The Apex Park is an informal leisure and wildlife park, created around the former clay pits - now…read moresmall lakes - of the Apex Brick works. The works closed in 1966, and the park was created and opened in 1972. The park, consisting of grassland, trees and hedgerows, covers some 42 acres. There are two main lakes: the larger, central one has an attractive hour-glass shape and its banks are lined with rushes. There are walks around this lake with park benches, and footpaths branch off to go to Highbridge (along the line of the old railway) and to Burnham's South Promenade, following the river bank of the River Brue (very muddy after wet weather!). There is a large car park off Marine Drive, which leads to a broad slipway into the lake. The other lake forms the park's north west boundary and lies partly within the Haven Holiday Village. Popular activities include BMX biking, model radio-controlled boating, jogging (there's a 'trim-trail' with various pieces of keep-fit apparatus) and fishing - the lakes are stocked with carp and bream. Dog obedience sessions also take place most Sunday mornings in good weather, and there's a children's play area and skate park. As well as the fish, wildlife includes birds, including geese, ducks, swans and various different types of sea bird, and the hedgerows contain a variety of different types of trees and bushes, home to insect and bird life. NB: The Highbridge Angling Association holds the fishing rights for the Apex Park. Permits can be obtained from Thyers Tackle Shop, 1A Church St, Highbridge - telephone 01278 786934.

Apex park is a beautiful wildlife reserve consisting of lakes, fish, sea birds, outdoor gym and…read morecarpark. There is loads to do with the features of the park including skating at the skate park, a rope climb and dog poo total wipeout. There is also adult entertainment with the odd dogger in the carpark on a summer Sunday evening. Overall apex park is a beautiful visit with activities fort all the family

How lucky are we to have a handful of expansive and beautiful Victorian parks dotted around the…read morecity? I didn't even know about this one and it's just around the corner from me really. So, I wrapped up warm and stepped through the impressive (and original) wrought iron gates on Church road. It was rather like stepping from the bustle of the modern city with all its traffic and noise into a tranquil Victorian landscape. An avenue of trees, lawns on which to give the dog a good run and a large duckpond/small lake (I can't quite decide which it is - man made whichever!). That's about it, but a refreshing change from walking on concrete. The gates are is open 24 hours (although I wouldn't recommend using it as a cut through to anywhere late at night). There's also a car park nearby. Recent developments to the greenery is that the park is part of the 'TreeBristol project' and 70 new trees were recently planted by people from the local community. Yay!

It's great to find Park's of this size very near to City centre's. Especially considering the area…read moreit is in. As it is not in the best area of Bristol it does give young people an area to not only play a bit of football, bit there is also a skate park. For young families as well there are a couple of playgrounds so you can keep your little angles(brats!) entertained for a few hours as you catch a quick restbite on a bench. You don't hear much traffic when you are in the park which is nice, and it is great to see everyone treats it with repect.

This is a beautiful little park. Ideal if you are a runner as there is a circular path going around…read morethe whole park, with various different off-shoots if you fancy a change of scenery. The path's are wide as well so there is plenty of room for a group of runners to be running one way and a couple walking their dog going the other way and still space inbetween for a baby in a pram! The park is almost a perfect dome, if you sit at the top you have a pretty good view of the whole surrounding area. There's a childrens play park and some football goals to cater for all. I'm hoping to make the most of parks like this as the summer time begins to invade Bristol!

This park is one that I come to when I want to be surrounded by green. Yes, I hear you, most other…read moreparks are green, but this one really is quite big, that you feel enveloped in all its trees and hills. There are paths running through the whole park, which is ideal for joggers, runners and cyclists. There is also a basketball court at the bottom of the park, along with slides, swings and other playground type things. There is often some art exhibition going on - a few months back there was a large sculpture made out of metal and looked like a prehistoric anthropod just sitting around the middle of the park, which was a fascinating addition. It is now gone though, but not long before there will some other exhibit appearing I'm sure! The people who live around this park are lucky, as I would love to be so close to a park this lovely.

Perfectly positioned in front of Bristol Cathedral it really should be your first point of call, if…read moreyou've never been to the city before or if the sun is shining and you're not lying in it. You really are in the centre of everything here; you've got Park Street, Whiteladies, Clifton, the suspension bridge in one direction, Harbourside & the river in another, and Cabot Circus and Broadmead the other. The best thing to do is sit here and watch skaters do tricks in the circle, it's even better when they fall over trying to do Kickflips. But I think there's a nice contradiction between the beautiful old cathedral and all the kids using the space to practice skating. Don't worry though, they don't intrude on you if you are just sat on the grass. This really is a perfect spot and should be the envy of anywhere in the world. It's beautiful and you can usually catch something pretty interesting happening down there every day in the summer.

