Walton Park
Go on a Sunday. A volunteer-run miniature railway takes passengers round a quarter mile of track for 30p a ride, there are two age-split playgrounds, and the cafe is a narrowboat on the canal.
Woodheys Park
Sale, Greater Manchester
Woodheys Park is on Kenmore Road in Sale, a Green Flag park with a Friends group that has been going since 1980, and the thing that sets it apart from every other park on this list is an 18-hole pitch and putt course. It opens seven days a week from 10am, last tee off 6.30pm and 6pm from August, and you hire everything at the Golf Office by cash or card with no booking.
Pitch and putt is one of the few sports where a seven year old and a grandparent can play the same round without either of them pretending. Eighteen short holes takes about an hour and a half at a child's pace, which is a proper morning out for the price of a couple of coffees, assuming you can find out what that price is.
The rest of the park is modest and clearly labelled as such: an under 7s play area, a five-a-side pitch, wildlife areas, a pavilion where wellbeing walks set off from, and a car park. Trafford do not publish the golf prices anywhere I could find, so ring ahead if that decides it.
What it costs: The park and car park are free. The 18-hole pitch and putt is open seven days a week from 10am with the last tee off at 6.30pm, dropping to 6pm from August. Clubs and balls are hired at the Golf Office, cash or card, no booking needed. Trafford do not publish the green fee or hire cost, so ring or ask on arrival.
Know before you go
- Turn up and play. All the equipment hires at the Golf Office, cash or card, and Trafford say no booking is required. Eighteen holes of pitch and putt is roughly the attention span of an eight year old, which is convenient.
- Trafford do not publish what it costs. Ring the park before you go if the budget matters, because 'unknown' is the honest answer and I am not going to guess it for you.
- The play area is for under 7s. If your children are older, the golf is the visit and the swings are a five minute stop on the way back to the car.
Seasonal: Pitch and putt open daily from 10am. Check before travelling.
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Worthington Park
Sale's Green Flag town park, a five minute walk from the Metrolink. Two age-split playgrounds, a skate park and an outdoor gym. No cafe and no car park, so it is a walk-in park.
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