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.
Parks & outdoors Oldham
Parks & outdoors in Oldham
Playgrounds, country parks, woodland trails and nature reserves. Most of these cost nothing.
7 in Oldham7 free7 suit under-5s
Out-of-work cotton spinners built Alexandra Park's 72 acres, and it still has the lake, the duck pond, a cafe on the water and seven free tennis courts. The playground has a proper accessible section.
Chadderton Hall Park has a cafe and therefore toilets, on a flat site with parking and a sand pit in the play area. Tandle Hill is 110 acres of beech wood above Royton with a war memorial you can see Manchester from, and Dunwood sits 300 metres from a tram stop, so you can manage that one without a car.
Parks & outdoors 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.
Daisy Nook Country Park
Canal, lake and woodland in the Medlock Valley between Failsworth and Ashton, with a cafe, toilets and a sandy play area by the car park. The short walk goes through a 'dark tunnel', which is the whole selling point for a four year old.
Dove Stone Reservoir (RSPB)
A reservoir walk on the edge of the Peak District above Greenfield: 2.5 miles round the water with moorland crags on every side. Free to walk, pay to park, and no cafe, so bring the flask.
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.
Northern Roots
A brand new free eco park in Oldham, with a free play area (water play and a big sand pit), a café, a shop and an urban farm. The buildings and play area open Thursday to Sunday only, 9am to 4pm.
Tandle Hill Country Park
Beech wood and open grass above Royton, with a play area, an orienteering course and a hilltop war memorial you can see Manchester from. The car park is at the entrance and the toilets are shut until further notice.
Parks & outdoors elsewhere in the North West
Walton Hall & Gardens
The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.
Risley Moss
A raised peat bog nature reserve at Birchwood with woodland trails, bird hides and a visitor centre with toilets. Free, close and short enough for little legs, but closed on Fridays.
Sherdley Park
St Helens' biggest park. Play areas, open space and a walled garden, and it costs nothing.
Dream, Sutton Manor
A 20-metre white head rising out of a reclaimed colliery, with woodland trails around it. Genuinely strange and memorable for kids, and a short walk rather than a hike.
Sankey Valley Park
A green corridor of canal towpath and parkland running from St Helens down towards Warrington. Flat, traffic-free and ideal if the bikes or scooters are coming.
Speke Hall
A Tudor hall with woodland walks, a maze and a natural play area in the grounds. Free if you have National Trust membership, and the indoor house is a good rain fallback.
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.