If there's one thing Manchester is missing at the moment it's a big waterpark. With the new Therme waterpark not expected to open near The Trafford Centre until 2025, we didn't want to wait that long, so decided to head south to sample Waterworld.
I say 'south', but it's actually only a 40-minute drive from Manchester, in Stoke-one-Trent, and remarkably easy to get to.
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In fact you'll see the brightly coloured tube slides sticking out of the place as you approach it, which only added to the excitement for my young passengers.
It was my son and his friends who I was taking along to try out the place, which underwent a massive £10m expansion in 2019, but fell under many people's radar because of the pandemic that swiftly followed.
The addition of Tornado Alley brought four new 'white-knuckle' rides, including Thunderbolt, the UK's first trap door drop slide, which sees you literally dropped into a 25mph water flume.
Then there's Hurricane, a feet first slide with special stripy lighting effects; Cyclone, where you sit in a rubber ring and are propelled into a shuttle of turbulent water, before shooting out into a spiralling dome; and the park's longest ride, Stormchaser, which intersperses dark black holes with more lighting effects.
With the boys aged 11 and over, they could have gone it alone, the park's rule is that under 11s or weak swimmers must be accompanied by an adult at all times, with a maximum of two under 11s to one adult allowed.
Unfortunately for them I wanted in on the fun too. I didn't quite make it to the drop slide like they did. Even they only gave that one a go after climbing the wrong stairs, but the verdict was 'it's epic', even if you do 'get water up your bum'.
There's lots more than just those four rides though. In fact there are more than 30 rides and attractions altogether, my particular favourite being Nucleus - the water roller coaster that blasts you along the slide in a rubber ring.
For younger ones there's a separate area with toddler slides and lily pads to hop across and the four-lane rainbow multi-slide where the whole family can race at once is a big hit.
You can have a more relaxing trip if you want - there are a couple of bubble pools dotted about to put your feet up and in the warmer months there's an outdoor pool to enjoy too. Or you could stay dry altogether and just supervise from the poolside café.
But when there are so many thrilling rides to enjoy, why would you want to? All visitors are guaranteed at least three hours in the waterpark, but at quieter times you can stay longer. And if you really want to make a day of it, there's adventure mini golf at the site too.
Waterpark tickets cost from £19, babies £7, and can be booked online. You can buy a combi ticket for the waterpark and golf for £27.
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