It’s a contradiction in terms, isn’t it? There can’t possibly be such a thing as a playground for the over-60s. There comes an inevitable time in life when the arthritic old joints become a bit too creaky for swings and chutes.

Ah, but there’s one muscle in the ageing frame that refuses to seize up, especially among ladies of advancing years. It’s called the natter box.

To the brave women who tested Britain’s first older people’s play area in a Manchester suburb yesterday the ski walker, the swinger and the see-saw, all bits of equipment designed to provide gentle toning of the hips and legs, were no more than a sideshow. They all saw the playground as the perfect excuse for a chat.

Few of those who attended yesterday’s opening could remember when they last visited a gym or played any kind of organised sport, but they all agreed that it offered the perfect workout for the vocal muscles.

The playground, in Dam Head Park on the Charlestown estate in the inner-city suburb of Blackley, is the inspiration of Joan FitzGerald, 76, who heard tell of pensioners’ parks spreading across Germany. She decided that her estate, where she chairs the residents’ association, could do with a slice of the gentle action and raised the £15,000 cost from the council and a local housing association.

Essentially, according to Miss FitzGerald, it’s about fun. Her favourite gadget is the ski walker, which offers an approximation of cross-country skiing. “It’s supposed to strengthen the hips,” she said. “You don’t necessarily feel daft when you’re doing it, but what it does do is make you start laughing, and that is a fine tonic for anybody.”

She also likes the swinger, which allows two people to stand face to face close enough for a chat, while swinging their hips from side to side. “If you get two people on that, you never stop laughing,” Miss Fitzgerald, a retired religious education teacher, said. “The only trouble is that if you stay on it for too long you come off like a drunken idiot.”

Susan Edgar, 63, and her friend Sylvia Bramall, 74, spent much longer in the bucket seats of the senior see-saw than they had intended. One finally dismounted with strained knees, the other with overworked hips.

“It’s better with two,” Mrs Edgar said. “Then you can have a good talk.”

Gordon Lishman, of Age Concern, said yesterday: “A well-designed fitness park could be a great way to encourage older people to exercise and socialise. Exercising a few times a week can make a big difference to someone’s health and does not have to be strenuous.

“Equally, socialising can help feelings of loneliness and depression.” Many older people were not exercising enough, and local authorities should offer more facilities to promote physical activity in later life, Mr Lishman said.

Pam Angelucci, 69, a local resident who helped to test the equipment yesterday, said: “If people use it, it will certainly help to keep them healthy. It’s good fun too. You could come down here and meet people, but maybe I’ll wait for a warmer day than today.”

Let’s go for it then, gran. If only that WD-40 stuff worked on knees.

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