Adventure & rides in Bury

Bury's three paid days out barely overlap. The East Lancashire Railway runs heritage steam and diesel trains on a 12 mile line from Heywood through Bury and Ramsbottom to Rawtenstall, and a Day Rover lets you hop off at any of the seven stations and catch the next train back. A family Day Rover is £62 online and £67 on the day, so book the night before. Themed family trains run through the autumn and at Christmas.

Arcade Club in Ela Mill is four floors of free-play arcade machines, pinball and consoles: pay once, £18 an adult and £10 a child with under 5s free, and every game is included. It opens Thursday to Sunday, and Friday evenings from 6pm are adults only. Hollywood Bowl at The Rock is the shorter outing, 24 lanes with bumpers, ramps and lighter balls for small children, three games from £10. Weekend mornings open at 9am, which helps when you have been up since six.

Adventure & rides in Bury

Hollywood Bowl Bury

Bury~40 min

★★★★☆4.1(1,169)

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.

3 games from £10, eat, drink and bowl from £8.50IndoorsAges 3-16

Arcade Club Bury

Bury~35 min

★★★★★4.8(5,778)

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.

Adults £18, children £10, under 5s freeIndoorsAges 5-15

East Lancashire Railway

Bury~40 min

★★★★★4.8(3,326)

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.

Family Day Rover £62 online, £67 on the dayAges 4-11

Adventure & rides elsewhere in the North West

Jungle Parc

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.5(10)

Treetop rope courses in the woods at Walton Hall Gardens. The Warrington site runs the Adventurer course, built for children from age 4 with a minimum height of 1.05m, with over 60 activities at different heights. Children £19; supervising adults walking below go free.

Children £19, supervising adults freeAges 4-11

Gulliver's World

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.0(9,643)

A theme park deliberately built for ages 2 to 13 rather than teenagers, so both of them can ride most of it. The classic full-day option on your doorstep.

Full day ticketAges 4-9

BeWILDerwood Cheshire

Malpas~45 min

★★★★★4.6(1,400)

The best age match of anything on this list. Reviewers put the sweet spot at 2 to 10 and say a 4-year-old can do essentially the whole park; the map colour-codes areas by age and puts mini zipwires beside the full-size ones. Budget four to six hours.

From £20.95; under 92cm freeAges 4-10

Zip World Manchester

Manchester~35 min

★★★★★4.7(752)

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.

Treetot Nets from £5, Treetop Nets from £25Ages 1-11

Legoland Discovery Centre

Trafford~25 min

★★★★☆4.0(4,657)

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.

Book online - walk-up costs moreIndoorsAges 4-9

The Snow Centre Manchester

Trafford~25 min

★★★★☆4.4(5,629)

Real snow all year round at the venue Manchester still calls Chill Factore. Over-fours get the Snow Park with sledging, Downhill Donuts and an ice slide at weekends and in the school holidays; older kids can learn to ski or board on the UK's longest indoor real snow slope.

Pay per sessionIndoorsAges 4-11