Alexandra Park
Oldham's Victorian showpiece, 72 acres built by out-of-work cotton spinners. Lake, duck pond, cafe on the water, seven free tennis courts and a playground with a proper accessible section.
Days out with the kids in Oldham
4 places in Oldham, Greater Manchester, 4 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
4 in Oldham4 free
Oldham has four parks on the site so far, all free to get into and all with free parking, which you cannot say for much of Greater Manchester. Alexandra Park is the Victorian one with the lake and the cafe, Tandle Hill is the beech wood above Royton, Chadderton Hall is flat and has toilets, and Dunwood is close enough to a tram stop to do without a car.
Places in Oldham
Chadderton Hall Park
The Chadderton park with the cafe, and therefore the toilets. Play area with a sand pit and accessible swings, free tennis, a river walk and ornamental gardens, all on a flat site with parking.
Dunwood Park
Small, tidy and 300 metres from a tram stop, which makes Dunwood the one you can do without a car. Playground, three tennis courts, a bowling green and free parking if you do drive.
Tandle Hill Country Park
110 acres of beech wood and open grass above Royton, with a play area, an orienteering course and a hilltop war memorial you can see Manchester from. Free car park, small.
What’s on in Oldham
56 dated events coming up, 18 of them this weekend.
Family Craft at Greenfield Library (opens on Oldham Libraries and Heritage)
Greenfield Library · Oldham
until 25 Aug. 3 dates, 2.30pm
Join us for family crafts at Greenfield Library.
Listed by Oldham Libraries and Heritage · collected 4 Aug
Bounce & rhyme at Chadderton Library and Wellbeing centre (opens on Oldham Libraries and Heritage)
Chadderton Library and Wellbeing Centre · Oldham
until 1 Dec. Every Tuesday, 1.30pm
Perfect for 0, 4’s explore songs, rhymes, stories and sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme sessions.
Listed by Oldham Libraries and Heritage · collected 4 Aug
Bounce and Rhyme (opens on Oldham Libraries and Heritage)
Royton Library · Oldham
until 1 Dec. Every Tuesday, 10am
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Listed by Oldham Libraries and Heritage · collected 4 Aug
Bounce and Rhyme (opens on Oldham Libraries and Heritage)
Uppermill library · Oldham
until 1 Dec. Every Tuesday and Thursday, 10am and 2pm
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Listed by Oldham Libraries and Heritage · collected 4 Aug
NHS Baby Clinic @ Chadderton Library and Wellbeing Centre (opens on Oldham Libraries and Heritage)
Chadderton Library and Wellbeing Centre · Oldham
until 1 Dec. Every Tuesday, 1.30pm
At baby clinic, families can discuss any health issues and have their child weighed and measured.
Listed by Oldham Libraries and Heritage · collected 4 Aug
Buzz by Colour the Clouds (opens on Oldham Libraries and Heritage)
Crompton Library · Oldham
5 Aug. Wednesday 5 August, 10.30am
Join us for this fun and interactive performance Betty is a beekeeper-in-training and is very excited to get started… but her bees have all disappeared!
Listed by Oldham Libraries and Heritage · collected 4 Aug
Everything on in Oldham50 more not shown here
Also worth the drive
Not in Oldham, but close enough for a day out.
Zip World Manchester
The cheapest real activity anyone is recommending this summer, and it's indoors. An hour of play for a fiver a head, with picnic benches for when you need to sit down.
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 six floors, with 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 - 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.