25 Fun Family Days Out NEAR Manchester in 2024! Tried & Tested!

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Looking for family days out near Manchester and things to do with kids near Manchester??

I love living in Manchester because of its amazing location to other cities and areas like Chester, the Peak District, North Wales and the Midlands.

In this post you’ll find family days out around Manchester which will fill a whole day, and many family activities near Manchester that you can mix and match with something else nearby.

Family Days Out Near Manchester

Chester Zoo is one of the things to do near Manchester with kids because it’s great for kids of all ages and adults too!

It can be expensive to go here, especially with a bigger family so I recommend looking into their annual membership if you think you’ll go multiple times within a year to save you money in the long run.

Both times I’ve been with my younger stepsons we’ve only managed half of the zoo in one visit.

Make sure you also check out my post – Family Days Out IN Manchester for when you don’t want to travel as far!

They have a 5 mile safari drive which is the longest in the UK and takes about an hour to do but the best thing is that you can go around more than once to make the most out of your money and time on this family day out near Manchester!

The baboons are a highlight and if you’re worried about getting your car ruined by them.. look into the Baboon Bus Experience so you can see them without any stress!

If you don’t fancy driving or you don’t arrive by car, or, it’s a nice sunny day, there’s a Foot Safari option through woodlands, Tiger enclosures and other animal habitats!

This is included in your general car ticket too so again, another way to stretch the day and make the most out of being here and an overall great option when thinking about how to spend a day with family near Manchester!

The Monkey trail is 3/4 mile which is doable for most children, and you can take a pushchair. The best thing is that you can go around as many times as you want. We went around once and then looped back a second time to watch the 12:15 feeding.

For family days out near Manchester that don’t cost too much, I really like that tickets for Trentham Monkey Forest are priced much lower than other activities at £10.00 for an adult & £8.00 for a child when booked online. They also have a good value annual membership.

I did notice that when we paid in person when we arrived, it was £1-2 more pp so I recommend buying tickets online.

There’s a big car park, cafe and facilities so helpful with younger children. They often run school holiday events and outside of the holidays they still have trails aimed at children like finding the Gruffalo Sculptures.

You can take your own bikes or hire them from their onsite bike hire shop. They are pretty expensive to hire, especially for a family of 4-5 but the trails are really fantastic and safe for biking!

Delamere Forest also has a Go-Ape onsite, this is one of the closest Go-Ape’s to Manchester. They offer 2 Treetop challenges and Segways!

Once up here, there is a whole site to explore including 2 famous show caverns, viewpoints, play areas, exhibitions, shops, a sculpture trail, a butterfly trail and more.

Your ticket will include guided tours of both show caverns and my stepsons loved going inside. It also releases the pressure off you to entertain the kids for a bit and have a guide do it!

This is one of the really fun days out near Manchester for all the family as it can be appreciated by different ages and is very accessible despite being on top of a hill.

I love Llandudno for its ease and traditional seaside feel.

Once there, you can explore its huge beach, boardwalk and pier and enjoy all the amenities in the town.

If you want to do some Llandudno activities, check out the Great Orme Tramway, or you can drive to the top yourself and walk around, Llandudno SnowSports Centre for indoor and outdoor activities, and the many beaches in the area.

You may be familiar with Wedgewood, they make a collection of British tableware and home decor pieces and are pretty famous for it so a visit here is based around Pottery and design.

Their creative studio offers classes during the week and weekend for adults and children, and to keep children entertained, this is probably the main attraction for visiting.

I know my stepsons love painting and creating things and the Potters Wheel session and Decorating Studio are perfect for this.

For outside fun, you can walk around Hem Heath Woods Nature Trail nearby.

Pumpkin Picking in Autumn, Fruit Picking & Sunflower Maze in Summer, Christmas and Easter activities and lots more in between!

Kenyon Hall Farm is in Warrington so if you live in South Manchester as I do, it’s one of the really easy things to do with kids near Manchester as it’s just 30 minutes away.

They also have a cafe, deli and garden centre onsite so you can really make a full family day out near Manchester by visiting here. If you want to go to a specific event, be sure to look on their website and most things are ticketed.

They offer lots to keep children and adults entertained outside such as Tractor Rides around the farm, Jumping Pillows, Zip Wires, and Mazes (which are seasonal), and kids’ entertainment shows.

They have plenty of places to sit if you want to take lunch, or you can eat in their cafe.

If the British Weather holds out, this is such a nice family day out near Manchester. They do aim their activities at ages 4 to 12 and it’s worth noting that although they are a farm, there is no animal petting here.

There are an unlimited amount of things to do in Snowdonia and therefore, things to do with kids near Manchester. Here are some of my recommendations:

Zip World is great for an adrenaline rush and they have 3 locations within Eryri National Park (Snowdonia National Park).

We recently took the boy’s horse riding with Snowdonia Riding Stables, they offer different-length rides through the nearby countryside in a safe environment for children.

For family attractions near Manchester, the village of Llanberis is a hub of tourist attractions. The National Slate Museum is a great educational place to learn about the area and then you can head out on the Llanberis Lake Railway.

One of the positives to visiting National Trust sites with children is the facilities- good parking, cafes and bathrooms, another reason this is one of the great things to do with kids in northern England.

Lyme Park offers a house you can go inside and is a great educational place for children. They also have gardens to walk around, a forest and walking trails. During the school holidays, they have seasonal activities to keep children entertained.

This is an enchanted wood based on magical and enchanting books by author and creator Tom Blofeld. The wood is filled with slides, treehouses, zip lines and playgrounds, all with a different theme.

