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
- Cost
- Free park, pitch and putt charged
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Where
- Sale, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Just turn up
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 with the last tee off at 6pm, 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 Trafford do not publish the golf prices anywhere I could find, so ring ahead if that decides it.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, and Trafford now give the last tee off as 6pm. 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 Trafford do not publish the green fee or hire cost, so ring or ask on arrival.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- Trafford do not publish what it costs.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.
Looking for more parks & outdoors near Sale?
Sending it to the group chat?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.3 across 363 Google reviews.
Read all 363 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Sale
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.
Let Loose Play Centre, Stanley Square
Sale town centre's soft play, themed round the town itself: tackle a Sale Sharks player, surf on Sale Water Park. £3.50 a child with adults free, a separate sensory toddler frame and two hours' free parking in the multi-storey 100m away.
Waterside Arts
Sale's arts centre, opposite Sale Metrolink stop, with free exhibitions, a cafe bar and a steady run of family theatre, including a Christmas musical this December.
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.