Family climbing on a Summer of Play activity wall at Dunham Massey in Cheshire — Family experiencing the Summer of Play event at Dunham Massey, Cheshire | © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Family-friendly places in Cheshire and Greater Manchester

Plan your a family day out in Cheshire and Greater Manchester. We've got play areas, wildlife to spot, plenty of things to do when it rains and loads of activities for kids (and the young at heart).

Get close to nature, step into the past or run tired legs out in a play area – there's something for the whole family to enjoy whatever the season.

Looking through a magnifying glass at Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire

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Quarry Bank, Wilmslow

Plan your family day out to Quarry Bank and discover all the family-friendly things to do no matter the weather. From exploring the mill, to enjoying one of our seasonal trails around the property.

A group visitors having a picnic on the lawn and playing games.

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Dunham Massey, Altrincham

Entertain the whole family this summer at Dunham Massey. Discover unique stories in the house, go on an adventure in the garden and stop for a bite to eat in the Stamford Café.

A family walk beside the lake on a sunny spring day with the South front of the house in the background

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Lyme, Stockport

From running, skipping and jumping around Crow Wood play area and dressing up in period costume inside the house, to spotting red deer in the park, there’s something for everyone at Lyme.

Two women and a child walk in the walled garden at Hare Hill in Cheshire

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Hare Hill, Macclesfield

Discover the secret gardens at Hare Hill, where little legs can roam safely; the perfect spot for a family day out.

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Little Moreton Hall, Congleton

Whether you’re enjoying one of our self-led trails or the wibbly-wobbly floors, there's plenty of free activities to keep the whole family entertained at Little Moreton Hall.

Children looking at chicks Tatton Park Farm

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There’s plenty of ways to spend time together with the family at Tatton Park. Play in nature and see what wildlife you can see, visit the farm, or open the pages to a new adventure in the pre-loved bookshop. Click here for more fun ideas to try with your little explorers.

Exploring the low ropes course in the Strawberry Castle play area at Gibside

Liverpool and Lancashire

Head over to Liverpool and Lancashire to find family adventures at Speke Hall, Rufford Old Hall and Gawthorpe Hall.

Get ready for a summer packed with adventure and imagination across the North West. Play together and make new memories with Summer of Play, sponsored by Starling Bank, at Dunham Massey, Lyme, Speke Hall and more from 19 July.

See all family activities and events

A young girl in a crown emerges from behind a red curtain ready to perform.

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Play your way at Quarry Bank

Come rain or shine, there’s fun for all the family at Quarry Bank. Inside the huge mill, there's a brand-new Play Hub where little ones can dress up, put on puppet shows dive into soft play and enjoy giant board games. Outside you can play nature bingo, race through the maze or build your own adventure. Different activities daily.

A woman and a girl wearing backpacks walk towards the reflection pond at Lyme. The grand manor house reflects in the pond.

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Step back in time at Lyme

Experience the locations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice through the eyes of a child at Lyme. Inside the house you can play with shadow puppets and recreate the Egyptian adventures of Thomas Legh, an explorer who lived at Lyme, or dress up in period costume.

A family playing a giant xylophone in an open space and surrounded by greenery.

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Different activities each day at Dunham Massey

Follow the colourful bunting to the Play Hub in the North Park where you’ll find giant deck chairs, a tipi and games to play with the whole family. And from circus skills to fancy dress, there's different activities to try every day of the week.

A crouching boy looks into a pond while a standing girl reads a map.

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Go with the flow at Hare Hill

Go with the flow and follow the Water Wonders trail though the gardens at Hare Hill. Discover ways that you can become guardians of the water and help nature thrive.

A girl and a boy play on the lawn in front of the black and white Tudor house at Speke Hall.

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Adventurous play at Speke Hall

From mud pie making to running races, building and creating, or getting cosy with a good book from the second-hand bookshop, there’s lots of ways for families to play together at this Tudor manor house. Zip through the air on the 30-foot zipwire too!

A girl in a sunhat runs into a symmetrical garden at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire

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Travel through time at Little Moreton Hall

Travel through time, without the need for a time machine, from Tudor to present day, as you delve into the history of games in the outdoors. Will you come across a familiar favourite or discover a new game to give a go?

A girl in a pink dress playing with a skipping rope on a green lawn.

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Get active at Rufford Old Hall

Enjoy garden games and self-led activities at Rufford Old Hall. Take parts in sports like cricket, rounders, tennis, or create your own sports day with skipping ropes, hula hoops, race markers, beanbags and more.

There’s nothing quite like playing outdoors. Swooshing down slides, clambering over logs and letting your imagination run wild. It’s no wonder that play areas are an essential part of many family days out. Here are some top places to play in Cheshire and Greater Manchester. 

