My three year old son takes part in the Enjoy a Ball Class run by Sam in Chorlton and he loves it…read more The class is managed reallly well so that the children are kept active and interested and the level of activities are pitched at just the right level for his age both physically and mentally. We also had an Enjoy a Ball party for my seven year old and again I would really recommend it. Sam did an amazing job keeping almost 20 seven year old boys entertained and active. I was really impressesed. Would def recommend as both a class and for a birthday party activity

Have you ever seen the pottery scene in the film Ghost? Well, I read after this steamy liason…read morebetween the late Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, numbers in pottery classes soared. Ever since then, pottery has been given a new lease of life and although the Pottery Corner is less of a pottery class and more of a place to retreat with the children in half term, it is still a lovely experience (albeit without the steamy scenes). Pottery Corner sells ready made pottery mugs, bowls, plates, egg cups and piggy banks all sitting clean and untouched on shelves waiting to be dressed. You make your choice then select some paint colours and, like an artist with his palate, you squirt your paint onto a little tile and start decorating. When your masterpiece is complete, you have to wave it goodbye for a week while the shop glaze it in their kiln. When you return to collect it you feel a rush of pride as it stands in all its glory. I have taken children here many times and making hand prints on tiles makes for a lovely Christmas present for the Grandparents. Pottery Corner is not just for the children, it is a therapeutic getaway on a rainy Thursday afternoon for grown ups too and the shop has a range of stencils that you can use to create more intricate decorations. I saw a sign in the window recently that said the Pottery Corner was for sale but I hope this is no longer the case and this lovely little den stays open for ever.

This place is a fabulous little find for a day when you want something productive to do with…read morechildren, or without! You can buy a piece of pottery ranging in price from around £2.50 for an egg cup to the more expensive items such as a pig money bank, or a plate. Then you sit in the pleasantly light and airy shop to decorate it with paints. The staff are very friendly and they also provide a party booking where you can bring many children. It is a great way to spend a wet day, and children really get a sense of acheivement from creating such a professional looking piece of artwork. (The pieces are put in the kiln and you collect them a few days later). You don't have to have children to go here. They've examples of wedding plates guests have signed for the couple and pieces that adults have clearly spent a lot of time on. It's great when you go to collect your finished piece as it tends to look better than you remember once it's been glazed and you do get a fleeting glow of "I made that" pride.

This 'wacky' warehouse (the name says it all!) is in a decent enough location, the architecturally…read morepoor but leisure facilities abundant Parrs Wood entertainment complex, but it's not a place I ever look forward to visiting. Fortunately I've got an official looking doctors note to state I must never enter the premises, so it's rare I have to make the pilgrimage. Wacky is a word which needs tying up in an Asda bin bag and dropped along into a stretch of the Irwell. Perhaps they should start with changing the names (and ridiculous graphics) and have a complete overhaul of the business. It is the pre-eminent kids plays centre in the uk, but I'm assuming that's down to the lack of competition. I always get hit in the face bits with an aroma of junior wee and shake n vac when I have the misfortune to find myself destined to shave years off my life sitting inside these 'fun palaces'. The kids obviously love them (which I suppose is entirely the point), although it's not unusual to spot bouts of ball wars (in the ball park) and the kids try and pelt the colourful, spherical missiles towards each others necks and eyes resulting in salt water seeping from said eyes.it's just that they could make the effort to entertain the adults a little bit more - decent scran and good coffee and a set of newspaper would be a start. Head over heels does it better.

Awful! Only suffer this place with the kids if they get invited to a party here. The food's over…read morecooked and like tasteless rubber, the staff a miserable and rude and the play and activity equipment means a good clean and repair. The ball pool in particular is filthy and the mats are all torn and grubby.

A bittersweet experience was had on my first ever visit to Chorlton water park. Driving here is a…read morelittle strange with it being situated in such a densely populated area. You get the feeling your Satnav is taking you to the wrong place. Don't worry it's not. An old reservoir was transformed into a huge lake a while back and that's the park's main feature. A mile radius around the lake acts as a perfect biking/ hiking trail which isn't too strenuous and is littered with relaxing spots with great views. There's an icecream van to cater for all your refreshment needs and does a lot of business on a hot summer's afternoon. It's a perfect venue to have a picnic and for young families (There's a large play area for kids) All in all a lovely green space in a heavily populated urban area. My only beef with the place was the unsafe nature of the car park. Make sure you park in an area that's camera visible. I returned after a pleasent afternoon to find my windscreen cracked quite badly. I hadn't parked under a tree, falling debree was thus out the question so I suspected some sort of foul play. My little trip therefore cost me nearly £150. Perhaps the place is cursed for me, but don't let that put you off.

