Wythenshawe Park

Wythenshawe Park is so much more than just a playground and a bit of green space. For a start, there’s a lot of green space – 109 hectares to be precise, and it’s a mix of woodland, open grassland and wildflower meadows. (Also the playground is one of the better ones.)

Plus there’s Wythenshawe Hall; a Tudor Manor house which is slowly coming back to life after a fire in 2016. The Friends of Wythenshawe Hall hold monthly open days and tours.

There’s also a farm with a small farm shop, located next to the play area. Children can do discovery trails, learn about where food comes from, meet the animals, or even be a junior farmer for a day – this last one must be arranged in advance. Just pop in to the farm office.

Wythenshawe Park is also a great place for cycling with a pump track, BMX tracks and forest trails for different abilities. There’s also a mini-road layout complete with roundabout and a skills area for learners.

What else? There are all-ability cycling sessions with adapted bikes, horse riding stables offering lessons and escorted trekking, a bee-keeping group, a community gardening group, and probably all sorts of activities we don’t even know about. It’s a busy, thriving park and well worth a visit.

Tennis at Wythenshawe Park

The six, resurfaced floodlit courts at Wythenshawe Park have just been repainted ready for summer 2023. Anyone can book to play here, with hourly rates ranging from free to £4. Wythenshawe Park is also home to Manchester City Tennis Club, which offers social tennis and team tennis for just £20 per year, making it one of the best value tennis clubs around.

You can also try Walking Tennis at Wythenshawe Park – it lets you play at your own pace without running or jumping, and you can let the ball bounce twice.