Thirty-six hectares, nearly ninety acres, of riverside a mile out of Bury centre, built on the bones of an old mill settlement: the industrial remains are still there to poke around and give the walks a point. There is a playground, picnic tables, a caravan site, and the River Irwell doing the scenery. It has held a Green Flag since 2005 and entry and parking are both free, which is not a common combination.
The trick that lifts it above a standard country park is the railway. The East Lancashire Railway has a station here, so a heritage train, often steam, can carry you off to Ramsbottom or Bury Bolton Street mid-walk. Check the railway's running days before you go. The pairing of free park and paid train ride means the day costs exactly what you decide it will.
What it costs: Park and parking free. East Lancashire Railway train fares are separate.
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Heritage steam and diesel trains on a 12 mile line from Heywood through Bury and Ramsbottom to Rawtenstall. A Day Rover lets you hop off at any of the seven stations and catch the next one back, and there are themed family trains through the autumn and at Christmas.
A restored 1848 railway goods warehouse full of cars, buses, trucks and trains, just across the road from the East Lancashire Railway's Bolton Street station. Open whenever the railway's trains run, and free with a Day Rover.
Beach-themed play in a converted mill: indoor sand, role play, a craft corner and a dance floor rather than the usual three-storey frame. Timed two-hour sessions and no walk-ins.
A small independent built around inclusive play, with a multi-sensory calming room off the main floor. The one to try if a big noisy centre has gone badly before.
Radcliffe's jungle-themed centre: a four-lane slide, a ball pool with suction tubes, a sports zone and a disco room. Adults get in for nothing, which is rarer than it should be.
The long-standing Radcliffe centre, with a multi-tier frame, a proper toddler section and a home-cooked cafe. £5.50 a child on weekdays, and one adult per child gets in free.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.