Bury)
The Met · Bury
2 Nov to 14 Dec. Every Monday, 6.30pm
Runs on 7 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by The Met, Bury · collected 1 Nov
Home Educated Drama Workshop (opens on The Met, Bury)
The Met · Bury
4 Nov to 2 Dec. Every Wednesday, 12pm
Runs on 5 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by The Met, Bury · collected 1 Nov
Christmas Lights Switch-On Parade at The Rock (opens in a new tab)
The Rock shopping centre, 1 Goodall Street, Bury BL9 0JY
7 Nov. Saturday 7 November, meet from 4pm for a 4.15pm start
The Rock shopping centre in Bury holds its Christmas parade and lights switch-on on Saturday 7 November, meeting from 4pm for a 4.15pm start, with festive characters, local radio presenters and community acts.
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Everything on in Bury6 more not shown here
Also worth the drive
Not in Bury, but close enough for a day out.
Zip World Manchester
Treetop nets, high ropes and forest tubing in the woods of Heaton Park, and it is outdoors, not indoors. The cheap one is Treetot Nets: an hour bouncing on nets in the trees for ages 1 to 5, from £5, with a grown-up joining in.
Pennington Flash
A big lake with easy flat paths, bird hides and a decent play area. Free, close, and a good one for scooters and a picnic.
Science and Industry Museum
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
Manchester Museum
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
National Football Museum
Shirts, trophies and match footage across four gallery floors, with a penalty shootout and skills games that football-mad kids refuse to leave. If yours do not care about football, skip it: it is exactly what it says.
Imperial War Museum North
War told through people's stories in a building designed to feel like a shattered globe. The hourly Big Picture Show projections fill the whole gallery and stop everyone mid-step. Heavy themes, handled well, and better for the top end of primary.
RHS Garden Bridgewater
One of the biggest garden projects in Europe, and more fun for kids than a flower garden has any right to be: a huge walled kitchen garden, lake walks, and space to run that feels endless.
Legoland Discovery Centre
Two rides, a 4D cinema, build zones and Manchester's skyline done in miniature bricks. Squarely aimed at 3 to 10, and it knows it: adults can only visit with a child.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.