Tandle Hill Country Park

With its sweeping panoramas of seasonal golds, reds and browns, Tandle Hill Country Park is one of the best places to catch autumn colour in Greater Manchester.

Climb up the hundred-odd steps to the war memorial and viewpoint where you can see as far as Jodrell Bank on a very, very clear day (though you don’t get many of those to the pound in Royton). The paths are well-surfaced and accessible but there are also muddier, off-the-beaten-track routes if you want to explore. For a country park, it’s not that big but you can easily spend a day wandering around.

It’s a good place for a game of hide and seek, plus there’s a children’s play area with a slide that stretches right down the hill and an excellent woodland balancing trail. Reward the kids with an ice lolly or a cheese toastie from the cafe if they make it right round.

A word of warning, the park’s toilets are closed ‘for the foreseeable future’. Oldham Council mustn’t have the cash for you to spend a penny.