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.
Nuttall Park
Bury, Greater Manchester
Nuttall Park is nearly eleven hectares of riverside parkland on the edge of Ramsbottom, opened in 1928 and holding a Green Flag every year since 2005. It is mostly level with good paths, so the pushchair is no trouble, and it has a children's play area, tennis courts, an outdoor gym, a football pitch and fishing in the River Irwell.
It is also on the Irwell Sculpture Trail, with an orienteering course and a National Cycle Route running through. The Friends of Nuttall Park run a tea room at weekends when volunteers allow. It is about 600 metres from the town centre on foot, which makes it the natural place to let everyone run about before or after the steam train.
What it costs: Free. Car park at the Nuttall Hall Road entrance.
Know before you go
- The volunteer tea room and toilets usually open at weekends, roughly 10am to 3pm, when there are volunteers to run them. Do not count on them midweek.
- Pair it with the East Lancashire Railway: the park is about 600 metres on foot from Ramsbottom town centre.
Looking for more parks & outdoors near Bury?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.6 across 1,124 Google reviews.
Read all 1,124 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso 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.
Little Luxe Soft Play
A small independent built around inclusive play, with a multi-sensory calming room off the main floor. The one to try if a big noisy centre has gone badly before.
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.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.