A child playing in the Crow Wood play area at Lyme Park, Cheshire

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Crow Wood playscape at Lyme

Let off some steam and have fun with your family in the Crow Wood play area. It’s the perfect place to run, skip and slide. Get closer to nature on a walk through Crow Wood and see what wildlife you can spot in the mill pond.

Grandparents and a grandchild play together in the Log Stack play area in Dyffryn Gardens during the winter

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The log pile at Dunham Massey

Is it a ship? Is it a castle? Will you get eaten by sharks if you fall off a beam? The log pile in the north park is a play area at one with nature. Perfect for little ones with active imaginations, these carefully placed logs and branches create a casual play environment for children (and adults) of all ages.

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Playground at Quarry Bank

You can find the playground just beyond the Mill Yard. It's small but perfectly formed, giving little ones the chance to jump, balance and climb obstacles. And with picnic benches are close by, it's perfect for parents to take a break with a warm coffee.

Children playing in woodland at Alderley Edge and Cheshire Countryside, Cheshire.

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Woodland play at Alderley Edge

Test your balance on giant logs and pretend the mud is water or strike your best tree pose on a tree stump in the natural play area at Alderley Edge. Look around to see birds flit from branch to branch amongst ancient trees and the woodland floor.

Den building area at Cragside, Northumberland

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Natural play area at Hare Hill

In spring, summer and autumn little ones can escape to the hidden natural play area at Hare Hill and discover the magic amongst the nature that lives there. Make a secret den and create some look out points to spot wildlife. Cook up a storm in the mini-mud kitchen – you’ll find all the ingredients you need on the woodland floor beneath.

When it’s raining (and we get a lot of that in the north west) you have two options: find some indoor fun or grab your waterproofs and get stuck in! Luckily we have loads of suggestions for both…

Four visitors looking at the water wheel at Quarry Bank, Cheshire

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Explore inside the mill at Quarry Bank

Shelter from the rain inside the mill and feel the floors shake beneath your feet as the historic machinery whirrs and clatters into action. See one of the most powerful water wheels in the country spinning as the river flows beneath it.

Two children in coats and wellies walk along the path with umbrellas up towards East Riddlesden Hall, Yorkshire

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Top ‘50 things to do before you’re 11¾’ activities to do when it’s raining

We've compiled a selection of items from the ‘50 things to do before you’re 11¾’ list that are perfect for rainy days, so grab your waterproofs and get involved.

A close up of a girl in a recency style sun hat.

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Step back in time at Lyme

Sometimes even the best laid plans can be ruined by a sudden downpour. Never fear, from dressing up in regency dress to playing billiards, there’s plenty of indoor activities for you to try inside the house at Lyme.

Family looking through the windows of the Long Gallery at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire.

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Enter the unique house at Little Moreton Hall

Wander over wibbly-wobbly floors and up spiral staircases inside this topsy-turvy house. You’ll even find a Tudor toilet! No wet weather visit is complete without treating yourself to a delicious snack in Mrs Dale's tea-room.

Discover a world of endless adventures with our pick of some of the best things for teenagers to do in Cheshire and Manchester. Round up your friends and family and get exploring.

Find activities for teenagers

A woman in a velvet green dress smiles and poses for a photo in front of a swathe of snowdrops in the woodland at Stowe.

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Become a budding photographer

Full of far-reaching views, vast wildlife and picturesque buildings, the places we care for are a young photographer’s dream. Walk across moors and woods at Lyme to get seasonal snaps of surrounding counties and Manchester’s skyline, photograph the fallow deer at Dunham Massey, or get creative with the quirky angles of Little Moreton Hall’s black-and-white Tudor house. Click here for top photography tips.

Close-up of filming equipment and monitor at Quarry Bank in Cheshire

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Step into the small screen

Discover the places that provide the backdrop for some of your favourite TV shows. Jane Austin fans can step inside Pemberley, Mr Darcy’s home, in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice (1995) at Lyme. You might recognise some of Tatton Park from Peaky Blinders (2013–2022) and Sherwood (2024), while The Mill (2013–14) is based on the lives of millworkers at Quarry Bank during the industrial revolution.

Children cycling on the Explorer Trail in Comer Woods at Dudmaston, Midlands

Arrive by bike

Bring your bike and take a trip through sheltered woodland or through the deer park at Lyme – there’s even a short but challenging mountain bike trail here too. And did you know that if you arrive on a bike to Lyme, Quarry Bank or Dunham Massey you can get 10% discount in the café? All three sites are close to national cycling routes and places to lock up bikes when you arrive.

A person holding a reusable cup filled with coffe

Tuck into a sweet treat

Rounding off the day with a sweet treat and hot drink are a key part of any visit. From breakfast baps and toasties, to doughnuts and brownies, and lots of vegan options too, we’ve got something for everyone. Or grab a coffee to takeaway before your walk – we’ll even give you 25p off your drink if you bring your own reusable cup.

Discover more family days out in the North of England and Wales with plenty of places to play, explore, and create memories.