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.
Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester
- Cost
- Adults £7.50, under 16s free
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Where
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Just turn up
An old Manchester bus garage that never really stopped being one: the collection runs to around 80 buses, coaches and trams, with 70 or so on site, one of the largest collections of its kind in the UK. It is run entirely by volunteers from the Greater Manchester Transport Society, and their enthusiasm is half the exhibit.
The pricing is unusually kind for a family. Adults pay £7.50 and accompanied under 16s go free, so two adults and three bus-mad children costs £15. There is a tea room and a shop, and themed event days through the year add heritage bus rides on the old vehicles. The catch is the calendar: Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays only, 10am to 4.30pm.
For a vehicle-obsessed 4-year-old or a primary schooler who wants to know how everything works, two hours goes easily. It is a working, slightly oily sort of museum rather than a polished interactive one, which is exactly its charm.
What it costs: Adults £7.50, students £6, accompanied under 16s free. Different charges can apply on event days.
Know before you go
- Check the day before you go: it only opens Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, 10am to 4.30pm, and closes over Christmas and New Year.
- Event days bring heritage bus rides and extra activity, but also different admission prices and some vehicles moved off display, so read the events page first.
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