Cockfields Farm Park
A big family-run farm park on the Ashton and Oldham border: feed the cows, alpacas and goats, hold the rabbits, then lose an hour on the jumping pillow. Card only, and from October most days are ticketed events.
Adventure Medlock
Ashton-under-Lyne & Tameside, Greater Manchester
Adventure Medlock is the climbing and adventure side of Active Medlock, a Tameside leisure centre in Droylsden. Under one roof there is Clip 'n Climb, a 54 metre indoor cave you slide, crawl and twist through in the dark, a bouldering course, a 35 metre high ropes course that hangs from the ceiling and moves as you move, and a soft play frame for the smaller ones.
Prices are council-leisure rather than theme-park: caving or high ropes is £7 a head, or £21.01 for a family, and an hour of Clip 'n Climb is £13.47 each. Caving needs children to be at least 1m tall and high ropes 1.2m. There are cameras in the cave feeding a screen outside, so the parent who will not fit through the tunnels can still watch.
Check the timetable. In term time the adventure activities run Friday teatime and weekends only, so this is a Saturday or holiday trip. Arrive half an hour early for inductions, and the Fuel Cafe is next to the viewing area.
What it costs: Caving and bouldering £7 per person, family £21.01. High ropes £7 per person for an hour, family £21.01. Clip 'n Climb £13.47 per person for an hour, family (2 adults, 2 juniors) £43.58; Leap of Faith or Vertical Drop Slide £2.73 extra per go. Soft play: under 1 £1.37, 1 to 3 years £4.81, 4 to 12 years £6.23, accompanying adult free.
Know before you go
- In term time the climbing, caving and high ropes only run Friday 4pm to 6pm and weekends 10am to 5pm. Monday to Thursday sessions are school holidays only.
- Arrive 30 minutes before a Clip 'n Climb or high ropes slot for the induction. Miss it and you can be turned away without a refund.
Worth knowing: Activities from age 4. Caving needs 1m, high ropes 1.2m.
Looking for more days out in Ashton-under-Lyne & Tameside?
Also in Ashton-under-Lyne & Tameside
Hyde Leisure Pool
Tameside's fun pool, with a wave machine, a wild water rapids ride, bubble beds and the Red Ripster slide. Only open for fun sessions on Thursday and Friday evenings and at weekends, and they sell out.
Portland Basin Museum
Tameside's free canal-side museum, with a walk-through 1920s street and a play zone for under fives. Closed Mondays, open bank holidays.
Stamford Park, Stalybridge
Tameside's all-rounder on the Ashton and Stalybridge border: a big sandpit playground, summer water fountains, a boating lake, a miniature train, crazy golf and an aviary. Free to get in, pocket money for the extras.
Werneth Low Country Park
A 200 acre hilltop above Hyde with views across Manchester to the Welsh mountains on a clear day, and a proper hill for a kite. Very little else, and that is the point.
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.