14 dated events coming up in and around Bolton, Greater Manchester. Collected from the organisations running them, not from anyone paying to appear.
Free family films in the Bolton Central Library lecture theatre at 2pm on the second Saturday of the month, moving to the Friday in half term. Coming up: 30 October, 14 November, 12 December. Titles are not published.
Two free regulars at Bolton Central Library: Baby Time with songs every Tuesday from 10.30am to 11.30am, and Saturday Storytime at 2pm. No booking needed for either.
Free drop-in storytelling for 2 to 5s at Bolton libraries, running through school holidays. Bolton Central is Wednesdays and Fridays at 11am; Farnworth, Horwich, Westhoughton and others have their own weekly slot.
Free drop-in storytelling for 2 to 5s at Bolton libraries, running through school holidays. Bolton Central is Wednesdays and Fridays at 11am; Farnworth, Horwich, Westhoughton and others have their own weekly slot.
Two free regulars at Bolton Central Library: Baby Time with songs every Tuesday from 10.30am to 11.30am, and Saturday Storytime at 2pm. No booking needed for either.
Free family films in the Bolton Central Library lecture theatre at 2pm on the second Saturday of the month, moving to the Friday in half term. Coming up: 30 October, 14 November, 12 December. Titles are not published.
Runs on 3 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
The Octagon's Christmas show, Sally Cookson's retelling of Cinderella rather than a traditional panto. The theatre pitches it at 5 and up, warns some scenes may frighten younger children, and does not admit babes in arms under 18 months. Relaxed, audio-described and signed performances are on the list.
Runs on 2 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Christmas markets at Smithills Open Farm in Bolton on two November weekends, 11am to 4pm, all under cover. Market entry is free, Santa's grotto is pay on the door, and seeing the animals needs a farm ticket.
Starts at 9am to 11am. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the Albert Halls panto in Bolton, running through December from 1 to 31 December, with plenty of daytime shows. Suitable for all ages. Prices vary by show plus booking fee.
Starts at 5pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Starts at 12pm. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
The Octagon's Christmas studio show for ages 3 and up, made with Big Tiny: a snowman who fancies a holiday in the sun. Runs 9 to 24 December, mostly at 11am and 1pm. Child £12, adult £14.
Join us for festive family fun at The Hive with Christmas songs, campfire, marshmallow toasting and wild natural crafts!
Santa LIVE is an hour-long interactive Christmas show at the Albert Halls in Bolton, 12 to 24 December, with a photo with Santa after every performance. £13 plus booking fee; under 2s can sit on a knee.
Places you can turn up to whether or not anything is on.
A free town museum hiding one of Britain's best Egyptian collections, including a full recreation of Thutmose III's tomb, plus an aquarium in the basement. Genuinely free, genuinely good.
A flat circular walk round a United Utilities reservoir in the Bradshaw valley north of Bolton, with a small cafe by the car park and enough water birds to hold a four year old. Genuinely pushchair friendly.
Bolton's biggest play area sits inside a 750 acre country park at Farnworth, with three lakes, a bird hide and miles of waterside path behind it. Even the safety surfacing earns its keep, printed with the life cycle of a frog.
Bolton's big free family park: two decent playgrounds, a miniature railway, a seasonal funfair and The Hive, a Wildlife Trust nature-play garden that charges £2.50 a head and is worth it for under-sevens.
Bolton's restored Victorian park: a proper playground with a mini zip line and a sand pit with a toy digger, a cafe with public toilets in sight of it, and the River Croal running through. Free, including the Spa Road car park.
One of the oldest manor houses in the North West, free to wander, with formal gardens on the edge of the moors and a ghost story or two. Down the same lane as Smithills Open Farm, which makes it the obvious add-on.