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
- Cost
- £12.25 a child on school days, £14.95 to £16.95 at other times
- Ages
- 0 to 10
- Where
- Wilmslow & Styal, Cheshire
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book online, or pay on the door if there is space
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 you pick a session length, and a child over four is £14.95 for an hour and a half up to £16.95 for two and a half hours, with £5.25 to £5.75 per adult and 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 aged 1 and over £12.25, 3 to 11 months £6.95, 0 to 2 months free, non-players £5.25, meal deal £17.95. At other times the price depends on session length: players (under 1.55m) aged 4 and over £14.95 for 1.5 hours, £15.95 for 2 hours or £16.95 for 2.5 hours; 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
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Lindow Common and Black Lake
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Oxygen Wilmslow
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