Walton Park
Go on a Sunday. A volunteer-run miniature railway takes passengers round a quarter mile of track for 30p a ride, there are two age-split playgrounds, and the cafe is a narrowboat on the canal.
Days out with the kids in Sale
5 places in Sale, Greater Manchester, 4 of which cost nothing. Everything below is within easy reach if you live locally.
5 in Sale4 free2 indoor
Sale's three parks are all free, though two of them charge small change for the bit that makes them worth going to. Walton Park runs a miniature railway at 30p a ride and Woodheys hires out clubs for an 18-hole pitch and putt, seven days a week, no booking. Worthington, the Green Flag one by the Metrolink, costs nothing throughout and has two age-split playgrounds, but no cafe and no car park.
Places in Sale
Waterside Arts
Sale's arts centre, opposite Sale Metrolink stop, with free exhibitions, a cafe bar and a steady run of family theatre, including a Christmas musical this December.
Woodheys Park
An 18-hole pitch and putt open seven days a week, clubs hired on the spot, no booking. That is the reason to come. The playground here is under 7s only, so the golf is what occupies the older ones.
Worthington Park
Sale's Green Flag town park, a five minute walk from the Metrolink. Two age-split playgrounds, a skate park and an outdoor gym. No cafe and no car park, so it is a walk-in park.
Let Loose Play Centre, Stanley Square
Sale town centre's soft play, themed round the town itself: tackle a Sale Sharks player, surf on Sale Water Park. £3.50 a child with adults free, a separate sensory toddler frame and two hours' free parking in the multi-storey 100m away.
What’s on in Sale
6 dated events coming up.
Mr Popper's Penguins at Waterside Arts
Waterside Arts, Sale
5 Dec to 27 Dec. Public performances 5 to 27 December, times vary (weekday daytime shows from 30 November to 17 December are for schools)
The creators of the Father Christmas stage show return to Waterside with their penguin musical. An hour long and suitable for 3 and up, with prices up to £21.50 between 19 and 26 December and cheaper either side. The 11am show on Saturday 5 December is BSL interpreted and relaxed.
Written by us
ComedySportz Improvised Adult Panto (opens on Waterside Arts, Sale)
Waterside Arts · Sale
18 Dec. Friday 18 December, 8pm
Starts at 8pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Waterside Arts, Sale · collected 2 Nov
ComedySportz Improvised Panto - Juniors (opens on Waterside Arts, Sale)
Waterside Arts · Sale
18 Dec to 19 Dec. Every Friday and Saturday
Runs on 2 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Waterside Arts, Sale · collected 2 Nov
The Totally Improvised Pantomime (ComedySportz), Juniors
Waterside Arts · Sale
18 Dec to 19 Dec. Friday 18 December 6pm, Saturday 19 December 4.30pm and 6.30pm
The Totally Improvised Company make up a brand new panto on the spot from the audience's suggestions, at Waterside in Sale. Cheap tickets, and these shows sold out across the North West last year.
Written by us
ComedySportz Improvised Panto - Tots (opens on Waterside Arts, Sale)
Waterside Arts · Sale
19 Dec. Saturday 19 December, 2.30pm
Starts at 2.30pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Listed by Waterside Arts, Sale · collected 2 Nov
Robin Hood and His Merry Men panto at Waterside Arts
Waterside Arts, Sale
8 Jan to 17 Jan. Selected dates 8 to 17 January 2027, matinees at weekends
Sale Nomads' amateur family panto lands after the Christmas rush. Weekend matinees on the 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th, two tickets for £20 on the evening shows of 8, 13, 14 and 15 January, and a £58 family ticket for the rest. It runs two and a half hours with an interval, which the theatre itself says may be long for under-3s.
Written by us
Also worth the drive
Not in Sale, but close enough for a day out.
Zip World Manchester
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.
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 four gallery floors, with a 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, and 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.
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.