Let it glow: 10 Christmas days out in or near Manchester

Blakemere Village is the Cheshire one-stop for shopping, outdoor activities and family-friendly events.

Cockfields Farm Park, in the countryside between Oldham and Ashton-under-Lyne, is a young child’s idea of the perfect day out.

Dunham Massey is one of the National Trust’s top 10 most visited properties, bringing in 439,000 people in 2020/21. We reckon at least 80% of them were Mancunians escaping the city for their nearest bucolic country park.

Food hall meets music festival is how we’d describe Freight Island to anyone confused about what they’ll find at this regenerated rail depot beyond Piccadilly Station. 

Gulliver’s World is a theme park that’s perfect for smallsters. It has rollercoasters and upside-downy things for tweens but these stomach-churners are vastly outnumbered by gentle planes, water rides, teacups and rollercoasters of the introductory variety.

If you’re craving greenery but don’t want to stray too far out of the city, Heaton Park, on the Manchester-Bury border, is one of your best options.

Knowsley Safari is an exciting day out for all animal-lovers – not just for kids. Who wouldn’t want to watch their car’s windscreen wipers being expertly deconstructed by some cheeky little baboons?

You don’t have to walk far in Manchester city centre to find one of the many Christmas markets that pop-up in November and December.

The 2021 opening of this new 154-acre garden was greeted with much excitement and long queues, and rightly so. Once a derelict and overgrown site, it’s now a major visitor attraction with plenty to offer all year round. 

Tatton Park is a historic estate on the edge of Knutsford, home to an opulent neo-classical mansion, landscaped gardens, a farm, a huge deer park and a medieval Old Hall.