Runway Visitor Park in Manchester

A great place for aviation enthusiasts and families alike! Visited the Runway Visitor Park with my wife and two sons, and we had a fantastic time. We arrived early to catch the action, and it was truly exciting to watch planes take off and land up close. There are plenty of benches to sit and enjoy the view, along with a nice children’s play area to keep the little ones entertained. The park has good facilities including clean toilets, a shop with interesting aviation memorabilia, and a restaurant for meals or snacks. One of the highlights is the permanent Concorde display housed in a hangar—well worth checking out! It's located about 3 miles from Manchester Airport station. Just a heads-up: the car park can fill up quickly, so arriving early is a good idea. Overall, a great day out for the whole family! Would you like a shorter version as well for platforms like TripAdvisor?

Great place to view planes taking off and landing.

My son is an aviation enthusiast and we visit here regularly. Traffic can be quite busy on the approach due to popularity but is well managed by stewards. Food and drinks are reasonable and plenty of free (plane based) activities for kids.

Nice cafe where you can watch the planes coming n going.

Visited here many times. Never had any trouble parking even when really busy. Food is reasonably priced. Also did the Concorde tour last year. A great to way to pass a few hours if you love aviation.

Way to expensive , car parking was fair , refreshments will require you to get a bank loan ,

Great experience and the Concorde visitor centre was amazing value £6 each

Love this place the planes are so close with commentary when we went of what the flight was and the plane type, only let down been the overpriced rides set up at one end

Good place to go in Manchester to watch planes take-off and land

Value for money. Our kid really enjoyed his visit as well as us, the parents. Was fairly busy, but still was so much to do in children’s playground.

Nice ,clean and peaceful place Good for kids and for families

We have our work conference here under concorde and the whole area is a fabulous place to come and watch the planes.

Love to come here with my niece and family. There’s something to keep everyone occupied with. Love the new play area as well

Great place to watch planes, great place to chill. If you have children you can bring them here, there is a little playground for them and some planes are open. There is an aviation shop, a cafe and toilets.

Nice location for Planes spotting

really good place to plane spot, I take my camera every time I go. you can see my photos on TikTok @lyndon.avaition1

My kids loved this place. You can bring your own food and the play area is a lovely touch.

Fantastic day out ,plenty of seating indoor and out ,a nice cafe ,and you get to see concorde up close ,my grandson loved watching the planes taxi past after landing ,and a good play area

Parking charges are same as airport but good day out /afternoon with family and kids Overall worth a visit

If you love aircraft a great place to spend a couple of hours .

We had a lovely time with the kids. Food was decent and avg price. Facilities sere good and lots of disability access.

It was beautiful for family with children

wonderful spot for plane Spotting

We recently visited the Runway Visitor Park in Manchester and had a fantastic time! It was an amazing experience, especially for the kids. We were able to see planes take off up close, which was both exciting and fascinating. The park also has a couple of fun rides for children, and there’s a small café for snacks and drinks. Many families were enjoying picnics in the sunny, cheerful atmosphere. Overall, it was a beautiful visit—and definitely recommended for anyone who loves planes!

Well organised and live commentary is good. The mound is ideal for the budding plane spotter. Plenty of seating and shelter and a decent amount of parking

Well worth a visit just to see the concorde.

Everyone there is friendly. I went there with my kids and one of my friends. One of my kids is a huge aviation geek, and he was loving it. The people doing the commentary of the planes are awesome telling you facts about different airlines like how many planes are in the Air Portugal fleet. There was a great atmosphere for when the Airbus a380 was about to land. Everyone was talking about where it was. You got a great view of the planes taking of and landing. The stationary aircrafts add a great touch for when you enter the park. One of the stationary aircraft has a mini museum in it. From the cafe you get a great view of concorde.

Great place to go plane spotting, nice cafe with good Food and Drink, a shop with plenty of models and apparel, The Iconic Concorde and other incredible Aircraft to view and a day to spend with your family.

Nice picnic place in a sunny day. Children enjoy the planes. Car park is 5£ for 2 hours.

Excellent day out with family. Get to see takeoff and landing aircraft close up with all the noise! Nice kids park on site. Car parking £5 2 hours. Open until 6pm with gift shop and clean toilets Nice 360sim for £7 per person kids loved it with added bonus it’s in the Concorde hanger so you get to see that up close to. Nice raised viewing platform with seating and grassy areas. Good commentary when it’s on for incoming and outbound aircraft. Other planes to see too static displays kids enjoy and adults to. Indoor cafe reasonably priced or have own picnic.

Amazing experience. Highly recommend a visit

Really enjoyable trip, mini Concorde tour was interesting and children loved the 360 simulator, would highly recommend a visit

Always a great visit to the Manchester Airport RVP!

