I've never really been *to* this park, but I have walked through it on numerous occasions, as it…read moremakes for a more scenic walk from Didsbury to Tesco/the cinema/Nando's than the main road does. For a Manchester park it seems to have very few scallies hanging about in it, making it a very pleasant place for a quick stroll or even a picnic (maybe). There is a football pitch, which apparently has an air raid shelter underneath it, a kids play area and a bowling green. Alongside Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens, Old Parsonage Gardens, Marie Louise Gardens and Fog Lane Park, Didsbury Park contributes to the leafy green spaces which make a welcome break from the café culture and bus fumes of Wilmslow Road.

Kingswood Park is a bit of a hidden gem really. Not because its anything particularly special, but…read morebecause on Kingswood Road, situated on the way to Burnage from Fallowfield, you would expect to find nothing but woe, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you'll notice a nice little park, which is worth a visit, depending on your intentions. Its surprisingly large, and mainly (as one might expect) green in colour. Its nothing special unless you want to play ball games. If you do want to play ball games, you'll find a football pitch and a basketball court here, alongside some other park space which a bit of creativity can turn into the perfect space for any game involving spherical objects. As its on Kingswood Road, its always really empty. This makes it ideal if you want the pitch for you and your mates. Also, its really not in the middle of nowhere, as its only 5 minutes walk from the Fallowfield Sainsbury's. It's a far better bet than Platt Fields or Ladybarn park if you're looking to arrange some football.

Actually quite a nice big park. Mature trees, and lots of…read moredifferent segments to wonder around when the weather allows. There's also a duck pond with a variety of birdlife, and their offspring. I was super surprised to find parrots in the trees around the pond! Probably at least 5 or 6 of them too. One day some enterprising music promoter will hold a small music festival in the old band stand. Or so I hope.

A pleasant park for a sunny day. I came to Fog Lane Park when some mates invited me to play…read morecricket (for the first time in my life). It was one of those rare sunny weekends in Manchester where everyone was out and the city was crowded. Having spent Saturday morning in city centre, I figured it'd be even more packed at the parks, seeing as how when the sun's out most spaces of green are covered with blankets and barbecues. Shockingly, Fog Lane remained fairly empty - seems most people stick closer to the centre of town or at Platt Fields. A fairly large park, this place has a bit for everyone looking to do something outdoorsy. There are a handful of tennis courts and a basketball court (broken backboards, but meh), a little skateboarding area, playground equipment for the kiddos, a bocce ball field, a huge open field for assorted sport, and several winding pathways leading through scenic regions of various flora if you're just looking for a stroll. That being said, that's only what I've seen, and I doubt I even saw half of this place. It's huge! Getting there from city centre is fairly easy - just take the magic bus down and walk a few streets over to get to the park. The surrounding neighbourhoods look nice, too - feels like a very family friendly sort of place.

Reasons to visit this great park! 1. It has beautifully…read morelooked after gardens for you to explore the shrubs, bushes, flowers, trees and wild life. 2. Waterfall and pond in the garden. 3. The pathways are well tended and the notices at least insist people keep their dogs on a leash (even if the people don't always adhere). 4. Rose garden. 5. Tennis courts which need a little tlc depending on when you visit. 6. Parking nearby. Either £2 in 'The Didsbury' car park or alternatively free street parking. 7. The quietness and tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle of town life. 8. Many seated areas. 9. Coffee shop 10. Errr like if the other 9 reasons weren't enough then I suppose you might be wowed by a stroll along the river Mersey!

There's no better way to spend a sunny afternoon in Didsbury than to join a few friends for a…read morepicnic in Fletcher Moss Gardens. There's some beautiful exotic trees, shrubs and flowers to look at. Not least in the rock garden, which is dog free. The rock garden also has its own pond and I swear I've seen terrapins or turtles in there. Nobody ever believes me, though! Throughout the rest of the park, you'll find plenty of benches where you can bask in the sunshine, as well as a great little café, which does the best flapjacks and cakes in the world! There's also a beautiful arboretum that's lovely to sit in and a couple of tennis courts, which seem to be in almost constant use during the summer months! These tennis Courts are sometimes used for open air theatre productions in the summer. I saw Oscar Wilde's The Important of Being Earnest there one year, and there was a lovely atmosphere.

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.

Undoubtedly my favourite park in Manchester. There is everything: trees, flowerbeds, a little lake,…read moretables to have a picnic, benches. Also, there's usually plenty of events going on, such as markets, cricket matches and other cultural or social activities. It is the ideal place to do sport. Running is a standard thing to do, and it is possible to find some panels around the park which show the various lengths for the paths you can choose, so that you are always able to figure out which distance you have covered. There is a cricket pitch, where local teams plays over summer, and four tennis courts, which can be booked online for free. In most cases there are a few available, so you can just turn up and play, but especially on weekends I would recommend to book in advance. Recently I have noticed that a ping pong table has been installed close to the tennis courts. Close to the lake there is a cafe that is actually run by Tea Hive, the coffee shop in Chorlton. On weekends it is open until 5pm, while on weekdays it closes at 4.30pm.

