A guide to the best mischievous spots in and around Manchester | Advertisement Feature

Get out and about with a visit to the best mischievous spots in and around Manchester – Advertisement Feature. 

With months of lockdown under our belts, a bit of family mischief is much needed. We have therefore teamed up with sweet makers, MAOAM and our resident blogger Gemma, at Mum on the Go, to help you get up to some fun with the kids at our favourite silly places in and around Manchester. 

Here at Family On The Go, we are big fans of MAOAM sweets. They are the ultimate in chewy sweets and there are so many different MAOAMs to choose from. From zingly, tingly centre MAOAM Pinballs, to MAOAM Stripes with fun flavours including cola, strawberry and raspberry and MAOAM Joystixx offering extra-long sticks of yumminess. 

Plus, their Hub of Mischief, which launched in April, is lots of fun. It is separated into three fun sections; a mischievous blog section full of fun news and how-tos; videos and challenges from the hilarious Dick and Dom; and a competition section detailing how you can win some delicious MAOAM prizes. Check it out at http.MAOAM.fun. 

The best mischievous spots in Manchester 

Like lots of other families across the UK, during the lockdown, we have been on the lookout for new ways to entertain the kids and have fun as a family. Since its launch in April, we have become regular visitors to MAOAM’s new Hub of Mischief (check out our review here – ADD IN LINK). When we were challenged by MAOAM to find the silliest spots to get up to some family-friendly mischief, we jumped at the chance. Check out our top picks below. 

Rolling Down Hills At Heaton Park, Manchester 

Heaton Park is one of our favourite places to visit. We love the amazing playgrounds, the free animal centre, rowing boats and land train. However, with these attractions closed, we’ve more recently discovered how much fun we could have on their great hills. 

During our last visit to Heaton Park, we decided to bring some silliness and mischief to our day out, with a kids vs parents hill rolling competition. 

The rules were simple: the first to roll down the hill (on their side) would be the winner. After checking the hill for any dangerous (or yucky) obstacles, the kids and my husband (I was the judge) all laid down at the top of the hill. We counted backwards from three and then they were off.

With MAOAM sweets up for grabs, the kids were determined to win! However, we decided to add an extra level of mischief, conveniently forgetting to give them a head start to make up for the adult weight advantage. We distracted them when rolling so they went off course, and my husband jumped up before the end of the race to steal the MAOAM.  

The kids absolutely loved both the hill rolling and the new mischievous tricks they learnt, which they happily used on me in the second race.  

They even said it was the best trip they had ever had to the park, completely forgetting their disappointment that they weren’t able to use the playground or take a ride on the train. 

Sinking Rafts At Brabyns Park, Marple, Stockport 

Brabyns Park in Marple is well known for its beautiful scenery and is a great place for family walks. However, it is also a great place for family mischief and silly fun.

My kids love building little rafts out of twigs and long grass, and as Brabyns boasts little beaches providing access to shallow parts of the River Goyt, the park is perfect for racing them. On our recent visit to the park with friends (social distancing of course), we decided to add a bit of mischief to the raft racing and challenged the kids to try and sink each other’s.

Once they had built their rafts and checked they could float, we told the kids that we were going to have a ‘sinking the rafts’ competition, giving them some MAOAM Pinballs to do the job. Of course the Pinballs, as we expected, went straight into the kids mouths and we settled on small pebbles for the sinking.

All the kids loved sinking each others rafts, but not as much as myself and my friend who joined in the sinking fun, doing a silly dance each time we hit our target. 

Of course any activity around water can be dangerous so if you try this fun activity, always watch the kids carefully. 

Scaring Fun At Haughton Dale, Denton, Tameside 

Haughton Dale (aka Haughton Green Woods) in Denton, Tameside, is a lovely wooded area with easy walks for the whole family. It is also a great place to get up to some mischief. 

With lots of big trees and cleared wooded areas, it is a perfect place to play hide and seek, or as we started playing on our last visit, hide and scare! We initially started playing our usual game of hide and seek, until my husband decided it would be much more fun to jump out on me when it was my turn to seek. 

The game quickly turned into the hiders teaming up to see how loud they could make the seeker scream. The kids thought this game was hilarious, especially when we all managed to jump out on my husband resulting in an extremely funny, high pitched squeal. 

Just make sure before you start to play with the kids in the woods that you check that the area is safe. 

Lying Still Competition At Lytham St Anne’s

Just over an hour away, Lytham St Anne’s is one of Manchester’s closest beaches and a great place for silly fun. From building sandcastles and destroying them, to sneakily pouring buckets of seawater over each other, there is lots of mischief that families can get up to. 

However, one of our favourite mischievous activities is the lying still in the sand competition. Normally, any game that requires my kids to stay still for more than a couple of minutes, never goes down well. However, they love this challenge, especially when we offer MAOAM sweets as a prize. 

The challenge is simple.  On cooler days at the beach so that they don’t get too hot, the kids lie in the sand either lightly or fully covered (not too much so that it is heavy and dangerous). Then, set a timer for a couple of minutes during which the child has to stay still. If they manage it, they get a MAOAM and if they don’t, you get it.  

Once they are playing the game, you can sit back and watch, or you can increase your chance of winning and gain some mischief points. Get tickling toes and noses, splash them with a bit of water or if you’re feeling extra mischievous tease them with a MAOAM or two. 

Although, be warned it is amazing how still the kids can stay when their favourite sweets are up for grabs. So, you may just have to steal one when they can’t move…

More Mischief Ideas At MAOAM’s Hub Of Mischief

If like us you love getting up to mischief with the kids, don’t forget to head over to MAOAM’s Hub of Mischief (add link) where you will find videos, challenges, crafts and lots more. 

MAOAM’s Hub Of Mischief Competition

If the kids or your family love pranks and creating mischief, why not head over to the MAOAM Hub for the chance to win some great MAOAM goodies.

To enter MAOAM’s Competition, all you need to do is share proof of your pranks on either their Instagram at @maoam_uk, Twitter at @OfficialMAOAM or on Facebook at @MAOAM UK.

MAOAM is a registered trademark of MAOAM International Limited and is used with permission. The views, ideas and opinion expressed here are my own.