Unfortunately I've never been able to see Oasis or The Stone Roses perform here…read more However, I've had the pleasure of strolling the grounds of this historic park. It is so big and it has so much! A huge playground, bowling greens, football (soccer) pitches, etc. There's a lake with ducks. You can rent a boat to row on the lake. There are cafes. There's an animal section. Lots and lots of places to picnic. Can't forget Heaton Hall! A wonderful way to spend the day.

A last minute decision on a damp, drizzly winter Sunday, but a good one. Forgot how vast this place…read moreis! Walked down the hill past the hall and round the lake, slowing to admire the signets and stop the dog munching all the food left for the birds! Round the other side of the lake, the woods are incredibly quiet; it's easy to forget you're right on the edge of such a large city and the motorway is about a mile away. This is the highest point in the city and the views are amazing.

This is a beautiful little park situated at the back end of crookes. One of the best things about…read moreit is the amazing views of stannington, one of the benefits of living on the seven hills. It has a lovely little park areaq for children and some great spots for dog walking/picnics/chilling, overall very nice. Its really worth a visit.

Great park at the far end of Crookes. It's got it all!! Crown Green Bowling, footie pitches, tennis…read morecourt, basketball court, bmx track, and the best sledging runs in Sheffield (if we ever get any more snow???) Also great views out across Hillsborough to the countryside.

This medium size park in the centre of Royton is quite good. The playground has recently been…read moreupdated and is OK but not the best. The tennis/basketball courts, football area, and park in general is nice and plenty of room for riding bikes, hanging with friends, jogging and just for having s little walk. A place of my child hood which includes an ice cream van in the pm with volcano ice cream! Overall not a bad park

This is my local park, loads for kids to do from parks and trails. Park run have a route here on…read moreSaturdays from 9am & I love the Oakwell Music Festival that's on in July.

Open all year round, free entrance, its good for a variety of different walks in woodland or more…read morechild/pushchair friendly. There is a great swing park and small cafe (where to be honest the service is slow and the food not amazing) but there are zillions of blackberries to be picked at the right time of year. There is a lovely little visitor centre, and a small gift shop as well.

What a wonderful way to spend a day exploring these lush gardens... there are absolutely gorgeous…read morewalks to savor here, and plenty of beauty to photograph. So peaceful, and beautifully kept. We plan to come back when the seasons change, and will definitely bring visitors.

You'll love this place, once you've found a car parking space. Or at the very least like it…read more There's the river, a field area to play games, a cafe, a rose garden and a pretty garden bit. It can become flooded when the river water levels rise so check to see if that's happened before you come. After your walk you can always head to the pub that's super close by.

Ladybower Reservoir is located in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire. It's the lowest, and…read morelargest, of three reservoirs here so if you care for waterside walking routes, you have plenty of options in this neck of the woods. Speaking of woods, there are large areas of forest for you to wander through around the reservoir which are one of my favourite environments to be in (and I can pretend I'm a bona fide forest ranger...). Fairholmes visitors' centre can be found at the northern tip of Ladybower, which has a refreshment kiosk and shop you can buy maps etc. The parking here is pay and display but arrive early as it's a popular destination. We failed to find a spot so drove back out and managed to find free parking on the side of the road past the bridge on the A6013. As we were going to be walking in a loop around the water's edge, it didn't really matter where we started. If you're bringing your dog, they must be kept on their lead as there are small flocks of sheep about. Thankfully, it was a glorious autumn day and we enjoyed a good couple of hours enjoying the fresh air and beautiful vistas. There are several different walking routes to take, with some heading up on to the surrounding hilltops (but we're saving those for next time!).

This is our favourite place to go walking and fell running in the Peak District. It does get busy…read morethough so expect to park further away or get there early to avoid parking disappointment. I can highly recommend walking up behind the reservoir to Win Hill. There's a good 10-13k route that involves good views of the peaks without being too difficult if you're not a regular hiker. Highly recommend a pint in the Yorkshire Bridge Inn afterwards. Great outdoor seating in the summer too.

Platt Fields is the biggest and best park in the area. Its green hills stretch out, well, about a…read morefive-minute walk, behind Fallowfield. So Manchester is not the best for green spaces. Nonetheless, Platt Fields isn't bad. I couldn't recommend it for a long afternoon walk or a day-trip with the extended family, but for a kick around with a bunch of mates or walking a dog it'll do just fine (as long as your dog isn't a fussy one). Its got plenty of open green space for football, and during the summer its pretty busy so you can always find people to have a game with. It does have a little cage for 5-a-side games but its gets so muddy its practically unplayable and you're better off setting up your own goal posts with jumpers just like you did as school. If you didn't do this at school, its achieved by taking two jumpers and placing them on the ground, creating a space in between them that serves the function of a goal. You then kick the ball into this structure. Its also got a skate park, if that's your thing, but later on this tends to be frequented by hoodlums and WKD. The lake is absolutely the highlight, and contains plenty of floating birds to feed. It does have boats which apparently can be rented out, though I have yet to see this occur, possibly through lack of demand, as you would be able to cross the lake in well under a minute. The boats can be put to good use collecting balls that are inadvertently kicked into the lake, but the park wardens are an obstacle. It also has some swings, but they're rubbish.

Coming from a village where it cost you about 3 quid to see a rubbish fireworks display, I was…read morehappy to see the abundance of free bonfire night celebrations organised by Manchester Council. This bonfire night is not as big as those in Heaton Park and Wythenshawe Park, but unlike the village celebrations, it is always on bonfire night itself (remember remember the 5th of November, not the 9th or 10th!) and is always packed with students and families. It's a pretty standard affair - everyone crowds around the barriers forgetting that the fireworks are actually going to be high in the sky, then rushes over to crowd around the giant bonfire. There are of course the obligatory hot dog and donut stands with plenty of rides including the one which launches a pair of you high into the sky above the park (it's good fun, trust me). If you want some free bonfire night fun but don't have a car and don't fancy the crush on the metro to get out to Heaton Park, then PFP is the place to go.

A brilliantly beautiful park that is just amazing for long walk, relaxing, and so forth. When I…read morefind myself in this part of Manchester, I like to stop by and just enjoy the scenery. Grab a lovely lunch and just sit and people watch and/or stroll about taking in all of the acres of landscape, trees, florals, etc. Always a ton of adorable dogs playing around with their humans.

The foresight of our forefathers and in this case foresight that began 800 years ago…read more This is a beautiful parkland. It is located between Wythenshawe, Baguley, Brooklands, Northern Moor, and Northenden and is easy to access by car or public transport and there's plenty of on site parking.  It's all free to park and use with folks walking with or without dogs, kids playing in the parkland or on the roundabouts swings and slides. It has a working farm and farm shop. There was an ice cream van on site each time we go and it's a wonderful place for festivals, picnics and chilling out if you just want to daydream with nature. There's no shortage of space as it consists of over 100 hectares of open parkland dating from the 13th Century, with historic and ornamental woodlands, open grassland and beautiful wildflower meadows. To give context when Walt Disney bought land in 1965 for DisneyWorld he secured 17 hectares (today its a stunning 47 square miles). The park is steeped in history with the 16th Century Wythenshawe Hall at it's centre. The Hall had a serious fire a few years ago and remains in recovery and closed. The hall, together with the North Lodge and the Statue of Oliver Cromwell are Grade II Listed Buildings.   The park hosts a great range of year-round leisure and educational opportunities for all ages including a varied activities and events programme, with highlights like the annual firework & bonfire extravaganza, fairs, circus, sports and games events.   Here's to the next 800 years.