10 Things To Do Near Manchester Airport! 10 Minutes from the Airport!

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If you find yourself on a stopover in Manchester between flights or you’ve decided to stay a night near Manchester airport between flights and want to know what the best things to do in Manchester Airport are, you are in luck as there are a number of nice places to visit by Manchester Airport.

I live just 7 minutes from Manchester Airport and I love the location because the airport is close to the motorway but also many suburban areas like Altrincham, Hale and Wilmslow meaning there are nice parks, places to eat and attractions near Manchester Airport.

Things to do near Manchester Airport

Below is a varied list of things to do around Manchester whether you have a stopover at Manchester Airport or you’re flying into Manchester Airport to continue your journey elsewhere in the UK,

You might also be looking for things to do near Manchester Airport because you have friends or family living this way and this list will help you out too!

Things to do at Manchester Airport

If you have a stopover at Manchester Airport and it’s more than a couple of hours, I do recommend leaving the airport (visa etc permitting) because Manchester Airport isn’t that big and aside from a few food places in each terminal there is not anything to do within Manchester Airport and there are no good relaxing areas.

Terminal 2 is the biggest terminal with the most amount of facilities such as shops and restaurants but in comparison to other airports this is very minimal and Terminals 1 and 3 are even smaller.

None of these places to visit around Manchester Airport are walkable. You will need to get a taxi, hire a car or get the train from Manchester Airport station to get to them. Here are my recommended ways of leaving Manchester Airport.

Taxi from Manchester Airport

Whichever terminal you depart from there will be a taxi rank.

If you want to use Uber you can but you will need to find the Uber pick-up points which are usually in one of the car parks opposite arrivals rather than on the road outside arrivals.

If you are not going far, I would suggest getting a taxi from outside the airport to get you to one of the chosen places near Manchester Airport and then using a taxi app to get you back. Uber is available but I always use Passenger Cars.

If you want to go into the city which is a bit further from the airport, you can preorder a taxi using StreetCars on the website here.

Also read my post on How To Get From Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly EASILY if you want to go into the city!

Train Tickets From Manchester Airport

What’s really handy is that Manchester Airport has its own train station which is linked to all 3 terminals via a sky tunnel.

For many of the below things to do near Manchester Airport, you can get the train and I’ll advise below how to do this for each place.

For train times and tickets in the UK, I always use The Train Line

Manchester Airport also has a tram stop which is a great way to get to many of these places near Manchester Airport and I’ll detail below the options where you can go by tram, also known as the Metrolink.

Car Hire from Manchester Airport

If you have more time to spend around Manchester Airport, hiring a car is a great idea since public transport isn’t that frequent and there are plenty of places to hire a car from at Manchester Airport.

I always use Rental Cars as they search all the top car rental companies for the best availability and price!

Quarry Bank Mill is one of my favourite National Trust sites because it has a long woodland walking path along the river and through the woods. It also has 2 cafes, beautifully manicured gardens and 2 houses where you can learn about the history of the cotton industry in Manchester as this was a real cotton mill.

I really recommend heading here if you want to get into nature, get some peace and quiet and breathe some fresh air.

And, if you are interested in the history of Manchester as you’ll learn a lot inside the houses about the cotton industry that put Manchester on the map!

Manchester Airports Runway Visitor Park is an attraction in its own right and one of the things to do with kids in Manchester!

The park is home to a variety of retired planes, including the Concorde G-BOAC which you can take a tour of and the former RAF military spy plane, Nimrod.

There’s also a cafe, aviation shop, play areas for children and seasonal events and activities.

This is one of the great places to go near Manchester Airport but it is worth noting you’ll need to drive, get a taxi or a bus as it’s not internally connected to the airport and airport terminals. Here are the directions.

Here you’ll find a modern British pub and restaurant serving well-priced meals and drinks.

Romper is located a 3 minutes drive or 10-minute walk from the Runway Visitor Centre I’ve mentioned above so if you’re looking for a meal and some activities near Manchester Airport without venturing too far, combing these will be a great idea!

If you have half a day or more time on your stopover in Manchester, I would recommend heading into the city by train.

The train journey is between 15-25 minutes depending on the train, although I’d always recommend giving yourself extra time as the trains can be off schedule quite often.

I’d recommend not going into the city unless you have at least 2 hours to spend in the city.

This option does require more time than other ideas of places to visit from Manchester Airport because although it takes 15-30 minutes to drive there or in a taxi depending on the traffic, the tour takes 2 hours and you need to get there a bit early.