College Green is a beautiful park! Quite small in size, compared to an average park size goes, but…read moreits just such a lovely green break for the hustle of Park Street and for when it gets busy by the riverside nearby. Not that this park doesn't get busy though, all it needs is the sun out, and there will be hoardes of teenagers about, lazing in the sun, drinking, laughing and enjoying their afternoon! It is definitely a very teenagery park, scattered around in their various groups. However that only adds to the charm of this park. Beside it is the Bristol Cathedral, which is a towering block of beauty to look at while you enjoy lying in the grass. There is Park Street alongside College Green, which has many superb independent shops for you to stroll into if you get a tad bored of lounging. Skateboarders come here and practice their tricks in a small paved bit at one corner of the park, there's always a football being bounded about and kids running around. Always something fun to cast your eyes on. Once when I was here, a helicopter landed smack in the middle of the park, which provided some midday excitement. A great park to lounge around and take in the loveliness of Bristol.

Victoria Park is a very large park on the outskirts of Bath City Centre. This 57 acre park includes…read morebotanical gardens, a duck pond and boating lake an aviary and a golf course and tennis courts. Its a good place for a picnic and you can walk through the park's gardens from the entrance in the centre of Bath to the large adventure playground and skateboard park on the other side of the park. I would recommend this park to anyone visiting Bath, especially if you have children.

Fantastic park, great location. Royal Victoria Park in Bath is where I spent many a summer day…read moreplaying in their huge adventure playground as a child. There are so many bits of equipment for children that even when busy there is always something to be messing around on. There is much more that the park offers for adults and children - a huge area to meander around green spaces, a skate park, a great view of the grand houses on the Royal Crescent, a botanical garden, green spaces on which to munch a picnic, tennis courts, crazy golf course (which children and the child inside every adult will love!)

Ok I'm going to sound a bit like an old fogey here…read more I walked down to the barrage about a month ago (something i love to do) and there wasn't any suggestion of a skate park. All of a sudden scroll on a month and not only is there is a fully built skater park but there is a competition going on there with loads of people watching. Here's the old man bit - part of me thought - will this park and all its followers i.e. baggy pant wearing graffiti artists spoil this lovely tranquil part of the bay that I so often stroll through? Then part of me said -about time this part of the bay was utilized more. So as yet I'm in two minds the large part of which tell me its a good thing.

It's about time!…read more Cardiff now has its very own skate park, and it's not in the back of a housing development or a run-down woodland. It's got a spot on some prime real estate - the Cardiff Bay barrage. Only officially opened last week, the skate park showcases street features from Barcelona, San Francisco, and Bejing, and is now a place that local skaters can comfortably call home. Um, yeah, I wish I had the grace and physical strength necessary to steer a skateboard 15 feet without falling off, so I just played the part of aging hipster on the side lines. The level of skill on show astounds me, and the added bonus of seeing a cluster of female skaters always stokes the smoldering embers of my feminist heart. Apparently this £150,000 project was the result of petitions, protests, and even a Facebook campaign (which is standard now, I guess). It's nice to know that when kids holler, the Council listen. I must say, it kinda renews my faith in local government.

As others have said, this is a lovely, almost hidden park, with a small area of formal gardens with…read morea pond and fountain, complete with a statue of Peter Pan, wild woodland areas and a large playing-field area. It has wonderful views from the top across the lower Ely valley towards Llandough, as well as some amazing mature trees. It is one of the city's oldest parks, given to the city by Charles Thompson in 1911. Perfect for a short walk or a lazy summer afternoon picnic.

Although there are a whole lot of parks in and around the Cardiff area, Thompson's Park in Canton…read morein somewhat unique. Most others offer wide stretches of grass, the odd flowered border and playgrounds. Thompson's Park is smaller than most, and has a particularly quaint feeling. This park is landscaped well, and combined areas of woodland in the heart of the city, with fountains (including the famous Peter Pan statue), duck ponds, winding stairs and a wide grassy area on its higher level. On this field I took part in many school sports days in my time. Never won anything though. Thompson's Park is small and compact, but large enough to take you away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It's like a lost garden in a city wilderness.

Ah the Rec! I went on so many sorry excuses for a school trip here I've lost count. It played a…read moremassive part in my childhood and teens and I've always spent a good portion of time here as an adult. They have skate parks both inside and outside at various points in the year and these have become a regular haunt for troubled teens, judging by the amount of graffiti knocking about. There's a decent park for smaller children which is pretty large and well equipped. The interior of the Rec is fairly old hat and dated nowadays but it's still got plenty on. It's pretty much the main hub of activity and fitness for the town. There's a swimming pool where pretty much everyone from my generation had a birthday party at some point. It's got a wave machine, large floats and a water slide which is pretty cool. There's a really well stocked gym with plenty of equipment and squash and badminton courts downstairs too, which can also be used as basketball courts and for football. There's a special oldies gym upstairs which is always popular. They also have a large function room which has been used for gigs, parties, competitions etc. There's a jacuzzi and a sauna which is a great place to chill out after a workout or a swim too. To get access to all these services you need a bridge card, or for certain things such as squash and badminton you can pay a one off fee providing no-ones pre-booked a court . A bridge card is £31 a month and it means you can book ahead. With that fee you can use most of the services for free and there's no annual contract either. You can also use it in most leisure centres in the area and use their services for free too. It's not a bad deal if you're going down there regularly but if not it can seem a bit expensive. It's a great local facility though and they used to put gigs on there every week for local bands, which is what made me fall in love with the place, as you were playing to at least two or three hundred people a week. Sadly they don't put many gigs on anymore but it's still an essential facility for the people of Bridgend.

