Soft play & indoor play in Manchester

Manchester's indoor play splits by age more than by postcode. For the under-fives the pick is Head Over Heels in Chorlton, a big purpose-built centre with a gated baby area, a sensory room and a role play village, where the term-time unlimited session is the ticket worth knowing about. Wacky Warehouse at the Barlow Croft pub in East Didsbury is the cheap one: £6 a child, adults free, free parking, and nobody pretending it is anything more than a frame and a ball pool.

Once they are five, it is trampolines. Flip Out in Openshaw, by the Etihad, is the biggest, with a ninja course, a climbing tower and £2 go-karts, and its Toddler Time at £8 for a child and an adult is the best-value ticket on this page. KICKair on Great Ducie Street is the city-centre one, and it has a free car park, which nobody expects that close to Victoria. Both make you buy their own grip socks, so the pair from last time stays at home.

Soft play & indoor play in Manchester

Wacky Warehouse at Barlow Croft

Manchester~35 min

★★★★☆3.6(496)

A pub soft play at Parrs Wood: slides, tunnels, ball pools and a separate tots area, £6 a child, adults free and free parking. Not glamorous, but cheap, easy and next to a coffee.

£6 a child, adults freeIndoorsAges 1-10

Flip Out Manchester

Manchester~45 min

★★★★☆3.9(1,131)

A big trampoline and adventure park in east Manchester with a soft play, a ninja course and £2 go-kart rides. Toddler Time is the bargain; a full-price weekend hour for a family of four is not.

From £10 an hour - book onlineIndoorsAges 2-14

Head Over Heels Chorlton

Manchester~30 min

★★★★★4.6(2,342)

A big indoor centre on a Chorlton trading estate: a gated area for nought to threes, a space themed sensory room with bubble tubes, a role play castle and village, an LED disco room, a music zone and a sports court.

£11.33 to £13.08 a child, adults £4.38 to £4.81IndoorsAges 0-8

KICKair Manchester

Manchester~40 min

★★★★★4.5(2,123)

A trampoline and ninja park on the edge of the city centre with its own soft play for under-5s and, unusually for town, a free car park. Grip socks are compulsory and cost £3.

From £12 an hourIndoorsAges 1-14

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.

Session priceIndoorsAges 4-8

Jellybeans Play Centre

Warrington~15 min

★★★★☆4.1(641)

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.

Session priceIndoorsAges 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)

Council-run indoor play and sensory space. Quieter than commercial soft play, which suits some days better.

Low costIndoorsAges 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