This is a great place for aviation enthusiasts! There's plenty of good spots for viewing and now additional commentary which is informative especially with eta updates if popular aircraft, such as the A380, are running late. I've visited many times over the years, starting when Concorde was parked outside. Sadly now, it's tucked away inside a building and, on my last visit, hidden behind curtains due to a wedding. It's a shame such an iconic aircraft isn't more visible. The Avro, however, is free to visit and you get a great view of the flight deck and many of its 'innards' Yes, £12 to park your car is expensive if you're travelling alone in the vehicle, as I was, however, it's a very fair price for 5 hours, especially if you've a the family in the car. The cafe is fairly averagely priced . A coffee costs £3, but you can bring your own picnic to keep costs down. Plenty of things in the playground to keep the kids amused. Watch out if a trade fair is taking place, it gets very busy! Some good stalls though located beneath Concorde in the hanger.

Concord is brilliant. We did the simulator too. It goes upside down.

if you are early for your flight 5 minutes from the airport terminals then this is a place to visit. we did the short guided tour of the concorde an icon of aviation. the guide was very knowledgeable, I was sorry I did not have time to do the two hour tour with more details about the engineering and details of the supersonic plane. outside there is a play area for children and obviously the space to watch the planes take off.

I highly recommend the Runway Visitor Park. I think this was my 4th time visiting and we enjoyed it as always. By foot, entry is free or you can park your car and pay £5 for 2 hours and £10 for 4 hours. A token is given and you pass this to the attendant on the way out. It is a lovely park to spot planes. There is a spectator viewing platform or you can view the planes from the grassy area where there are picnic benches. There is a playground and some rides for children (there is a charge for the rides). Inside, there is a cafe selling snacks, sandwiches, cold and hot drinks, chips etc. There are a few planes that you can go inside to take a look, the main one being the Concorde. You can see the Concorde from the outside for free but to go inside, you have to book a tour which are various prices. I love coming here and will definitely visit again this year.

Very good, would recommend, but take lots of money it's very expensive in the cafe and shop

Great day out when its sunny, unfortunately the premair terminal has spoilt the view of the main terminal building, get there early, there seems to be a queue to get in when the sun's out.

A fantastic experience for aviation enthusiasts and families alike! Runway Visitor Park offers amazing views of planes taking off and landing, and the Concorde tour is a must-see. The facilities are well maintained, staff are friendly, and there's a great café to relax in. A perfect day out for all ages—highly recommend!

Amazing place. Great for the kids.

Oh...men, this place and for grown ups to babies alike. You can stay here ALL day long. Anyway, you are at the mercy of the weather. Just keep that in mind. My only issue is that at the time I visited it is far easier to get there via car or else you have to walk a bit. A Google maps navigation might help a bit. I hope that management would make a proper foot path from the road to the park. For half the distance I walked, I was sharing the road with cars....!

Great morning out for budding plane spotters

Usually a fantastic place to go to, but now sadly, parking has become ridiculously expensive (£5 under 2 hours, £10 over 2 hours!!). There's only 1 raised viewing area, which can get busy, the funfair rides are expensive (£3 per ride, no offers, 1 ride lasted about a minute max) and the ice cream stall sells the smallest and stingiest scoop I've ever seen! Next time, I'll keep my visit to under 2 hours, or I'll be going to the nearby Airport pub.

A great place to go to watch the planes take off to their holiday destination, plenty of space for the kids to run around, lovely cafe, a shop and their is a Concord. Didn't even know this place was there. Really enjoyed my visit

Was there for a trade show. Venue was great. Great tour of Concorde

Great place to spend the day in the sun. Plenty of space, picnic tables and facilities are clean also. Great views of the runways.

such a lovely family day out! plenty of room to spread out, picnic tables, a cafe, a souvenir shop, funfair with icecream on sunny days and you can also go inside a plane they have got on show!

First time we've been there enjoyed it great for the kids to would definitely go again

Lovely day with family, nice atmosphere

Definitely worth visiting especially if you are a plane spotter. The planes are really close by and you can see take off and landing.

Amazing we had so much fun the planes were so close to us I felt like I could touch it. We also did the 360 degree simulator that was so much fun (not for the faint hearted). We also saw a real Concorde and may other planes it was just annoying that you had to have a booking for all the planes when I just wanted to see the inside 😭😭😭 I recommend coming here and being fancy camera 📷 to take massing close up picks of the planes Please react thx.

Brilliant if you visit at weekends with the commentary

Good for plane spotting and a hot or cold snack. Coffee isn't too bad either. Concorde is very cool, book inside tour in advance, toilet facilities, £5 per car entry fee.

Great place for the kids with a brilliant viewing area and loads of picnic benches. £10 for 4hrs parking ok. Tour around concord was available but, at £6pp, a bit expensive. The childrens play area was great but the little funfair very overpriced. Overall, a good day out with the kids.

A great place to have fun with kids

To busy took ages just to park up.

We booked for the Platinum Tour on a Sunday in April which was amazing. Would highly recommend. It's two hours long and very informative and after a cockpit Tour you get a Tour around the aircraft. Please note it took us around an hour to queue into the car park which was outrageous causing some people to be late for the tour. You need to arrive at least an hour before to allow for this.

Great place to visit. Lots of parking. Tickets cost...£5 up to 2 hours, £10 from 2 hours up to 4 hours and £12 for all stays over 4 hours. There is a viewing platform to watch the planes land and take off which is fun...lots of plane spotters there. You can book a tour to go inside Concorde, with or without champagne, or just look at it from outside. The cafe is very good, reasonably priced food which was excellent. There is a shop, a children's playground and nice clean toilets. (I would recommend using the ones inside the centre rather than in the prefab) Staff are great and all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our visits... we've been twice.

