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.
Lancaster Park & Animal Farm
- Cost
- £8.50 each, cash only
- Ages
- 1 to 8
- Where
- Oldham, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- No need to book - pay at the door in cash
Lancaster Park is a family-run farm in Chadderton, directly opposite Mills Hill station, and it feels like the farms most of us went to as children. Small-animal petting runs 10 till 12 and 1 till 3: rabbits, guinea pigs and, for the brave, fancy rats. Out on the nature walk you can feed the miniature donkeys, ponies, alpacas, chickens and peacocks, meet the sheep and pygmy goats, and there is a horse with a moustache called Mr Moustachio.
Entry is £8.50 each and under ones are free, but it is cash only, including for the extras: £2 a bag of animal feed, £2 for the Caterpillar barrel ride and £1 each for the digger corner, the pirate shooting gallery and the rooster rally. The giant tortoise gets a bath on Wednesdays and Saturdays and the small one on Sundays, which small children treat as a major event.
Opening is seasonal: every day in the school holidays and on bank holidays, Saturdays and Sundays in the autumn term (Fridays too from February to July), 9.30 to 4, and closed from Christmas Day to mid-February. There is a free car park, though spaces are limited, or come by train and step straight across the road.
What it costs: Admission £8.50 per adult and per child, babies under 12 months free. Optional extras: animal feed £2 a bag, Caterpillar ride £2, pirate shooting gallery, digger corner and rooster rally £1 each. Cash only on site. Special events (such as Halloween) are priced separately and booked online.
Know before you go
- Cash only. There is no card machine at the farm, and the rides, games and snacks are cash too.
- From September to December term time it opens Saturdays and Sundays only (Fridays as well from February to July), and every day in the school holidays and on bank holidays, 9.30am to 4pm. It closes from Christmas Day to mid-February.
Seasonal: Closed from Christmas Day to mid-February. Check before travelling.
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