7 Rainy Day Activities To Do Around Manchester

When living in Manchester, it rains just about... always. These are the best rainy day activities to do in and around Manchester that will keep you occupied!

Lucky you, you have some time to kill in the fabulous city of Manchester. Whatever you’re in the mood for, the city can provide. The caveat, however, is that every day in Manchester is a rainy day (give or take the 10 best days of summer). If you wake up to glorious sunshine, don’t be fooled – it’s a trap and it WILL rain later the same day. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time though, you’ve just got to get creative with a roof over your head. So with that in mind, it’s probably a good tactical decision to have a handful of rainy day activities up your sleeve. Here are 7 rainy day activities to do around Manchester.

1. Treat Yourself to Retail Therapy

Listen to that little voice in your head telling you to treat yo’self – no better time to justify it than when it’s raining sideways for the tenth time that week. Manchester is a shopaholic’s dream. Whether you head to the famous Trafford Centre packed full of 280 global brands, the central Arndale Centre with everything from Urban Outfitters to Selfridges, or you go to an original Mancunian establishment and explore Afflecks Palace in the hope of finding a true vintage gem. All destinations have somewhere you can safely leave your shopping-averse boyfriend to sit down.

2. Throw Some Axes

This is an amazing new trendy way to spend some time indoors, perfect for a rainy day or night! Head to Whistle Punks in Manchester to chuck real axes at wooden targets for an hour and a half. An experienced throwing coach will show you and your mates the best technique and provide tips to get you started, then it’s up to you to put your back into it! Hailed as one of the most effective and novel ways to work out your stresses, it’s seriously fun and like nothing else out there. Seriously, where else are you allowed (never mind encouraged) to throw sharp pointy things across a room?

3. Play An Escape Room Game

If you really want to test your relationships with family, friends, and partners, take them to play an escape room game. The idea is simple and anyone can get involved. Your group are locked away in a room that is furnished impeccably to represent the room’s theme (think murder mystery, or creepy motel or futuristic spy academy for example), in order for your team to escape and beat the game you have to work together to surpass a series of puzzles and mental challenges by finding clues within the room all within the hour. The pressure is intense, and communication is key – you’d never think you’d scream at your best friend for failing to unscramble an anagram. Fancy dress in the theme of the room is of course provided.

4. Play Some Seriously Crazy Crazy Golf

Combine cocktails, UV paint and some of the wackiest mini golf courses and you’ll have a pretty accurate mental picture of what goes down at Junkyard Golfclub. Crazy golf is deceptively hard, it’s even harder when you’ve got to get your golf ball over the paddling pool filled with mannequin body parts onto a moving treadmill to then pot it in the corner of a snooker table with the legs sawn off. It’s up to you how honestly you mark your scorecard, but with the cocktails they make it’s unlikely anyone will make par!

5. Try Bouldering

If you’re in the mood to try a new sport but don’t fancy running around in the rain, head down to Rockover Manchester and see how you fare at bouldering. Similar to indoor rock climbing, but different in that no ropes or harnesses are required as the walls are lower but more complex, it’s unbelievably fun and is definitely one of the best rainy day activities. It’s one of those addictive activities that has a steep learning curve – if you go consistently your climbing ability and fitness will increase enormously and you’ll be completing climbing routes that you wouldn’t have dreamed of attempting all those weeks ago. Unleash your inner Spiderman and go mad, climb the walls.

6. Hit The Bowling Lanes

The ultimate rainy day activity from everyone’s childhood has to be ten pin bowling. Think screaming kids, hideous clown shoes and shameful screen names. Rethink it all and spend an afternoon or evening at DogBowl Manchester. This swanky bar-cum-bowling alley is a great place to head for a bowling session that feels a little bit more special. Best of all, in between bowling rounds you can order delicious food from DogBowl’s unbeatable menu, think loaded fries, burgers, and vanilla fudge cheesecake. Tell yourself bowling burns calories because the balls are heavy.

7. Watch Some Stand-Up Comedy

This is something that just never crosses anyone’s mind, but heading to a comedy club to watch some proper stand-up comedy is a fantastic way to spend a rainy day. Manchester gives you plenty of options in the form of The Comedy Store and The Frog and Bucket, and quite often the acts that you’ll be lucky enough to see will be on the up and coming comedy circuit that will soon take them all over the world! There’s always content to suit everybody’s’ tastes and you’ll find yourself cackling so hard you snort. In public. This is definitely one of the best rainy day activities to do in Manchester!