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.
Parks & outdoors Sale
Parks & outdoors in Sale
Playgrounds, country parks, woodland trails and nature reserves. Most of these cost nothing.
3 in Sale3 free3 suit under-5s
A volunteer-run miniature railway at Walton Park carries passengers round a quarter mile of track for 30p a ride. Bring coins.
Walton also has two age-split playgrounds and a cafe that is a narrowboat on the canal, and Worthington Park five minutes from the Metrolink has a skate park and an outdoor gym but no cafe and nowhere to park. Woodheys is for the older ones: an 18-hole pitch and putt, seven days a week, clubs hired on the spot and no booking, with a playground restricted to under 7s.
Parks & outdoors in Sale
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.
Parks & outdoors elsewhere in the North West
Dinosaur Trail at Bents
A prehistoric trail winding through a garden centre, with interactive bits along the way. Under-2s free, and there's a café and indoor shelter if the weather turns.
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.
Free Summer in Warrington
Inflatables in Old Market Square every day, plus a rotating Wednesday programme across the parks and a Thursday session in Time Square. No tickets, no booking, just turn up.
Risley Moss
A peat bog nature reserve with woodland trails, a visitor centre and an observation tower the kids can climb. Free, close and short enough for little legs.
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.