Rainy day picks
Rainy day and indoor things to do this October half-term near Timperley, Altrincham and Sale
Indoor things to do near Timperley this half-term, 26 October to 1 November. Big days out under cover, free museums, shows, play for little ones and workshops to book.
Published . Prices and booking status below are checked every week.
Half-term week has started wet. Everything on this page is indoors, mostly within half an hour of Timperley, grouped by the kind of day you’re after: a big day out under cover, a free museum, a show, somewhere for little ones to play, or a workshop to book. Prices, dates and booking status in each row come from our checks and update themselves.
There are no trams through Timperley, Sale or Altrincham until Sunday, so for the city centre allow time for the replacement buses. Our half-term picks have something for each day, wet or dry, and free things to do this half-term has the ones that cost nothing.
Big indoor days out
Daily, from about £16 an adult online. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre at the Trafford Centre, with Halloween build challenges, glow-in-the-dark workshops and a monster-chase 4D film on top of the usual rides and play areas. Entry is by timed slot and cheaper booked online, and every group must include a child.
Included with SEA LIFE entry. SEA LIFE at the Trafford Centre has a Halloween trail: children help the Sea Witches and Warlocks protect the ocean, with challenges, a pumpkin patch, photo spots and a reward at the end, alongside the sharks, turtles and ocean tunnel. Book a ten-minute entry slot; under-2s go free.
Child £9.50 a course, family of four £40. Indoor jungle crazy golf at the Printworks, with spooky spiders to spot on both 18-hole courses for a treat and a free fancy-dress photo booth in half-term. It opens at 9am from Monday to Saturday (10am Sunday), and you can just turn up. Under-5s are £6.
Daily, 10am to 4pm. Halloween across all four floors of the National Football Museum: design a captain’s armband, make a monster mascot, build a “Frankenstein’s footballer” from recycled bits and follow the ghost trail for a chance of a goodie bag. A ticket gives a year’s entry; under-5s and Manchester residents go free.
Free museums
Each is free to get in, with something extra on for half-term:
| What | Price | When | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| October half term: Aliens have landedScience and Industry Museum · 25 min | Museum entry free; Horrible Science & Power Up are extra tickets | 24 Oct – 1 Nov | Check with the venue |
| October half term at IWM North: Story Seekers trail, Making a Museum hub and We Were ThereIWM North · 25 min | Free | 24 Oct – 1 Nov | Check with the venue |
| Half term family fun at Manchester MuseumManchester Museum · 25 min | Free | 27–31 Oct | Check with the venue |
| Secret Society Skeleton activityPeople's History Museum · 25 min | Free, drop-in | 1 Oct – 30 Nov | Check with the venue |
| Halloween half term at Salford MuseumSalford Museum and Art Gallery · 25 min | £3 per child per craft; some sessions free; museum entry free | 27–30 Oct | On sale |
The Science and Industry Museum has aliens all week: design your own, build a spaceship and play space games on the big screen. IWM North’s Story Seekers trail runs daily. Manchester Museum’s activities are on from Tuesday to Saturday, the People’s History Museum is closed on Tuesdays, and Salford Museum’s workshops are £3 a child, booked ahead.
Shows to sit down for
Tuesday to Thursday, from £15.20, ages 3 and up. A musical stage version of the picture book, with puppets and catchy songs about Gertie, the smallest yak, who wants to grow up fast. On Thursday there are free drop-in Halloween crafts in HOME’s Creativity Corner before the show.
Until Sunday, £19 to £24, ages 6 and up. The Garrick’s own production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, ten minutes from Timperley, with Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door. No under-4s; check the booking page for show times.
For toddlers there’s the Very Hungry Caterpillar Show at the Lowry all week, and Nick Cope plays Waterside in Sale on Sunday. Gandeys’ Halloween circus is in its big top at the Trafford Centre until Sunday.
Indoor play for little ones
Tuesday to Friday, 10am or 11.30am, £12 (four for £40). An hour down the rabbit hole at Z-arts for ages 1 to 8: follow the White Rabbit, crawl through tunnels, jump in a ball pool, play croquet with flamingos and get lost in a giant card maze. Dressing up encouraged; book a session.
Daily, 10.30am to 5pm, with Quarry Bank admission. A play space on the top floor of the old mill, with soft play, a dressing-up wardrobe, a stage, puppet shows and a giant board game, for children up to 10. No booking; food and drink aren’t allowed on the museum floor. National Trust members get in free.
Wild Things at the Lowry, a free exhibition made for under-7s, is in its last week (book a slot). For soft play, the nearest to Timperley include Little World for Scholars in Altrincham, Antz in Your Pantz in Broadheath and Let Loose in Sale; all of them are on our soft play page.
Workshops worth booking
Thursday 2 to 4pm, £8 a child with one adult free. A Halloween magic school inside Chetham’s medieval library: meet a potion master, spellcaster and wandmaker, and try magical crafts while you explore the building. Best for ages 7 and up; come in hats and cloaks.
Thursday 12pm or 3.30pm, £10 a child. Children make their own pizza at the table, then it goes into the pub’s stone-baked oven and comes back to eat, with a fruit juice, a chef’s hat and colouring while they wait. At The General Elliot in Croft, near Warrington; booking essential.
Free library craft drop-ins run at Heatons Library on Thursday and Heald Green Library on Saturday, and Stockport Museum has free Halloween crafts on Friday.
Halloween, indoors
The free Little Terrors Trail at the Trafford Centre runs from Tuesday to Thursday, and Bramall Hall’s Witch’s Potion Trail is a hunt through the rooms of the house. The Museum of Illusions on Market Street has Weird Wonders until Saturday. Parties, crafts and the rest are in Halloween this half-term.
Every indoor idea we know of is on our rainy day page.
Questions parents ask
What can we do on a rainy day in half-term near Timperley?
The Trafford Centre is fifteen minutes away and has LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, SEA LIFE and, from Tuesday to Thursday, the free Little Terrors Trail. Manchester’s museums are free and all have half-term activities. For a sit-down, The Littlest Yak is at HOME from Tuesday to Thursday and Joseph is at the Altrincham Garrick until Sunday. For little ones, Z-arts’ Adventures in Wonderland runs from Tuesday to Friday.
Are there free indoor things to do in Manchester in half-term?
Yes. The Science and Industry Museum, IWM North, Manchester Museum (Tuesday to Saturday), the People’s History Museum (closed on Tuesdays) and Salford Museum are all free to get in, with half-term activities on. Library craft sessions are free too. More on our free things to do this half-term.
Where can toddlers play indoors when it's raining?
Adventures in Wonderland at Z-arts (ages 1 to 8, Tuesday to Friday), the play space on the top floor of Quarry Bank’s mill (with admission), and Wild Things at the Lowry (free, book a slot). The nearest soft play to Timperley includes Little World for Scholars in Altrincham, Antz in Your Pantz in Broadheath and Let Loose in Sale; all of them are on our soft play page.
What indoor things are there for older children?
Treetop Adventure Golf at the Printworks, the National Football Museum’s Halloween half-term, Chetham’s Library’s Magic Makers on Thursday (ages 7 and up), Joseph at the Garrick (ages 6 and up) and the trampoline parks on our older kids page.
Details change, so check with the organiser before you set off. Spotted something wrong, or know an event we've missed? Tell us.