This is an urban Country Park sandwiched between the M6 and M61 to the east of Leyland. It is an…read moreoasis of calm, suitable for a 1-2 hour wander in pleasant wooded paths following the River Lostock. Paths are well laid out and hold up in all weathers. The main area is at the northern end. The Sue Ryder Home is also here and has a pleasant cafe and charity shop for a diversion. Also at this end is a small man made lake. This is probably the most attractive part of the Park, even the roar of the new M65 which can be heard from the slightly elevated position, does not detract too much. The main parking is from the B5256 Sheephill Lane which cuts the north from the south.

When the Queensway Tunnel was dug beneath the river, the subsequent rubbish pulled from the ground…read morewas dumped and landscaped into what is now Otterspool Prom. Here you can do everything there is to possibly do on a riverside promenade; things such as walk, ride a bike, look at the water and...um...well that's about it. I suppose you could rollerblade if you wanted. If it's a warm day and you don't mind the style your hair will be sculpted into by the blustering gales, you can follow the prom and its interconnecting paths right up to the Pier Head. If you don't fancy that, try and unearth the ruins of the 1984 Garden Festival, which lies hidden by tree trunks and weeds. You don't know how overtly creepy something is until you accidentally stumble across a kid's overgrown swing park. I still have nightmares.

What a spectacular view. Did you ever see such a coastline? Especially when the waves are choppy…read moreand the wind blustery. I absolutely love the promenade; walking along beside the river with the breathtaking view of the Welsh hills in the background is really relaxing, there's lots of cyclists and dog-walkers around and it's a lovely environment on a clear sunny day. The park which was renovated through the 'Pride in our Proms' project is Amazing. It's a mini world of Big Kid heaven... for me anyway I regressed about 10 years and was on the swings, seesaw and monkey bars, and when we'd totally worn ourselves out running around and taking cool scenic pictures of the sunset we went for a well earned pint from the Otterspool pub which is handily a hop skip and a cartwheel across the park. Go fly a kite, see the sights, play on the park and grab a pint!

A little know gem of Warrington with bucket loads of history attached. It's got 2 main areas, open…read moregrass land and the willow marshes. Great dog walking area.

This is a wonderful, natural environment. Excellent for those who like to walk away from all the…read moretraffic and noise, but still be in contact with civilisation. It can be accessed from Farrell Street or Manchester Road (via Peacock Avenue) and has some pathways laid out, suitable for wheelchairs or buggies. Once again, it is often necessary to watch out for bicyclists, but most are very courteous here. The odd kids on stolen and/or illegal motorcycles are not. Contrary to popular knowledge of the law, these are not legal on what used to be called common land and still need a license, tax and insurance - none of which they have. Rant over! Just off the laid paths is a quite large area which is the actual twiggery - water and marshland completely enclosed in shrubbery which is more akin to jungle than parkland. The authorities have had built raised, wooden walkways throughout this area without destroying the natural aspects - it is possible to see all manner of animal and birdlife if one is quiet enough. I have watched heron fishing in the pond near the entrance as well as kingfishers and wagtails. On St George's Day, we usually manage to pick enough dandelions for the next year's dandelion wine - more than two gallons some years.

Nice place for kids cycling and dog walking. In the square they're shops where you can obtain ice…read morecream , beer, coffee and cake or a cafe fora full lunch.

I absolutely adore this place and feel so privileged it's on my door step…read more Haigh Hall Country Park has something for everyone. Whether you want a family day out with a picnic to a dog walk or even a romantic walk this place is for you. At the top car park at the hall end there's a cafe (which serves decent coffee!), awesome newly refurbished playground for the kids and there's almost always an ice cream van around. Move further down and there's a mini golf course and the gardens. Down at the hall, taking a look across the golf course to the view across wigan is absolutely recommended. The view on a nice day is stunning! Once your past the hall, you have the 2 mile winding walk through woodland to plantation gates. On the way you'll go over the canal and some pigs have recently taken residence about halfway through.

