Stockport Air Raid Shelters
A labyrinth of tunnels carved under the town centre that sheltered thousands in the Blitz, explored with a self-guided audio tour. Atmospheric in the best way for 7-and-ups.
Staircase House
Stockport, Greater Manchester
Opening hours are where this one catches people, so take them first: closed Monday and Tuesday, 10am to 5pm Wednesday and Thursday, midday to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 5pm Saturday, 11am to 4pm Sunday, closed on bank holidays, last admission an hour and fifteen minutes before the doors shut. It is an hour, not half a day, and it works best bolted onto the Air Raid Shelters round the corner.
The house itself is Stockport's oldest, on the Market Place, named after a rare Jacobean cage newel staircase that was painstakingly restored after fire damage. Stockport Council runs it and pitches it as a barrier free, hands-on journey through time, with rooms dressed to show how people lived from the 15th century through to the 20th. The pricing is the standout. Adults are £5.50, concessions £4.00, and everybody under 16 goes free, along with essential carers and holders of the Explorer pass, Leisure Key, Art Pass and Stockport Families Museums Pass. A family of four with two primary-age children therefore gets in for £11.
Know before you go
- Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and bank holidays, and Friday opening does not start until midday. Last admission is an hour and fifteen minutes before closing. Half the disappointed reviews are people who did not check.
- Under-16s are free, so if your five year old turns out not to be gripped by 17th century plasterwork you have lost £5.50 and twenty minutes. The Stockport Air Raid Shelters are five minutes' walk away in the same Market Place, which makes a proper wet-weather afternoon of the two.
Looking for more museums & science near Stockport?
Also in Stockport
Lyme Park
A proper deer park on the edge of the Peaks: 1,400 acres, a herd of red deer, the Crow Wood adventure playground, and the house from the BBC's Pride and Prejudice.
Reddish Vale Farm
A proper small farm park tucked into the Tame valley on Stockport's edge: cows, goats, shire horses and alpacas, zip wires outside and a play area under cover for when it rains. Book online, the gate price is higher.
Etherow Country Park
A big lake crowded with waterfowl, a flat path alongside it and a cafe where you left the car: the easiest small-child walk in the Stockport area. Entry is free, the car park is not.
Bramall Hall & Park
A black and white Tudor manor house sitting in around 60 acres of parkland with woods, brooks and lakes. The park costs nothing, under 16s go into the hall free, and all-day parking is £3.
Hat Works Museum
The UK's only museum of hats and hatting, back open after a four-year refurbishment. The galleries are free and you can try hats on; the Victorian factory floor is a £7.50 guided tour. An hour well spent, not a full day.