In the whole of the United Kingdom, Alexandra Park Manchester comes second! Yep, that's rights, out…read moreoff the whole country, it's the second best... in the category 'parks called Alexandra Park'. Beaten only by its London rival Alexandra Park, which features miles of hills and a palace, this medium sized green space in Moss Side can hardly complain about its ranking. Plus it couldn't complain anyway because its a park not a person. Apparently the park was an important space in the Victorian period, but I've forgotten what it was like then, so I'll just focus on the now. Basically it's a big green space with some nice paths to stroll around and a nice little lake. More impressively is the fact that it plays home to an annual Caribbean Carnival! Less impressive that that but still worth of note is that it host many amateur football games an an annual 5K run. For this kind of thing you'll want the athletics webpage rather that the park one displayed above, that's at : www.openathletics.org.

Considering I eat and drink out as much as possible, there has to be some sort of action plan when…read moreit comes to shifting the pounds. That's why I'm exceptionally lucky to live next door to Alexandra park, a leafy oasis in the red brick jungle of Edgeley. Not only are there 3 reservoirs with a multitude of fishermen hogging the banks, there's also tennis, basketball and football courts all free and fully unlocked to the public 24/7. There's also the Edgeley crown green bowls pitches to the north of the park which are super popular with an older clientele, plus there's all ages going for it in the tai chi each morning. It's a great place to go for an early morning run, walk your dog (wow - everyone seems to know each other!) and I personally go to shoot a few hoops most morning to get my basketball on (wind permitting...) Perfect for folks with kids - there's a huge playground onsite!

This is a really big park which is maintained and looked after by the friends of debdale…read more This Park has two reservoirs there one of which the Debdale out door centre use for there watersports. The park also has a big allotment, Donkey Sanctary, small children's play area, basket ball and tennis court, children's activity centre and a big football pitch. The park has a lot to offer all ages and is also very popular with dog walkers. The park holds many events and you can go on line to see these events. Three to four times a year the fair comes to the park and in November they hold a firework display for every one which is normally free entry. The park has a toilets on it. In really nice weather there is usually an ice cream can also which is good value not to expensive. When it's not their, there is a McDonalds near by. A nice place to go for a picnic with lots to do. You can Normally see the community payback team there at least once a week helping maintain the grounds plus litter picking. There is a small car park which is also used by the Debdale out door centre and can fill very quickly, there is also additional spaces on the McDonalds car park across the road.

Heaton Moor Park is a great little park nestled amongst the leafy suburbia of Heaton Moor…read more The park itself is laid out in a fashion I can really best describe as a 4-leaf clover shape, with each "leaf" being a different and unique part of the overall park. There's the "clover green", which is basically just a clover-shaped patch of grass; the tennis courts which are, y'know, tennis courts; the crown bowls green and associated hut; and a children's play area. The park itself is maintained by a local group, the "Friends of Heaton Moor Park", in conjunction with Stockport MBC and they've recently added a new "Woodland Walk" near the clover green. It's essentially a little pathway through the trees and shrubbery which sits in that corner of the park, but it's a neat little idea and one I'm sure will go down well with families once it warms up a bit. The Heatons Summer Festival is hosted in the park every year, and Heaton Moor Road is host to a vast array of pubs and restaurants just a few streets over if you fancy a beer or two. A great little patch of greenery you should definitely check out.

What a great place Heaton Moor Park is (don't get confused with Heaton Park or you could end up in…read morea totally different part of Manchester!) Fantastic parky woodland, some botanical gardens on offer, facilities such as a bowling green and loads of room to chill out - get down here for a nice day out if the sun is shining! Very easily reached in the heart of Heaton Moor and about 5 minutes walk from some great bars, restaurants and shops there's a lot on offer around here if you need to nip and pick up a cooling bottle of wine, a few beers or an ice cream to have while walking around the park. Home to the Heatons festival every yeah which is a great celebration of food and drink - it's also probably only about 5 minutes walk from the Heaton Chapel train station which gets you to Piccadilly in 10 minutes!

The epitome of a hidden gem. Located just off parsonage road in Didsbury, the Marie Louise Gardens…read moreare the loveliest little green space in the area. The gardens have a poignant history as they were given to the citizens of Manchester in 1903 by Josephine Silkenstädt, in memory of her daughter who died at the age of only twenty-six. There is actually a website of their own for all this stuff, so check that at (as listed above) for more information. In this instance the council description of the gardens as a '3.4 hectare oasis' is not an embellishment, as the rest of their park propaganda seems to be. These are a lovely little green area perfect for a walk or picnic, and they are always very quiet, often giving the feel that you have your own little private garden space. There's also a lovely little pagoda thingamajig. Excellent place, well worth a visit. Check out the photos I've added, some of which date back to the early 20th century, documenting the history of this lovely space.

I shall refrain from using the cliché 'hidden gem' to describe these gardens, but they do receive…read moresurprisingly few visitors to say that they are located a short walk away from East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden. In fact, in the spring and summer, I'd say that humans are outnumbered by grey squirrels by at least 20 to 1. A few years ago there was talk of part of the gardens being sold to developers (who are currently busy building flats on the land next door) but as with Chorlton Meadows, this is a story of people power. The Friends of Marie Louise Gardens successfully campaigned to prevent this development and have now secured funding for restoration of the gardens. Some people call squirrels rats with tails but I, for one, am glad that the Friends were successful and that the squirrels have plenty of space to safely bury their nuts for winter. At all times of year these gardens are a beautiful place for a walk or to sit on a bench and contemplate and philosophise. Bring some monkey nuts if you're not afraid of the extremely tame squirrels coming to eat them out of your hand.