Great place to watch the planes arrive and takeoff and a lovely cafe to visit and a gift shop is a must.

As day out at the visitor park as always, great fun for all the family

Beautiful day spent a few steps from the take-off/landing runways of Manchester airport, with picnic tables and lots of green space available to everyone. You can then admire some historic British aviation planes. The highlight, however, is the legendary British Airways Concorde housed inside the hangar. With 1 or 2 hour guided tours it is possible to get on board, learn about its history, visit the cockpit, observe the iconic movement of the nose (it was lowered to facilitate the pilots' view at take-off/landing) and walk underneath the vehicle to appreciate its shape and four Rolls-Royce engines up close. There is also a restaurant, souvenir shop and toilets on site.

Nice place. Cafe is good (coffee isn't). Shame you have to pay to see concord and every time I've been Nimrod as been closed. Maybe book to avoid disappointment

Great views.. lots of picnic tables and a big play area for a family day out. £5 for 2 hours

Great place for any plane enthusiasts

Lovely place! You see so many planes take off and land. Highly recommend!

A genuinely enjoyable day out. Parking is reasonably priced, and you have the choice of bringing your own food or using the on-site cafe. The viewing area is excellent, providing clear, unobstructed views of the aircraft. On weekends, the added tannoy commentary offers interesting details about the planes. A great spot for aviation fans and families seeking a relaxed outing.

It’s a really wonderful place spend time on a sunny day.

Enjoyable visit but a bit disappointed with the lack of ‘hands on’ experiences for toddlers. Only one aircraft open to visit and the cockpit of that one is behind Perspex with no access as is much of the interior. Was expecting a more interactive aircraft experience

Excellent view for watching the planes land and take off, you are close to the runway. Car parking, cafe, toilets and playground.

We took our grandson he loved it watching the planes take off and land and on the children's playground the price isn't to bad either.

Good relaxing day out watching aircraft.

Our autistic son loves this place, especially the shop 🤣

Work event, only negative would be needs new carpets

Been a few times over the years.

Fantastic viewing will be going back concord platinum tour was very good well worth a visit

Definitely a gem, great to see planes landing and taking off so close, fantastic experience with Concorde, staff all very pleasant and welcoming, cafeteria spot on, definitely recommend

The cafe is not very good. Very disappointed with the breakfast we had there, very basic, no frills, over priced. Take your own food and you should have a nice day. Car park prices start at £5 for upto 2 hours then it's £10 for upto 4 hours.

Great day out for a trade show with one of my suppliers, one of the only Concorde planes left and you can book a tour of the plane and even sit in he cockpit with your children, great gift shop and food/drinks available!

I loved being there getting up closed to the airplanes and seeing concorde <3

The park has improved dramatically since I last went. It now has vastly improved viewing areas with plenty of seating options. It also has a large restaurant serving hot food and drinks with plenty of seating, a large children's play area, an aviation shop and toilets. Great views of the runways.

Amazing spot for AV geeks. Still free access.on foot or by bicycle too

Great place for all the family!

By the runways and the concord hanger at Manchester airport

What a brilliant experience we'll worth a visit highly recommended

Brilliant viewing area. The commentary of the planes coming in and out was fantastic. Area is super safe for kids. The cafe was fantastic - food and drink really good. It was busy but that’s a good sign! The Concorde exhibition was fantastic. The model aircraft shop was an absolute treasure drive of planes which the kids enjoyed. Amazing how much fun you can have watching planes! Only downside is that you will be envious of the people flying on holiday!!

Awesome place for plane lovers. Our toddler is obsessed with planes at the moment, and lived seeing the planes take off and land. Free to visit, just have to pay for parking. Kids play area was good, and cafe to get drinks and food.

Thank you for the excellent service.

Love coming here, bring a picnic and its a great day out for all.

Private Function on so unable to view Concord.

Fantastic very learning disability friendly

Great day out watching the planes. Cafe on site and playground for the kids.

I come here once per month to watch and film planes. It's a great place to come and you can get great close ups of planes taxiing and turning from the runway, but the actual runway itself isn't so close to the viewing area. However, otherwise 10/10 from me!!

Went here to planespot at manchester airport and was brilliant the site was great and the concorde is there if you go you must see it and lots of stalls selling plane models will definitely go again

My 10 year old sons birthday party - Absolutely amazing! The Runway team were fantastic and his whole birthday party, food and the attention the team gave to my son s party was perfect. Seriously - Do you want a kids party that no one else would think of? ... try this! Amazing!

Great day out for all the family!

Great experience for anyone well worth the visit 😊

Don't forget close at 4:00pm and look for your transportation

What a great day out. It was a chilly February day when we went. It must be lush in the summer.

Stopped to kill some time in between dropping off and pick up clients. Grabbed a lovely sausage sandwich and a cup of coffee. With the sun belting down, it's a great way to view the constant aircraft traffic.