Pure Imagination
A role play centre on Poynton's main road where a cafe sits next to an enchanted forest and a hospital next to an ocean. Ninety-minute sessions, £10 for an adult and a child, and coffee and cake within sight of the play.
Anson Engine Museum
- Cost
- Adults £8, under-13s free
- Ages
- 4 to 14
- Where
- Poynton, Cheshire
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Just turn up
Closed until spring. The closing steam weekend is 24 and 25 October. The 2026 season opened on 10 April. Check the official site before you set off.
The Anson sits on the site of the old Anson Colliery in Poynton and is run by volunteers, which shows in the good way: people who can tell you what an engine did, why it mattered and what happened to the company that built it. The collection is gas and oil engines, hundreds of them, plus the Doxford marine engine that has its own appeal fund, and a large model of Poynton that always draws a crowd.
Pricing is unusually kind. Adults are £8, or £10 on event days, children under 13 are free, and 13 to 16 year olds are £2.50. Parking is free. There is a tearoom for drinks and confectionery, a shop, disabled toilets, wheelchair access throughout, and a wheelchair or mobility scooter you can borrow if you phone ahead. They also hand out fun sheets, a quiz and brass rubbing, which buys you a decent stretch of adult attention span.
The season and the steam days are the two things to get right. It opens every Friday until 23 October, 10am to 4pm, and the last steam days of 2026 are the closing weekend, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. Earlier in the year the 19 July date was pulled because of roof replacement work. On a steam day the machines are running and the place is loud, hot and genuinely memorable. On a quiet Friday it is a room full of impressive metal that does not move.
What it costs: Adults £8 standard and £10 on event days. Children 13 to 16 are £2.50. Children under 13 are free. Friends of the Anson are free.
Know before you go
- Go on a steam day. On an ordinary Friday most of the collection is static; on a steam day the engines run, which is the entire difference between a good visit and a quiet one. The last ones this year are 24 and 25 October.
- Roof replacement work started early in 2026 and the museum warned of limited parking and fewer engines running, so ring before a Friday visit.
- Under-13s go free, which makes this one of the cheapest museum trips in the area for a family.
Seasonal: Fridays 10 April to 23 October, plus steam days. Check before travelling.
Looking for more days out in Poynton?
Sending it to the group chat?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.7 across 210 Google reviews.
Read all 210 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Poynton
Brookside Miniature Railway
A miniature railway with a ride of over half a mile around Brookside Garden Centre in Poynton, past a signal box, a fairy wood and the engine sheds. £2.50 a ride for anyone over 2, and Halloween and Christmas runs cost the same.
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.