Good facilities, massive fields area behind with rugby pitch, cricket pitches and athletics club…read more The rec doesnt have a fitness pool but its more of a family mess around pool with slides and waves machine. Never been to the gym here so cant comment on it. Sports hall is to a good standard. Lots of information available on upcoming events/courses, and staff are all to willing to explain and help you with anything.

First Great Western are doing 'buy one get one free' tickets for here which is the reason why I…read morevisited. I actually really enjoyed myself which I was not expecting as balance isn't my friend at the best of times! The reason why it drops a couple of stars is that you need a SatNav or a very good local knowledge to find the place. Once found you walk up some old rusty stairs and I did wonder at one point whether I was going to walk into an empty warehouse. Inside it is also a bit drab and dreary. However, it was packed and the music blaring out was really good fun. Although I did feel a good 5 years older than most people in there, at least it has given Bristol's youths an alternative to robbery and underage street drinking.

I can't balance to save my life, so I have a little trouble here. The first time I came involved me…read morehurting my bum, my knees, my shin, and my toes. My dignity was also bruised by watching the many seven year olds hurtling around the rink, with the odd trick just to rub it in. Right, so I'm bitter about ice skating, of that much we can sure. I haven't really told you too much about the actual ice rink, yet. It's not the prettiest of things, built long enough ago to seem a bit run down but not old enough to have a particular style. This isn't, I suppose particularly important in an ice rink, but means you certainly don't get the same experience as you would at some open air places. The flipside is that this rink is bigger and cheaper than other places. When they boom music out of stereo system it can be pretty fun here as well. They do ice hockey ('Bristol Bulldogs', I think ) and synchronised skating, so if you're slightly more talented than me there's plenty to preoccupy you at the ice rink.

This place should be better than 2 stars as it is and could be even more so such a good facility…read more The building is good and the facilities are great. The staff are in the main very helpful. However .... The signs asking people remove their shoes before going in to the changing rooms are ignored by many people so the cubicle floors of the changing rooms end up filthy. The staff walk back and forth ignoring the point and I have never seen them ask a shoe wearer to remove their shoes. So expect to come out of there with dirty feet. The pool is rarely at 50m and when it is it is often very busy. Monday and Thursday nights can be quieter if you aren't too tired to train at 10pm ... In the mornings and now at weekends many of the lanes are taken by the swimming club. Not an issue but expect the other lanes to be crowded and have people of varying ability in each lane. If you are a quick swimmer expect to be frustrated as you dawdle behind a breast stroker waiting for a safe moment to overtake them. The pool is regularly booked out for galas and swim events at weekends and the information/warnings about these events is very discrete or difficult to find so be prepared for Saturday / Sunday morning disappointment and wasted trips. The pleasure pool is mayhem. The lifeguards do a good job but expect to be kicked by other swimmers, by bumped into, swam over/into and come out feeling the most unrelaxed you ever will. As a venue for promoting healthy lifestyle this place surpasses itself. Not!!! For those who bother to use the benches to remove or put on shoes, there is a glittering array of chocolates and sugary drinks in four vending machines, ideally located opposite you. If you or your children manage to get passed them, there are more sugary calorie dispensers by the exit turnstiles and just in case you haven't managed to give in to the sugar, there are 4 more vending machines on the way out. Only the British would fill a "healthy" sports venue with obesity causing, tooth rotting filled vending machines. So, while you are trudging home in the dirty foot rot of other people from the changing rooms, you can comfort yourself with chocolate and fizzy pop to remind yourself what a healthy life you live!

I love this pool and the centre itself. It looks fantastic and its great inside too. Whether your…read morethere to relax and have fun with the kids or to do a serious bit of swimming there is a place for you. Its easy to access and has lots of parking too. There is a gym, sauna, jacuzzi and do all sorts of fitness classes too for quite a reasonable monthly fee. Swimming for adults is £3.70 and no time limit. Family tickets also available. The only downsides are that the changing rooms can be a bit chaotic and its always worth checking out whats going on before you head down because they often have events on at the weekend so you might not get in.