Zip World Manchester
Treetop nets, high ropes and forest tubing in the woods of Heaton Park, and it is outdoors, not indoors. The cheap one is Treetot Nets: an hour bouncing on nets in the trees for ages 1 to 5, from £5, with a grown-up joining in.
Manchester Aquatics Centre
- Cost
- Adults £6.85, juniors £4.05, under-5s free
- Ages
- 0 to 14
- Where
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book family sessions online through Better
A Commonwealth-standard 50m pool on Booth Street East, run by Better as a public leisure centre. It is the home of a national diving and swimming performance centre, which children find thrilling, but the pools that matter for families are the shallow one used for family swimming, the diving pool with its family splash area and the new interactive splash pad.
Book the family fun sessions (Family Fun Floats, Aqua Splash or Swim for All) to get the splash pad. Aqua Splash is an inflatable assault course laid out in the pool, £6.70 for juniors and £9.45 for adults; at Better's East Manchester pool it is for 8 and over with buoyancy aids for under 15s, so check the rule when you book here. A normal junior swim is £4.05 and under fives are free, but ratios are strict: one adult to two under 8s.
What it costs: Pay as you go: adult swim (16+) £6.85, junior swim (5 to 15) £4.05, under 5s free. Aqua Splash £9.45 for adults and £6.70 for juniors. MCRactive resident and concession rates are cheaper, and Manchester residents aged 16 and under swim free in Swim for All sessions in the school holidays and at selected term-time weekend sessions, with a free pay-as-you-go card.
Know before you go
- If you live in Manchester, get the free pay-as-you-go card: 16 and unders then swim free in Swim for All sessions in the school holidays and at selected term-time weekend sessions.
- The splash pad only runs during the family fun sessions, so book one of those rather than a general swim if that is what the small ones want.
Worth knowing: One competent adult (16+) can supervise up to two under 8s or non-swimmers. Aqua Splash is 8+ at Better's East Manchester pool; check the age rule when booking here.
Looking for more days out in Manchester?
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Also in Manchester
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One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.