Easter holiday plans: Keeping the kids entertained in Manchester

Hunting for Easter eggs in the garden is always the highlight of the holidays. After Santa and grandparents, the chocolate-bringing bunny is definitely the most popular visitor to our house. That’s half an hour of fresh-air family time sorted. What about the other four hundred and seven-and-a-half hours?

Sleep and lounging around in pyjamas watching Scooby-Doo on the iPad takes care of quite a hefty chunk. But that still leaves a whole load of days out to be planned, picnics to be packed and tickets to be booked.

After all, in the blink of an eye they’ll be towering over me and unlikely to be interested in any activity I’ve had a hand in organising. I’m going to make the most of doing things together while they’re still too little to object.

I’ll let you in to my school holiday planning to help lighten the mental load with some ideas for things to do in Manchester with kids this Easter.

Easter egg hunts

Although the Easter Sunday egg hunt in our garden is the official one (for us, not you) there are other trails and themed activities around if you prefer. Or do both. After all, the ratio of energy used to chocolate eaten always works out.

Easter on the Green

Easter on the Green is like the warm-up event for Easter proper. Taking place from 10am-1pm on Saturday 4 April, it kickstarts the festivities without taking up the whole day. As well as the obligatory chocolate hunt, the Horse & Jockey will be serving hot chocolate and breakfast butties and there’ll also be live music, magic and face painting. It’s free but make sure you have a go on the tombola – it’s for the Healing Little Hearts charity. Get your free tickets.

Heaton Park’s Big Egg Hunt

The National Trust may have a virtual monopoly on Easter Egg hunts but if you’re not a member, it can be pricey.

Heaton Park‘s Big Egg Hunt is only £4.25 per chocolate-seeker and there are no entrance fees. Follow the eggs left behind to crack the code and claim your prize. Tickets, for both Cadbury’s and dairy-free chocolate eggs, are available here.

If that doesn’t burn off enough energy, there’s always Zip World Manchester to get the adrenaline going. We did the mini trek last year when my kids were eight and six and the level of challenge was just right. Plus, Heaton Park has two good play areas, especially the newer Lakeside adventure playground with its shiny, super-tall slides. The animal centre isn’t up to the standard of Home Farm at Tatton Hall but it is free, which is a plus.

In fact, a day out at Heaton Park doesn’t have to cost much at all – take a picnic. Or pick up some sausage rolls from Slattery – they’re very good.

Heaton Park is also a good place for some blossom-bathing. It’s the most uplifting activity there is at this time of year – especially the pink petals. Check out where else in Manchester you can feel blooming wonderful with the Bloomtown map.

Picnics and sunny days out

Park Life

If the weather plays ball then we can too. The recent summery spell made me yearn for picnics in the park with games of cricket, mölkky and kubb. Everyone talks about how Finland and Sweden have life sorted, but no-one seems to realise their well-being is directly related to how ace their wooden garden games are.

As well as Heaton Park, I’m a big fan of Stamford Park in Altrincham (partially for its proximity to à bloc) which has open green space, toilets (always important) and a reasonable play area, particularly for younger children.

Fletcher Moss has the advantage of picking up your picnic from La Chouquette or Piqniq. Didsbury definitely reigns supreme when it comes to picnic supplies. Fletcher Moss is also well connected for riverside walks along the Mersey. There are toilets, tennis courts, a cafe and plenty of green space. The terraced alpine gardens are my favourite and there are good spots for pond-dipping in Stenner Woods, too. You can easily while away a happy half hour investigating whirligig beetles and pond skaters.

Family walks

A less grand picnic involving Tupperware and backpacks is always a highlight of a country walk. By Easter, I’m desperate to get out and about. From the point of view of family hikes, winter can seem like a prison sentence.

A favourite walk is the route from Grasmere that follows the Coffin Route as far as Rydal and then back round Rydal Water along the lower edges of Loughrigg taking in Rydal Cave. It’s a family-friendly day out coming in at just under six miles. There’s also a good rocky crag to scrabble up too which is an ideal scenic picnic point. The car parks around here fill up quickly so try and get there early. Also, make sure you stock up on supplies from The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. If you’re in the area, it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?

Closer to home, I’m planning on mixing up some canalside walks with music and beer. After all, the Easter holidays can’t all be about brightly-coloured inflatables or you’ll give yourself a migraine. If you can convince your children they like the same things as you do, you’re on to a winner. NB, not the beer.

The Strines Nightingale is renowned for its Easter Weekend programme of cool music with an outdoor stage in the woods and a gentle festival vibe plus an indoor stage for when it gets too nippy. It’s in the middle of the countryside so you can enjoy a bucolic walk there (although Strines also has its own train station if you want to sack off the hike).

The route to The Strines Nightingale from Newtown New Mills station follows the Peak Forest Canal and there’s a slightly shorter walk from Disley station. The area is well served by rail and there are a number of walking routes available on the Strines Nightingale website, all involving a well-deserved pint at the pub.

I’m in a quandary about whether to go on Good Friday or Easter Saturday. It’s a Tree Music outdoor takeover with Andy Votel on Friday and Scribbling Town Folk Club in charge of the outdoor stage on the Saturday. There are bigger acts but with a bedtime deadline and a train home to catch, they don’t matter to me. Doors open at midday and tickets are available here.

The wet weather option

Hooray for the municipal leisure centre. When you’re looking for things to do in Manchester with kids that don’t require sunshine, it’s a great standby. Activities are cheap – or even free – and you don’t need to book ages in advance. That means you have an ad hoc diversion up your sleeve if the weather turns out not as nice as we’re all hoping.

Manchester children can enjoy free swimming in the holidays and certain times at weekends. The offer is valid for Swim For Fun sessions only. To qualify, all you need is a MCRactive Junior Resident pass which you can get here. Make sure you are searching the single payment options to find it.

Manchester Aquatics Centre and also Abraham Moss Leisure centre run Aqua Splash sessions for 8s and over which is basically an inflatable obstacle course in the middle of the pool. Lots of slipping, sliding and falling in.

The Family Fun Sessions which are offered at most pools are also popular with floats offering a bit more variety to just chugging up and down the lanes.

Booking a badminton court at Stretford Leisure Centre is my preferred wet weather activity. I’ll take shuttlecocks over a chlorine overdose and wet hair any day. It’s a game that’s easy to pick up and play as a family. Getting a shuttlecock – which is literally as light as a few feathers plus a half a rubber ball – over the net is a lot easier than a tennis serve.

The Saturday afternoon roller disco is popular too with a slower room for novices (where parents are allowed in for support and hand-holding) as well as a faster-paced room for the more accomplished skater. As for my skating abilities, I’m firmly on the spectator’s benches. A word of warning – it is very loud. A bit like being at a primary school disco really. Something I’m happy to leave back in the eighties.