Alexandra Park
Oldham's Victorian showpiece, 72 acres built by out-of-work cotton spinners. Lake, duck pond, cafe on the water, seven free tennis courts and a playground with a proper accessible section.
Dove Stone Reservoir (RSPB)
Oldham, Greater Manchester
Dove Stone is the reservoir under the Saddleworth moors at Greenfield, run as a nature reserve by the RSPB. The main trail is a 2.5 mile loop round the water, part tarmac and part gravel, fairly level but with two steep bits. That makes it manageable for a five year old on foot and doable with a sturdy pushchair if you are ready to push.
It costs nothing to walk, but parking is £1.80 for two hours, £3 for up to four and £6 beyond that unless you are an RSPB member. The main car park is just outside Greenfield with 117 spaces, and there is a smaller one at Binn Green. Toilets are open 8am to 5.15pm Monday to Saturday and 8am to 4pm on Sundays.
Older walkers can carry on 1.5 miles up to Chew Reservoir, which is where it starts to feel like proper moorland. Take layers: the weather up here is a different thing from Oldham town centre.
What it costs: Entry is free. Non-member parking is £1.80 up to 2 hours, £3.00 up to 4 hours and £6.00 over 4 hours; RSPB members and Blue Badge holders park free. Payment is by Pay-by-Phone.
Know before you go
- The main car park has 117 spaces plus four Blue Badge bays, and the only other RSPB car park is the smaller one at Binn Green off the A635, where the toilets are permanently closed. Weekday mornings are the easy option.
- There is no cafe and no baby change on site, so pack food and change the baby before you leave home. Barbecues and fires are banned outright, and the RSPB was warning of high wildfire risk and unstable moorland paths when we checked.
Looking for more parks & outdoors near Oldham?
Also in Oldham
Tandle Hill Country Park
110 acres of beech wood and open grass above Royton, with a play area, an orienteering course and a hilltop war memorial you can see Manchester from. Free car park, small.
Chadderton Hall Park
The Chadderton park with the cafe, and therefore the toilets. Play area with a sand pit and accessible swings, free tennis, a river walk and ornamental gardens, all on a flat site with parking.
Dunwood Park
Small, tidy and 300 metres from a tram stop, which makes Dunwood the one you can do without a car. Playground, three tennis courts, a bowling green and free parking if you do drive.
Daisy Nook Country Park
Canal, lake and woodland in the Medlock Valley between Failsworth and Ashton, with a cafe, toilets and a sandy play area by the car park. The short walk goes through a 'dark tunnel', which is the whole selling point for a four year old.
Gallery Oldham
Oldham's free museum and gallery, now with Our Beautiful Oldham, a hands-on nature gallery built with local early years families. Two minutes from the tram, closed Sundays, Mondays and bank holidays.
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.