East Lancashire Railway
Real steam trains between Bury, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall, with themed family days all summer - Peppa Pig, fairytale specials, the lot. The day rover means you can hop off for lunch and catch the next one back.
Little Luxe Soft Play
Bury, Greater Manchester
Started by two sisters on maternity leave, which explains the layout better than any brochure: seating where you can actually see the play, and a multi-sensory room for the moment it all gets too much. The pitch is inclusive play, and children with additional needs are the design brief rather than an afterthought.
It is small. If what you want is a three-storey frame and a sports court, go elsewhere. What it does instead is a calmer floor, room to hire privately, and staff who are used to children who find soft play hard.
Sessions are booked online with peak and off-peak options. Prices are not published on the site, which is the one thing about it that annoys me.
Know before you go
- The calming room is the reason to pick this over somewhere bigger. If your child needs to leave the noise for ten minutes, there is a room to leave it for.
- Peak and off-peak sessions are priced differently and neither figure is on the website, so check the booking page.
Looking for more soft play & indoor play near Bury?
Also in Bury
Burrs Country Park
Riverside country park on the Irwell with a playground, old mill remains and its own East Lancashire Railway station, so a heritage steam train can be part of the day rather than the whole of it.
Bury Transport Museum
A restored 1848 railway goods warehouse filled with buses, trams and hands-on exhibits, two minutes from the East Lancashire Railway's Bolton Street station. Weekend opening, and the natural rainy-day half of a steam train day.
Imagination Bay Adventure Play
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.
Jungle Mayhem
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.
Funtastic Play Centre
The long-standing Radcliffe centre, and the one that refuses to charge more at weekends or in the school holidays. Multi-tier frame, proper toddler section, home-cooked cafe.