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 park I've visited many, many times, ever since I was a kid. Now when we're up visiting family…read moreit's where I take the nephews as there's so much to do here (as long as it isn't raining - Wacky Warehouse further down the promenade is our go-to place for those days). In recent years it's had a major refurb with new facilities (which was long overdue). So alongside the historically well-maintained flowerbeds and woodland walks, there's a great crazy golf course (the old one was well past its best), swing boats, a play area for younger children, trampolines, merry-go-round, tennis and basketball courts, aqua play area, miniature train and a large 'natural' adventure playground. There's a cafe near the crazy golf which sells Lewis's Ice Cream which is fantastic. A lovely place for a stroll on a nice day, with lots of different activities for the nippers (just remember to bring a pocket-full of pound coins - they'll want a go on everything!).

Great park. Nicer than the main Royton park. Quieter, more spacious and it doesn't seem like your…read morein Royton A good play area to kids, great for riding bikes, jogging etc. Great for picnics as well, however on the downside is there is no toilets.

i always visit the park every sunday , i carnt belive its actualy free its like something you see…read moreand think you would have to pay a entrance free , a massive pond for fishing , park for the children , sand pit , slides and swings. i usualy go fishing on the pond with a reasonable price to fish , lovely people and litter free!

At first the home seemed amazing; thoughtful director and manager. Some carers were always on their…read morephones but this has improved. The food was promised to be cooked by chefs with no canned or frozen foods. At the beginning the food was amazing, however, the carers cook a lot now and provide poor quality food. For example, my mother was given a white bread roll with a hot dog style sausage, a few white chips and lashings of ketchup. Desert was a defrosted cheap gateau. No fruit or vegetables. It lacked nutrition and something my mother refused to eat. Her bed and clothes had faeces in once and when challenged I was told she hadn't been washed because she had visitors - no excuse, they should be making sure all clients are clean. After being initially proactive the director became far too familiar, sending love hearts in meassages and is now simply not answering messages about the refund of overpaid fees (circa £19000! The manager is good in some respects but even she has refused to answer concerns fully in writing, citing it is ''due to the demands of my role and time constraint.'. Even though I have tequested accurate responses There is one particular male carer who seems to genuinely care for the clients and interacts with them. Most others can be found 'writing reports' at the dining table and ignoring the clients, expecting them to just sit watching tv. My mother is going blind so just sits pretending to watch but mostly sleeping through boredom. I would not recommend this home.

Used to be the home to the big band stand and the annual Sound festival. A shadow of its former…read moreself, the Oak Hill Park mansion near the entrance has now been turned into an old folks' home, and chavs hang about the monument at night (but I suppose chavs have always hung about the monument at night ?!!). The band stand has been torn down and it's now a pretty ordinary park. It does look quite pretty in the Summer but I can't imagine going out of my way to visit anymore unless I lived across the road and had a dog.

I absolutely fell in love with Grizedale Forest over the past weekend. Looking for somewhere new to…read moreexplore when we visited the other half's parents, they suggested heading to the forest. Cue some very windy roads and a few moments of "are you sure this is the right way?" - but we found it! We headed to the visitor centre to take a look at which walk to take. They have both cycling and walking routes, so make sure you're looking at the right map...! We decided on the white route, and the helpful member of staff explained that you simply follow the coloured markers - if you lose the colour, it's time to retrace your steps. Our walk took about 2 hours overall and was described as moderate, and it's worth pointing out that it wasn't wheelchair/pushchair friendly, so a quick chat with a staff member would be needed to find an accessible route. The reason I fell in love was a) because of the absolutely stunning weather we experienced and b) the selection of sculptures that can be found on each route. The large keys in trees which played music if you wound them fast enough were a personal favourite, following by the huge stone fox, which actually provided a nice place to rest and admire the valley view. I feel the downsides sit with the shop, which was overpriced and didn't seem to stock any drinks (very odd considering the length of some of the walks), and the parking payment. It's all done automatically by registration plate when you drive in, then you enter it at a paypoint - best have some cash on you as noone has quite thought through that no phone signal = no card reader signal. There's bike rental available and the Go Ape course if you need something to keep more active members of your group entertained. Recommended!

A huge area of woodland to explore in the Lake District, either on foot or by mountain bike - it's…read morea spectacular place to get away from it all for the day. There are several colour-coded waymarked footpaths, in varying lengths and levels of difficulty (from easy to strenuous) as well as dozens of others paths and bridleways crisscrossing the landscape so you can either buy a map for £1.50 or just see where a route takes you. Go Ape (an aerial assault course) has a site here, and as well as a visitors' centre there's a children's playground, education centre, café and shop so plenty of things for families to do. For our group it was all about the walking; the forest has hosted a sculpture trail since the 1970s, so we were on the look out for exhibits whilst we wandered through the trees. It has to be said there were a few times we were wondering if we were looking at art or some forestry equipment...or a pylon! The car parking was really straightforward and rather cutting edge - a number plate reader registers your vehicle when you arrive and you pay when you leave by typing your number plate on the screen. It was a bargain too at about £4 for several hours. If you're a lover of the great outdoors, then you can't get much better than this.

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.

Marbury Park is a lovely green space in Northwich. The park has a play area for the kids, lots of…read morepicnic tables and a café. There are a few walking trails around the park that take you through the fields, woods and along the canal. The park used to have a hall but unfortunately that was knocked down in the 1960s. Definitely a place to visit on a nice sunny day.

Nice little park near to Comberbach. There is a small fee for parking but its not much can't…read moreremember off hand. We usually go in the summer and there is always an ice cream van in the car park. There are a number of different ways you can walk and there is an outdoor swimming pool but you have to be a member to enter. there is also a small play area with a climbing frame. Park is used by a lot of people walking their dogs. There are a few animals as well as wild rabbits.

I'm doing it again; I must get to the water. I am a Gremlin. I need to multiply and water is my…read moresavour. In that case I could do a lot worse than Hemsworth Water Park and Play World. Now this badger has two lakes; the largest lake is available for pedalo rides and has sandy beaches; the smallest lake is in a more secluded area to attract wildlife. It's perfect if you want to do a Freddie Flintoff and fool around for a while. It's also ideal to see some great things of interest in this beautiful world we have around us. I'm going all John Lennon on you now. You've also got loads of grassed areas and picnics are no problem either (except the fact it's always freezing and wet in England). Then throw in the Play World bit. This is where I need to fall back and remind myself that I'm not a child any more. For "real" kids though it's got with a tower slide, climbing frames, a toddler's sandpit area and a miniature railway. Toot toot. Once again I've found you a corking day out with a difference but do check what is open if you go before the Easter holidays. You have been warned.

I find myself in something of a quandary. I value the provision of these islands of nature greatly…read moreand will always defend them from the encroaching urban sprawl but I find that I cannot get very excited about Hemsworth Water Park, Nice enough lakes and the ducks were very duck-like, the grass was probably just as green as any other park and the children's play area as clean and well maintained as the best of them but the other play area which is rather grandly called Playworld was locked up thereby saving us a few quid for an experience we could get for free in any half decent public park. I left with the feeling that I had wasted fuel driving to Hemsworth as there are better parks much nearer to where I live.