Soft play & indoor play Salford
Somewhere dry when the forecast falls apart. Frames, ball pits, sensory rooms and bowling.
Salford's indoor play splits between Swinton and the Quays. Bounce Central in Swinton has more than 65 trampolines, a dinosaur-themed soft play and a two-hour toddler session with food included; it does not list entry prices, and grip socks are £2.50. Playkidds on Moorside Road, also in Swinton, is the independent one, going for more than ten years, with over-3s at £7 on term-time weekdays and £8 at weekends. It is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays in term time.
Oxygen at MediaCity, inside the Lowry Outlet, is the big trampoline park: an airbag, an inflatable zone, high ropes and an indoor zip ride, plus toddler sessions. An hour of Open Play is £15.95, dropping to £10 on term-time Tuesday to Thursday afternoons, which is the slot to aim for if you can make it.
An independent soft play on Moorside Road in Swinton, going for more than ten years and run by a team who also do a wraparound school club. Over-3s are £7 on term-time weekdays and £8 at weekends, but it is shut Mondays and Tuesdays in term time.
Trampoline park in the Lowry Outlet with an airbag, inflatable zone, high ropes and an indoor zip ride, plus toddler sessions. An hour of Open Play is £15.95, or £10 on term-time Tuesday to Thursday afternoons.
A Swinton trampoline park with more than 65 trampolines, a dinosaur-themed soft play and a two-hour toddler session with food included. Grip socks £2.50.
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.
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.
Straightforward multi-level soft play with a café that adults can actually sit in. Nothing fancy, reliably works.
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.
A council-run play centre in Woolston built for disabled children and adults and anyone with additional needs, with a sea-themed soft play, a calm zone, a pre-school area and a full sensory room with a hoist. Sessions are booked in advance.
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.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.