Their focus is PLAY, so as adults, you get onto the treehouses, slides and zip lines as well for a super fun family day out in Cheshire!

The majority of these family places to visit near Manchester will require a car. If you are on a trip to Manchester without a car, search for car hire from Manchester Airport here.

You can visit Caves which require a ticket and tour such as Speedwell Cavern and Blue John Cavern, these add to the ‘family day out’ vibe, or if you want one of the free family days out near Manchester, I suggest Thor’s Cave which anyone can walk to and walk up into.

At just 1 hour 30 minutes from central Manchester, the journey from Manchester to Alton Towers might not be as long as you think making it one of the best days out near Manchester for all the family.

Although the entrance to Crosby Beach gets busy, it actually stretches 2.5 miles along the coast so you can easily get away from the crowds and have the beach to yourself.

We love visiting here outside of the hot summer days too for a family walk. As well as being a family day out near Manchester, it’s one of the easy family days out in Liverpool so great for meeting friends that live this way.

Southport is similar to Blackpool in ways, especially with its Pleasureland, however, it’s that bit closer to Manchester and not as big.

We had a great afternoon at Southport Pleasureland and there are rides to suit children of all ages, plus lots of games and general British fair fun.

Afterwards, we went for a walk on Southport Beach. This is one of the weirdest beaches in the UK for its tide. We walked and walked and did not reach the water, in fact, Visit Southport say there’s a myth that you can’t see the sea from Southport, but it does come in at times.

Either way, it’s a great place for kids to run as far as they want on this huge beach.

Located in Warrington and therefore super easy to visit on a family day out near Manchester, and family day out near Liverpool, Gulliver’s World will provide you with a full day of activities and fun.

Great for all ages and perfect for adding to a family Peak District day out. And, if you are visiting during the week, check out their discounted ticket offers for afternoon entry and toddler entry!

There are many great walks in the Peak District but I love this Dovestone Reservoir walk because it’s pretty flat for children to walk and enjoy.

Here’s my full guide to How To Do Dovestone Reservoir Walk – an Easy Circular Walk in Peak District.

Compared to the Lake District or Peak District, the Ribble Valley isn’t as well known but from my recent visit, I found many things to do in the Ribble Valley.

One of those things is climbing Pendle Hill. Here’s my guide to How To Do Pendle Hill Walk with easy and hard routes, of course, if you are planning this walk with younger children, I recommend the easier route.

Pendle is known for the Pendle Witch trial which can be interesting for children to learn about and don’t forget the Pendle Sculpture Trail near Pendle Hill which is great for children to explore.

To make a full day out near Manchester in the area, I also recommend going to nearby Clitheroe and checking out Clitheroe Castle.

For family days out IN Manchester I have recommended the Science and Industry Museum in the City Centre, but if you’ve been there many times before and want to have a day out from Manchester, the Eureka Science and Discovery Centre in Liverpool is a great option!

It’s located on the Wirral side of the city, right at the Seacombe Ferry Port. They recommend 2-3 hours to explore their hands-on interactive museum.

As with many museums, they have regular events during school holidays and bank holidays, so this is great if you are looking for things to do with kids near Manchester during the school holidays, or, things to do in Liverpool during the school holidays!

You might associate Blackpool with its Pleasurebeach Theme Park, Blackpool Tower and Donkey Rides along the beach,

But Blackpool has recently undergone a £100m investment meaning there are even more family things to do in Blackpool now and I love this post with 18 great things to do in Blackpool with kids like Blackpool Zoo, Blackpool Model Village, Penny Farm, and it reminds us there’s lots of beautiful countryside near Blackpool like the Forest of Bowland.

So for family days out near Manchester, you can have some seaside fun in Blackpool in the morning, and head out into the Countryside in the afternoon before returning home.

Head up into Yorkshire towards Harrogate and you’ll find a pretty village called Knaresborough which is home to Mother Shipton’s Cave, a brilliant family tourist attraction near Manchester.

Although you will visit a Cave, the Cave where Mother Shipton was born, the tourist site is actually more of a Park with a Museum and play area too, so you can spend a while here walking around the enchanting woods and learning the history of Mother Shipton and the area, making it one of the great full family days out from Manchester.

This is a really nice family day out from Manchester to see something different and either go for a walk, or a canoe ride as we did.

We rented Canoes from TNR Outdoors for 2 hours to sail along the canal and over the canal 38m off the ground! It wasn’t as scary as you may think, of course, with canoeing, there’s a chance of tipping but we felt very safe and the canal isn’t too deep.

Alternatively, you can park up and walk over the aqueduct or get a canal boat ride. Lllangollen nearby is a wonderful little welsh town too with lots of colour and charm and if you want to wear the kids out more, I recommend driving up and walking to Castell Dinas Bran!

With various locations around North Wales, this is one of our fun family days out from Manchester as by the time you’ve driven to North Wales, had fun at Zip World, got some lunch in a nearby village, you’ll be coming home having had a full day out with an adrenaline rush!

Family Days Out Near Manchester FAQ

Here are FAQ about family days out near Manchester:

Where can I visit near Manchester with kids?

Areas like the Peak District, Chester and North Wales are great to visit with kids with plenty of walks and activities to do and they are not far from Manchester,

What is there to do near Manchester with kids?

You can go to Chester Zoo, Trentham Monkey Forest, North Wales beaches, Peak District walks. There are so many attractions near Manchester for families.

Where is good for families to visit near Manchester?

I recommend going to the Peak District as there are plenty of activities like visiting the caves and there are plenty of places to walk for free and towns and villages to eat in.

Thank you for reading, I hope this post has helped with ideas for things to do near Manchester with kids and family days out near Manchester!

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