
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.

TeamSport's Victoria track sits under the Manchester Arena car park, a 550-metre multi-level circuit with 15 corners and a flyover. The karts are electric and the adult ones reach 45mph, so this is one for the 8 and ups, and only if they are big enough.
The rules are specific: 8 years old, a 25-inch inside leg measured with shoes on, and at least 1.2m tall. The kids Ultimate Race Experience is two races with a break, racing for the fastest lap. Prices are not published and change by day and time, so check the booking page. Spectators watch for free. Get there 40 minutes early for the briefing. Drive in via New Bridge Street and use the Arena car park.
What it costs: Prices vary by day, time, experience and group size and are only shown in the booking journey. Kids Ultimate Race Experience is two races with a break between. 3-for-2 offer on Friday to Sunday and bank holiday evenings (not December Fridays). Spectating is free.
Worth knowing: 8+, min 25in inside leg and 1.2m tall.
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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.

Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.

A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.

Shirts, trophies and match footage across four gallery floors, with a penalty shootout and skills games that football-mad kids refuse to leave. If yours do not care about football, skip it: it is exactly what it says.

Watch jets take off close enough to feel them, with Concorde parked by the fence. Free in, pay for parking, and there is a play area and cafe for the wait between planes.

One of the biggest municipal parks in Europe: a free animal centre, a boating lake, playgrounds and enough space to lose a whole day in. You will not do all of it in one visit.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.