Lively little place fir family days out/dog walking. The place is avsolutely huge and fab for…read morepicnics, ball games etc. Their food hut is fantastic it cost about £8 to feed three of us! They also have a maze if you need to keep the kids occupied for a while and little home crafted/art stores if youre early enough in the day to see those I'd highly reccomend it

A huge park in Leyland, and a really good place to take the kids on a summer's day. In addition to…read morethe acres of grass, there's a lot to do: a narrow-gauge steam railway provides cheap rides around the park; there's quite a tricky maze to get lost in; and the playground is large and had plenty of equipment where energy can be expended. There's a large car park (although I'm not 100% certain whether it's large enough to cope at peak times) and the place is well sign-posted from the town centre. It was a bit boggy in places when we visited, but then we did go towards the end of a typically wet British summer. All in all, though, well worth a visit.

One of our favourite Bolton parks -- small but perfectly formed, as they say. There's an excellent…read morechildren's playground: the Council have recently spent a huge amount of money updating the swings, slides and so on and it's been money well spent. Our kids (aged 3 and 5) love going there and letting off some steam. Apart from the playground there's a bowling green and plenty of grass to play football/cricket/whatever -- although to be honest that's about it. It's just over the road from a local secondary school so it may be best avoided at certain times of the week, but during the holidays and at weekends it's a good place to visit.

There are many Fairy Glens in the country and this is a beautiful example. Basically it just a…read moresmall woods surrounding a stream but there is a lovely wood walk there and in the spring the bluebells are stunning, If you listen very hard you may even hear the Fairies playing in the woods. Just down the road from Parbold Hill and the Wiggin Tree easy to get to and a nice walk for the dog.

A bittersweet experience was had on my first ever visit to Chorlton water park. Driving here is a…read morelittle strange with it being situated in such a densely populated area. You get the feeling your Satnav is taking you to the wrong place. Don't worry it's not. An old reservoir was transformed into a huge lake a while back and that's the park's main feature. A mile radius around the lake acts as a perfect biking/ hiking trail which isn't too strenuous and is littered with relaxing spots with great views. There's an icecream van to cater for all your refreshment needs and does a lot of business on a hot summer's afternoon. It's a perfect venue to have a picnic and for young families (There's a large play area for kids) All in all a lovely green space in a heavily populated urban area. My only beef with the place was the unsafe nature of the car park. Make sure you park in an area that's camera visible. I returned after a pleasent afternoon to find my windscreen cracked quite badly. I hadn't parked under a tree, falling debree was thus out the question so I suspected some sort of foul play. My little trip therefore cost me nearly £150. Perhaps the place is cursed for me, but don't let that put you off.

When I first moved to Chorlton and I heard people talking about this water park I had visions in my…read morehead of chutes and river rapids. Sadly, the water park bears absolutely no resemblance to Stoke-on-Trent's Water World or Florida's Blizzard Beach. Instead it is a large man-made lake with a path around the edge which attracts walkers, joggers and cyclists. The path is well-surfaced and links on to the Mersey Valley trail, which is unsurfaced. However, there is a car park and visitor centre if you don't fancy the trek down from Chorlton or Didsbury. The water park was formed in the 1970s when gravel was dug up from this area to build the M60, and the area was flooded to form the lake. Despite the fact that the water park is surrounded by the M60, the busy Princess Parkway and Chorlton town centre it is a surprisingly peaceful and serene place - so peaceful that it is the place that the hippies flock to for the summer solstice.

A small children's play area off Wigan Road…read more There's a very good playground there: Bolton Council have recently invested some money in their children's play facilities, and they have put in quite a bit of new equipment here. As a consequence it's a really good facility with plenty to keep the kids amused and to help them burn of some energy. Apart from the playground, though, there's not much here! And the parking isn't great either -- you have to park on Wigan Road itself really. But all in all, it's a decent resource to have in the neighbourhood -- we certainly like it!

Well appointed workshop had a set of tyres and a service at a great price. Had a mini valet white…read moreit was in for the work. Well done Paul and Amanda keep up the good work