Soft play & indoor play in Crewe

Crewe's three soft plays each have their own hook. Funsters on Stalbridge Road has been going since 1997 and is built round a six-storey play frame its owners reckon is one of the tallest in Europe. It runs fixed sessions at £9.95 a child at weekends and in the holidays, with separate baby and toddler time in term. UA Play, the place formerly known as GTC, is in a converted warehouse near the town centre with its own car park: £8.95 a child at peak, from £6.95 in term time, and £1 for adults.

UA Play's term-time stay and play is open-ended, which suits a long wet afternoon, but it is closed on term-time Tuesdays. Playworld in Shavington, just south of Crewe, is family-run and themed as a trip round the world, with dinosaurs, space blasters, a Wembley pitch and the Great Wall. You can drop in on term-time weekdays, while weekends and holidays are booked two-hour sessions. Its prices are not published, so ask when you book.

Soft play & indoor play in Crewe

Funsters Crewe

Crewe~45 min

★★★★☆4.1(171)

A family-run play centre in Crewe since 1997, built round a six-storey play frame that the owners reckon is one of the tallest in Europe. Fixed sessions, fair prices, and a separate baby and toddler time in term.

£9.95 a child at weekends and in the holidaysIndoorsAges 1-12

UA Play Crewe

Crewe~40 min

★★★★☆4.2(418)

The soft play formerly known as GTC, in a converted warehouse near Crewe town centre, with its own car park, open-ended stay and play in term time and £1 adult entry. Closed on term-time Tuesdays.

£8.95 a child at peak, from £6.95 in term timeIndoorsAges 0-10

Playworld

Crewe~50 min

★★★★★4.5(379)

Family-run soft play in Shavington, just south of Crewe, themed as a trip round the world: dinosaurs, space blasters, a Wembley pitch and the Great Wall. Drop in on term-time weekdays; weekends and holidays are booked two hour sessions.

Price not listedIndoorsAges 0-10

Soft play & indoor play elsewhere in the North West

Giggles Play Mill

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(164)

Two-tier soft play frame, low climbing wall, pirate ship, crawl tubes and a bouncy slide, plus Messy Monday and sensory sessions during the week.

£6.75 a child, adults freeIndoorsAges 4-8

Jellybeans Play Centre

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.3(504)

Bigger than the average soft play: multi-level frame, a spooky room, an astro slide, a climbing wall, two mini bowling lanes and a slot racing track. The bowling is what makes it work when you have a toddler and a seven-year-old to keep happy at once.

£6 off-peak, £12 at weekends and half termsIndoorsAges 4-9

Fun2b

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(200)

Straightforward multi-level soft play with a café that adults can actually sit in. Nothing fancy, reliably works.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Tenpin Warrington

Warrington~10 min

★★★★☆4.2(1,663)

Soft play plus bowling under one roof, which solves the two-different-ages problem in a single trip. Ask for the barriers if anyone is under about six.

Per game / sessionIndoorsAges 4-11

Play & Sensory Centre

Warrington~10 min

★★★★★4.5(16)

A council-run play centre in Woolston built for disabled children and adults and anyone with additional needs, with a sea-themed soft play, a calm zone, a pre-school area and a full sensory room with a hoist. Sessions are booked in advance.

Price not listedIndoorsAges 4-8

Holiday Clubs (HAF)

St HelensIn town

★★★★★5.0(17)

Funded holiday clubs with food included, ages 4 to 18, for families on benefits-related free school meals. Worth a look even if you assume you won't qualify.

Free if eligibleIndoorsSchool holidaysAges 4-11