Plus, if you plan to get public transport you might need to go through the city and back out again meaning it could take 40-50 minutes from Manchester Airport to Old Trafford by train or tram.

Here’s my review of the Manchester United Stadium Tour, I took my stepsons and although we’re not big football fans we really enjoyed it!

You will need to drive yourself or get a taxi and I’d recommend arranging for a taxi driver you pick you up as it the location is quite remote. The journey is about 20 minutes.

You’ll also need to pre-book with White Peak Alpaca Farm, it’s not a petting farm that’s open to the public all day but they do offer slots for meet and greet where you’ll go into the Alpaca pens and pet them and have time to walk around their farm seeing some of the other animals.

Or you can book the Alpaca walking experience where you’ll walk one of their trusted Alpaca around their farm for 40 minutes.

We just did the meet and greet and although it wasn’t long we still had a really nice time there with the little one.

Opposite is a pub called Plough and Flail, this is a modern but traditional English country pub offering food and drink so if you’ve taken the time to drive the Alpaca Farm on your Manchester stopover, you can enjoy some food here at the same time!

Alderley Edge is actually a lovely suburb with cafes and small shops but just up the road is the National Trust site Alderley Edge with a car park, a small cafe and lots of walking routes through the forest.

This is one of our favourite places to go walking, especially with the kids as the wood is big and spacious but it’s easy to get to.

There’s also an amazing view of the city skyline from the ‘edge’ of Alderley Edge.

Related post: 7 MUST-VISIT National Trust Sites in Manchester and nearby!

8. Visit Hale Village

Approx time needed: 10 minute drive each way plus 1-2 hours

If you want to get some food, stretch your legs, and see a beautiful part of Cheshire nearby Manchester Airport, I recommend heading into Hale Village.

Hale is just a 10 minute drive from Manchester Airport and taxis will be able to take you easily if you don’t have your own car.

I visit Hale a lot to go for brunch and dinner as there are many nice places to eat in Hale as well as there being a few independent shops.

Hale is a very upmarket suburb in Manchester and Cheshire with celebrities living nearby. It’s very traditional English which is great to see if you are coming from overseas.

For food recommendations, I suggest:

• Juniper Hale – casual cafe for Breakfast or Lunch
• The Garden Eatery – casual cafe for Breakfast or Lunch
• The Plant Boost – healthy cafe Drink, Breakfast or Lunch
• Cibo Hale – fancy Italian restaurant for Lunch or Dinner
• Piccolino Hale – fancy Italian restaurant for Lunch or Dinner
• Victors Hale – fancy British restaurant for Lunch or Dinner
• Pizza Express – casual restaurant for Lunch or Dinner
• WA14 Fish & Chips – posh but traditional restaurant Fish & Chips
• Yogberries – Frozen Yogurt Snack

9. Visit Wilmslow

Approx time needed: 15 minutes each way plus 1-2 hours there

Another little suburb that’s great to visit near Manchester Airport is Wilmslow.

Wilmslow has its own train station and it’s possible to get a 10 minute train from Manchester Airport train station to Wilmslow train station, or, you can drive 15 minutes.

For train times and tickets in the UK, I always use The Train Line

Wilmslow is a bit bigger than Hale Village and doesn’t have the quintessential English look that Hale does, but it is still a fancy area of Cheshire with independent shops and lots of places to eat making it a good place to visit from Manchester Airport for some food and a walk around on your stopover.

For food recommendations, I suggest:

• Gails – a casual cafe for Breakfast or Lunch
• Juniper Wilsmlow – a casual cafe for Breakfast or Lunch
• Lusso – a casual cafe for Breakfast or Lunch
• Smoke – a casual cafe for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner
• Buzzy Bee Bakery – bakery for amazing sweet treats
• Unico Lounge – a casual restaurant for Breakfast or Lunch

Although this is a club for regular members, they have a dedicated spa area offering treatments to non-members and spa day packages like this.

They have a lovely full-sized indoor pool, heated outside pool and rooftop infinity pool with many saunas, steam rooms etc which are all available to use when you book a spa day with them.

And best of all, Hale Country Club and Spa is just a 10 minute drive from Manchester Airport making it easy to get to and from between flights.

I hope this helps with things to do near Manchester Airport!

• For more of my Manchester posts see:
• 22+ GREAT Day Trips From Manchester
• 25+ FUN Family Days Out IN Manchester
• Perfect One Day in Manchester Itinerary
• BEST Halal Restaurants in Manchester