Hollingworth Lake
A flat, buggy-friendly lap of a reservoir with a good playground, rowing boats in season and ice cream at both ends. Simple, cheap and reliably works.
Planet Play
Rochdale, Greater Manchester
Planet Play is a soft play centre on Bradshaw Street in Heywood, and it is built on a large scale: three separate areas for toddlers, infants and juniors, plus a dedicated under 2s space. The juniors get a three tier frame with aerial runways, giant tube slides, a black hole spook room, rope bridges, scramble nets and a traversing wall.
Weekday mornings in term time are the toddler session, from £5 for a baby to £8.50 for a five year old, and you can stay until 2pm. After that, and at weekends and in the holidays, it is a 90 minute session at £8.50 on weekdays and £9 at weekends, with one adult free and £2 for any extra grown-up. Socks for everyone, and children over 4ft 9in are not allowed on the frame.
Auntie Gravity's Cafe does hot and cold snacks and meals. The car park is through the first gates on Bradshaw Street, and the centre's directions are worth reading because the obvious turn is the wrong one.
What it costs: Term-time weekday toddler session (9.30am to 2pm): under 12 months £5, 12 to 17 months £6, 18 months to 4 years £7.50, 5+ £8.50. Weekdays after 2pm (1.5 hour session) £8.50 per child. Weekends, bank and school holidays (1.5 hour session) £9 per child, under 12 months £5, 12 to 17 months £7. One adult free; additional non-playing adults or siblings £2. Extra play at management discretion £3 per half hour. Minimum card payment £5.
Know before you go
- Sessions after 2pm and at weekends are 90 minutes, so do not arrive with an hour to kill and expect to stretch it. Last admission is 4.30pm (3.30pm on Sundays).
- Drive in from Rochdale Road via Bradshaw Street between Aldi and the shop on the corner. There is no access from the Manchester Street end.
Worth knowing: Height limit 4ft 9in (1.45m).
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