Quarry Bank Mill
A working cotton mill where the looms still clatter and the Apprentice House tells the children's side of the industrial revolution straight. A new Play Hub inside the mill and river walks outside round it off.
Oxygen Wilmslow
- Cost
- Open Play from £15.95 for an hour
- Ages
- 1 to 14
- Where
- Wilmslow & Styal, Cheshire
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book online
Oxygen Wilmslow is a big indoor activity park on Epsom Avenue in Handforth, on the retail and industrial estates by the A34. The main hall is about 65 linked trampolines, with a giant airbag to drop into, inflatables, a cardio wall and an interactive sports pitch with a bouncy floor and light-up targets for dodgeball and football. There are six climbing walls too, though those cost extra on top of a standard ticket.
Open Play is for age 4 and up and costs £15.95 for an hour, £20.45 for 90 minutes and £24.95 for two hours, booked online with a £1.50 fee. For younger children there are three storeys of soft play at £5.95 a toddler with parents free, and structured Toddler Play sessions on term-time weekday mornings. On Wednesday and Sunday evenings an SEN Peaceful Play session turns the music and lights down for £9.95 with a carer included.
In term time the weekday windows are short, 12:30 to 13:30 and then from 15:30, which suits the after-school run and little else. School holidays open from 10am. There is a cafe for the adults who are not bouncing. For two children an hour of jumping is over £30 before anyone has eaten, so the two hour ticket is worth it only if they have the legs.
What it costs: Online prices: Open Play (4+) £15.95 for 60 minutes, £20.45 for 90, £24.95 for 120. Open Play plus 30 minutes of the Climb Zone £21.95. Soft play (0 to 5) £5.95 per toddler, parents free. Toddler Play £13.95 for a parent and toddler, £6.95 per extra adult or toddler. SEN Peaceful Play £9.95 including a carer. A £1.50 booking fee is added online, and walk-in prices are a little higher.
Know before you go
- The site currently warns of reduced parking. At weekends use the free 150-space overflow car park at Brooke Court, Lower Meadow Road (SK9 3ND), a four minute walk away, and register your car on the iPad in the foyer if you park on site.
- Book online. Walk-in prices at reception are higher than the listed ones, and you still pay the £1.50 booking fee online.
- Term-time weekday Open Play only runs 12:30 to 13:30 and from 15:30, so a school-holiday morning is the time to go.
Worth knowing: Open Play is age 4+. Climbing walls cost extra.
Looking for more days out in Wilmslow & Styal?
Sending it to the group chat?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.3 across 669 Google reviews.
Read all 669 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Wilmslow & Styal
The Carrs Park
71 acres of riverside parkland on the edge of Wilmslow: play area, tennis courts, outdoor gym, and a flat path along the River Bollin that runs all the way to Quarry Bank at Styal. The best free walk-to-somewhere in this corner of Cheshire.
Lindow Common and Black Lake
Lowland heath on the western edge of Wilmslow, an SSSI and Local Nature Reserve with Black Lake in the middle. A surfaced path takes a pushchair round, which is unusual for a heath. No cafe, no toilet, no play equipment.
Head Over Heels Wilmslow
A big, polished play centre on the Stanley Green estate at Handforth with Safari Falls, an immersive jungle room, a large frame, a disco room and a separate under-threes village. Sister to the Chorlton one and priced like it, though the school-day unlimited ticket takes the sting out.
Alderley Edge (National Trust)
A red sandstone ridge with pine and beech woods, old mine workings and views to the Peak District. The Wizard's Wander is a 1 mile easy loop, there is a tea room by the car park, and walking is free. Parking is not.
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.