Ten ideas for a summer day out in Stockport | Local Topics | News | Stockport Nub News

Summer vacation is here and chances are you’re looking for fun things to do to fill your days!

Here are some suggestions for the route – whether you want some time for yourself or are looking for some fun family outings to make memories.

Walking on the Mersey

This little excursion is not as daunting as it sounds, and can be as long or as short as you like. The River Mersey has many stretches of riverside walkway, which at this time of year are green and scented with nature.

The terrain is gentle and easy to walk or cycle. It is also varied, as fields give way to forest and forest to sandbanks.

The Stockport to Cheadle route in particular has a few different options. If you walk west from the Pyramid you can get off at Heaton Mersey/Moor which has the best independent shopping street, or you can continue on to Cheadle and/or Didsbury. Cheadle has cafes, clothes shops, a garden centre and an excellent Oxfam bookshop!

Pear mill

Once discovered, this hidden gem is always a favourite on the daily menu. This historic building is packed with independent businesses offering a huge range of activities.

The Vintage Emporium is one of the jewels in the Pear Mill crown, with a bewildering collection of antiques and vintage clothing taking up almost an entire floor of the mill. There’s also a café, perfect for a break from browsing.

While there aren’t many ‘activities’ for kids at the Emporium, imaginative youngsters will have a great time winding their way through the maze of shelves and admiring the items for sale. Plus, there are other businesses based at Pear Mill offering rock climbing, a soft play centre and more.

Worker bee markets

Worker Bee Markets are held regularly in the Stockport area and are an ideal place to spend a late morning or early afternoon.

Art, baked goods, crocheted cacti, decorations… just a fraction of what you can find at one of the markets, and that’s just you’ve learned the alphabet. The traders are all local and sell everything from street food to handmade carpentry.

Check out the Worker Bee website for a full list of dates. For example, mark your calendar for the Edgeley edition on August 3rd!

Reddish Vale Farm (and park!)

Reddish Vale Farm is one of Stockport’s most popular visitor attractions on Trustpilot, and is proof that no one is ever too old to coo over cute animals.

The farm offers visitors of all ages the chance to meet the friendly wildlife, and there is also a soft play area, riding school and food and drink.

It is also set in the beautiful surroundings of Reddish Vale Park, where numerous walking trails run through this green corner of Stockport.

Avro Heritage Museum

This is one of those museums where you can easily spend a few days… The Avro Heritage Museum features a fleet of historic and replica aircraft, flight simulators, VR experiences and a regular programme of events.

There are also guided tours of the cockpits of certain aircraft and a café with panoramic views over the airfield.

A great place to spark or deepen your interest in history, technology and of course airplanes.

Dragon Miniature Railway / Dobbies Garden Centre

It’s not often that you find a miniature train within a stone’s throw of a garden centre, so this is worth a trip!

Dragon Miniature Railway is based at Dobbies Garden Centre. It features meticulously designed steam and diesel locomotives, scaled down to run on 7/14 inch gauge. The railway also has a well-stocked second-hand toy shop, the funds from which go towards supporting the railway.

And there’s just as much to enjoy at Dobbies Garden Centre, with an abundance of garden and botanical produce, plus a restaurant and soft play area.

Bramall Hall

This one speaks for itself! This beautiful historic hall offers so much; the charming hall itself is beautifully preserved, with grand chambers, secret hiding places, rare late medieval wall paintings and more.

There is also plenty to do for children, with regular activities and events. There is also a café, a souvenir shop and a beautiful wooded park.

Air raid shelters Stockport

And another one that needs no introduction! The shelters have just hit the big screen (appearing in the Netflix drama Fool Me Once) and offer an unparalleled glimpse into civilian life during wartime. Youngsters will enjoy the interactive exhibits and the mystery of the maze-like tunnels.

Stockport Hat Museum

Another popular tourist attraction, this is the only hat museum in the UK and has recently reopened after an extensive refurbishment.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of looking around yet, here are some things you can expect; you can expect, funnily enough, hats. But there’s more than that! Interactive exhibits, factory tours and more.

Some of the most striking hats include the Duke of Wellington’s cocked hat, a fez made in Stockport that made its way to South Africa (and back!), a number of striking hats worn by transvestites in Manchester and many more.

Stairwell

One of the oldest buildings in Stockport, Staircase House really brings the depth and colour of Stockport’s rich past home. If you go there, you can also brag to your friends that you’ve seen one of the few remaining Jacobean cage-newel staircases in the country (there are three in the UK). What will they think!?

But seriously, the house tells an excellent story spanning over 600 years of Stockport’s history. And instead of reading about it in a modern museum, you can experience that history in the building where it happened.

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