One of our favourite local parks. There's plenty of parking and the lake is a decent enough size to…read moremake a stroll around it a decent enough walk for our kids (now aged 3 and 5). There's a great playground for them too -- substantially refurbished in the summer of 2008 -- and there are some quality Special Events arranged for most holiday seasons. The park itself is big; exploring it fully could well take the best part of a day. All in all, a great place for a family day (or half-day) out: well worth the visit.

Today, 31 May 2019, I visited Moses Gate Country Park with my mum and grandmother and their three…read moredogs. We had not been there long when a man approached my dogs. They backed away and growled. He swore at me a few times - think of the worst expletives in the English language. I said "There's no need for that." The next thing I know he's moved across the 4 metres separating us and he punched me in the nose and mouth so hard I was lifted off my feet and found myself staring at the sky. My glasses were a few metres behind me in the dirt. The man did this without cause or warning in front of my 88 year old grandmother and 67 year old mother. I'm a 45 year old woman. I was, and am, very shaken up by this. I phoned the police and followed the man at a distance. He walked along the grass by the side of the road into the park. When he reached Hall Lane he turned towards Little Lever and crossed the road. He turned into a little lane that I now know leads to a permanent gypsy camp. The man was mid to late 50s with a swarthy complexion and close cropped white hair. He was around 5 foot 10 or 5 foot 11. His build was stocky. He wore a black heavy metal style T-shirt, a denim jacket and a pair of denim jeans slightly darker than the jacket. This assault was unprovoked and I cannot understand why it happened. If a woman aged 45 cannot walk her dogs peacefully in Moses Gate Country Park without a middle aged man punching her so hard she was flung to the ground I don't think the park is safe for anyone. Please inform people of this and be vigilant for this man. What really disturbs me is the police said they would send an ambulance and patrol car then another police man rang me back to say there were no patrols in the area. I asked about the ambulance. He almost laughed and was quite dismissive. He said "You've been punched. We aren't going to send an ambulance for that!" He asked if I wanted to make a report. I said yes and he told me to drive two miles to Burnham Park station. When i arrived there I was so upset I could barely speak. The lady was nice but said there wasn't anyone available. She said they'd visit me at home later. An hour later they phoned to say they didn't have anyone available and they would phone me next week to make an appointment for me to visit the station to make a report. Please be careful going to this park. You will not receive help if you are attacked. This happened at 4.30pm with lots of people in the park.

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!

A good little country park -- attractively laid-out with some well-marked walks, and with good…read morefacilities too. There is, of course, a Visitor Centre where the wardens hang out, we have always found them to be helpful and friendly, and the occasional special event we've attended (for the kids) have been extremely well organised. Children aged between 3 and 10 particularly enjoy the adventure playground it's not your normal swings-and-slides setup, it's a series of wobbly wooden bridges and balancing runs all thoughtfully designed to complement its woodland setting. Car parking is more than adequate and apart from one occasion last November when we witnessed some low-level anti-social behaviour involving fireworks we've always enjoyed our visits!

A good little country park -- attractively laid-out with some well-marked walks, and with good…read morefacilities too. There is, of course, a Visitors' Centre where the wardens hang out -- we've always found them to be helpful and friendly, and the occasional special event we've attended (for the kids) has been extremely well organised. Our two are aged 3 and 5 and they particularly enjoy the adventure playground: it's not your normal swings-and-slides set-up, it's a series of wobbly wooden bridges and balancing runs all thoughtfully designed to complement its woodland setting. Car parking is more than adequate and apart from one occasion last November when we witnessed some low-level anti-social behaviour involving fireworks we've always enjoyed our visits.

A historic town-centre park with plenty of space for the kids to run around, play…read morefootball/cricket/whatever and so on. It's a reasonable size and there are plenty of well-marked paths to explore, and there's also a kids' playground with a good variety of the usual swings/climbing-frames etc (although it's at the far end of the park from the main Chorley New Road entrance). Parking is not wonderful, but there's usually enough space on Chorley New Road. The only downside is that the place never looks especially well cared-for; perhaps its central location means it's particularly vulnerable to anti-social behaviour which, given the park's proud history, is a shame. So, not a bad place for a visit -- but if you're driving there you might enjoy a visit to Moss Bank or Moses Gate more instead.

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.

Our two kids (aged 3 and 5) enjoy coming here for a walk, particularly in the Autumn when there can…read morebe a lot of blackberries around (particularly at the end away from the car park). It's a really pleasant place for a walk -- there's a riverside path (well, a stream-side path really) and quite a few open fields to run around in and explore. There's a bridge over the river/stream that's a great place for playing pooh-sticks. Occasionally there seem to be big equestrian events there but even when there are you can still do all the walks etc. The only thing it lacks really is a kids' playground. An active Friends group seems to have a real passion for the place so it's usually very well looked after. I'm not sure it's really big enough to merit its Country Park tag (I always think of Country Parks as being altogether bigger) but all in all it's a great place for a Sunday afternoon stroll.

This park is deeply rooted in the Daubhill area of town and is a much appreciated green space for…read morelocal children and residents. Unfortunately a recent spate of vandalism has led to the removal of the skate ramps and play park for safety reasons, but there is still a large area of park space which is popular with joggers, dog walkers and children from the local primary school who are brought here on a regular basis during their playtimes and lunchtimes. One can only hope that the council will act swiftly to restore the features of this park and bring the space back to its full potential.

Still a great park with resurfaced tennis courts,new cafe and rock garden now open April-Sept…read more(except in bad weather) BUT Animal World closed in 2014 as part of Council economies

This is one of Bolton's most popular parks -- apparently there are over half a million visits a…read moreyear here. It's also one of Bolton's biggest, covering over 34 hectares. There are plenty of things to do -- a limited miniature railway offers train rides in the summer, there are some pleasant gardens (although they never seem to be in tip-top shape) and there is also an Animal World and Butterfly House -- effectively a free zoo! The kids' playground has kept our two (aged 3 and 5) amused for many an hour over the years. Parking is a bit limited -- if you can't get in the first car park there's a lesser-known one round the back (follow the road round to Barrow Bridge, a pretty little village worth a visit in its own right). All in all, a great place for the kids to let off steam.

Victoria Park in Swinton used to be occupied by the now extinct Swinton Old Hall. Interestingly,…read morenot far from the park there is a private house that used to be a part of the estate. I doubt they let casual visitors in; as for me, I was lucky enough to visit the house with a friend of mine. The dining room downstairs preserves the original wooden beams and a bit of decor that dates back to the first half of 18th c. The land was purchased by the Borough of Swinton and Pendlebury and converted into a park in 1897. An impressive bandstand commemorates the 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Victoria. These days there are tennis courts and children's playground. Close to the part is a private nursery, and it is easily accessible on foot from Swinton Shopping Precinct, or by buses 12, 36, and 37 (among a few others). The park is by no means huge, but is a lovely place to walk on a lazy afternoon.