When I first moved to Chorlton and I heard people talking about this water park I had visions in my…read morehead of chutes and river rapids. Sadly, the water park bears absolutely no resemblance to Stoke-on-Trent's Water World or Florida's Blizzard Beach. Instead it is a large man-made lake with a path around the edge which attracts walkers, joggers and cyclists. The path is well-surfaced and links on to the Mersey Valley trail, which is unsurfaced. However, there is a car park and visitor centre if you don't fancy the trek down from Chorlton or Didsbury. The water park was formed in the 1970s when gravel was dug up from this area to build the M60, and the area was flooded to form the lake. Despite the fact that the water park is surrounded by the M60, the busy Princess Parkway and Chorlton town centre it is a surprisingly peaceful and serene place - so peaceful that it is the place that the hippies flock to for the summer solstice.

Thank heavens for Head Over Heels! Finally a children's play area that doesn't stink of smelly…read morefeet! I have been coming here for years with children and it is a well organised, well designed soft play area for birth to 10 years old. The infants' section is small but integrated with the larger children's area and toddlers race around on the equipment without a care in the world. The bigger play area is a large fairy tale castle like structure with three levels of fun and a great ball pit where the rugrats can have a ball shower. What sets Head Over Heels apart from other indoor play areas is that parents can watch children from the sidelines on soft leather couches as opposed to on harsh plastic chairs that other places seem to favour. The restaurant is lovely if not a little expensive and they do panninis, pizzas, an all day breakfast , and a nice cappucino and cake which you can indulge in as the older children zoom down the red astro slide. Head over Heels is just a nice, clean and well air-conditioned place for kids and adults alike and £5 is a small price to pay for peace whilst your little ones are occupied for an hour and a half. My children have held several parties here and the staff have been amazing. For £11 per child, the party group have 60 minutes play downstairs and then go into a disco room while parents can relax in the restaurant watching their children on tv screens. Then its off to the separate party area where they are served healthy snacks including: fish goujons, cucumber, carrot sticks, grapes, olives and pizza. Each guest takes home a balloon and a party bag and have a good night's sleep afterwards. It is advisable to book a few months in advance if you are interested in having your child's party here though as it gets booked up early. This place is head over heels above any other the kids have been to. Well worth a visit!

Will not be coming here again. Not only do I think it's way overpriced, £58.80 for my three…read morechildren plus meals and entry for myself. the fact that I got charged and extra £6.50 upon leaving is out of order. I hadn't been aware that I had incurred extra staying charges, my ticket start time was 15:30 and the end time was 18:00 and seeing as my children had left the play equipment at 5pm to go to the cafe and have the meal I paid for with their entry. I was absolutely shocked that upon leaving I was charged more money. I spent more money on the cafe too £21 I never would have stayed in the cafe till after 6 if I knew I would get charged for just sitting in there and even more so, the manager had the cheek to ask me to come again. That put me off big time. At one point my kid got lost because it was so busy which took over 30 minutes to find her. In fact about 3 kids got lost. It's way too over crowded in there. I even called ahead to check if it was busy and got told no only to arrive and be told there was no space so I had to book and come back 30 minutes other. Staff were lovely but I am not a happy customer.

Kingswood Park is a bit of a hidden gem really. Not because its anything particularly special, but…read morebecause on Kingswood Road, situated on the way to Burnage from Fallowfield, you would expect to find nothing but woe, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you'll notice a nice little park, which is worth a visit, depending on your intentions. Its surprisingly large, and mainly (as one might expect) green in colour. Its nothing special unless you want to play ball games. If you do want to play ball games, you'll find a football pitch and a basketball court here, alongside some other park space which a bit of creativity can turn into the perfect space for any game involving spherical objects. As its on Kingswood Road, its always really empty. This makes it ideal if you want the pitch for you and your mates. Also, its really not in the middle of nowhere, as its only 5 minutes walk from the Fallowfield Sainsbury's. It's a far better bet than Platt Fields or Ladybarn park if you're looking to arrange some football.

The Mrs managed to catch this of me yesterday before my daily swim at Withington baths currently…read moretraining for iron man triathlon event. Can't tell you how far i've come.

I'm glad that when they built the gigantic Aquatics Centre they didn't let the smaller quainter…read moreleisure centres around town turn to wreck and ruin. Whilst the Aquatics Centre is certainly more suitable for serious swimming, it is nice to have convenient local pools such as Chorlton Leisure Centre and Withington Leisure Centre. Withington Leisure Centre is home to a 25m pool, a sauna, gym and they also hold aerobics and aqua aerobics classes. Memberships are available. My friend had a student membership which she said was really good value as long as you used the facilities a couple of times a week - it's about half the price you would pay at the swanky Virgin gym at Parrs Wood. It's a little bit cheaper for a swim here than at the AC but you have to be prepared to circumnavigate loitering biddies and splashing kids as there are no lanes, and there is free swimming for under 16s and over 65s! The best thing is that you don't need to worry about finding a pound coin for the locker and lugging your pile of clothes, shampoo, towel etc around (which inevitably leaves you with soggy knickers or your towel on the bottom of the pile when you get out!). You simply leave all of your belongings in one of the cubicles around the edge of the pool. I like that traditional touch, and although this pool isn't as pretty as Victoria Baths or as functional as the Aquatics Centre, it's a good place to swim if you live in Withington or Fallowfield.