Quarry Bank Mill
A working cotton mill where the looms still clatter and the Apprentice House tells the children's side of the industrial revolution straight. A new Play Hub inside the mill and river walks outside round it off.
Head Over Heels Wilmslow
Wilmslow & Styal, Cheshire
Head Over Heels calls this branch Wilmslow, but it sits on the Stanley Green business estate at Handforth, with a Cheadle postcode. The centrepiece is Safari Falls, an immersive jungle room where children can ride Joey the Jeep, alongside a large frame of runs, crawls, slides and swings and a disco room. Electric cars for over-threes cost extra per ride.
Under-threes have their own enclosed area, strictly 0 to 3, with a mini frame, a roundabout, a music wall, a baby sensory room and the Village Green, a pretend street with a building site, Daisy Cottage, a library, the Twinkle Cafe, a dog groomer's and market stalls. Eva the Diva and Cuddles the Cat do songs on the toddler stage at 11am and 2pm on weekdays.
On school days it is £12.25 a child for an unlimited session, which is the time to go. Otherwise it is £14.95 to £16.95 for a child over four depending on the day, £5.25 to £5.75 per adult, with extra time charged by the quarter hour on the way out. Parents get a large family restaurant and the Cabana Deck booths overlooking the frame. Open daily, 9.30am to 6.30pm.
What it costs: School Day Special (unlimited session): players £12.25, 3 to 11 months £6.95, non-players £5.25, meal deal £17.95. Other times, depending on the day: players (under 1.55m) aged 4 and over £14.95 to £16.95, 1 to 3 years £13.95 to £15.95, 3 to 11 months £7.50 to £9.25, 0 to 2 months free; non-players (adults and anyone over 1.55m) £5.25 to £5.75. Meal and play deal £21.95 for a 2.5 hour session. Staying longer costs £1.25 per player per 15 minutes, paid on exit. Electric car rides £1.30 each. Cabanas £16.50 for 2.5 hours for up to 8 people, admission extra. Cashless, card only.
Know before you go
- Everyone on the frame and in the toddler area wears socks, adults included. Anyone over 1.55m, including a tall older sibling, cannot go on the frame or into the toddler area, not even to supervise.
- No outside food or drink, and it is card only. Bring a padlock if you want a locker, or buy one at reception for £5.
- Weekend and holiday lunchtimes are the busiest; the centre itself suggests early mornings or later in the day. At weekends there is an extra attendant-run car park on Commercial Avenue.
Worth knowing: Players must be under 1.55m; toddler area 0 to 3 only.
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The Carrs Park
71 acres of riverside parkland on the edge of Wilmslow: play area, tennis courts, outdoor gym, and a flat path along the River Bollin that runs all the way to Quarry Bank at Styal. The best free walk-to-somewhere in this corner of Cheshire.
Lindow Common and Black Lake
Lowland heath on the western edge of Wilmslow, an SSSI and Local Nature Reserve with Black Lake in the middle. A surfaced path takes a pushchair round, which is unusual for a heath. No cafe, no toilet, no play equipment.
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