Let's be honest, looking after children is exhausting…read more Delightful but exhausting. King's Road Playground is the perfect place to let children run riot. Situated next to Alfresco and the West Pier on the seafront, it's a large playground that has climbing frames for different age groups from toddlers to 7 year olds, a sandpit and giant paddling pool. There's toilets and changing rooms, deckchairs for parents (at the cost of £2 if there's a deckchair attendant) and a wooden fence around the playground - reducing the chance of kids wandering off. The real life saver for parents however, is the fact there's three different cafes situated around the playground - so you can grab a much needed coffee, power-bar or frozen yoghurt at the same time.

A fantastic place for small children to run riot on the seafront. Plenty of sand and climbing…read moreframes not to mention the gigantic paddling pool! Mums and dads can hire deck chairs and sit by the pool or grab some great coffee or snacks from the several cafes lining the playground. Gets very busy in the summer but this seems to increase our kids enjoyment of the place! Aimed at toddlers and children up to, I'd say, 6 or 7.

This park is home for hundreds of kids in the Mile Oak area and is always full of life. In the park…read morethere is all your expected treasures so that the kids are kept busy with football pitches along side for playing and walking dogs. I used to knock about here for as long as I can remember and was never let down. With the Sports Centre across the street this area although out in the suburbs of Brighton there is plenty going on.

Easthill Park is a large mixed-use park next to the Portslade Village, north of the A270…read more Formerly part of the park of Easthill House, built in 1851, now it is a public park cared for by Brighton & Hove City Council. It comprises a large grassy area with a football pitch, a small wooded area and a wildflower area, a delightful walled garden and a well-equipped children's play area. There is a small garden of remembrance next to the war memorial. The park won a coveted 'Green Flag' award in 2007. Practicalities The park has toilets, a car-park and is close to the 1/1A bus route, with frequent services to central Brighton.

This park built in 1851 has been around for centuries! It is the life and soul of the local area as…read moreit literally is completely surrounded by housing so that it is well sheltered from ouside noises. It has a top park with all sorts of climbing frames and swings, a football pitch and a historical memorial to give it some culture. It was awarded the 2008 green flag award which I assume means it must be good. I spent a lot of time playing man hunt and gladiators in this park. Also, there is a great place to play wembley as there are 2 trees the perfect distance apart and a wall 5 yards behind so you do not keep losing your balls. Dog walking is a bit part of the park with people walking dogs all day long and I am sure they often time it so that in the early evening a few people meet up and have a chat whilst doing so.

This park is one of the biggest in the Hove area which gives lots of space for lots of activities…read more The land right next to the park that is now not in use is perfect for allowing the dog to go mental and burn off all their energy so I have added pictures of that but it isn't actually part of the park. The playground, a useful way to zap the energy out of your kids, will be getting re-done in January so I am sure there will be some new types of climbing frame for them to drool over! With public toilets in the park and a Sainsbury 5 minute walk for your ice creams you can make a right day of it in the summer. During the football season there are 2 pitches available for hire which are pretty good as far as Sunday amateur football pitches go, I should know I have played atleast 10 matches on both pitches as it used to be my home ground.

Hove Park is the largest public green area in the local vicinity, featuring a basketball court,…read morekids playground, football pitch, climbing boulder, tennis courts bowling green and a popular miniature steam railway that opens again in March 2010. For joggin, dog walking or impromptu rounders games Hove Park is the best place to go as it's rarely at full capacity. Another point of interest is the large rock situated in the southwest corner. Weighing more than 20 tones, Goldstone rock is said to have been worshiped by the Druids around 2000 years ago. In the summer months various travelling fairs and local events take place on its premises, all of which will be advertised well in advance so you don't get caught out. Also, as its perimeter is lined with horse-chestnut trees it's a prime place for finding conkers.

Although I mainly experience Hove Park through the eyes of a slightly overweight, slightly…read moreunder-fit runner its still a beautiful place. Its a large park making it suitable for running and cycling and provides a number of other facilities such as tennis courts, five-a-side and full size football pitches, a basketball court, a climbing area and a cafe. It has a children's play area and a miniature railway that runs during the summer season, and it also plays host to a number of organised fitness events such as the saturday morning 5k parkrun and British Military Fitness. It tends to be full of of dogs and small children at the weekend which lend themselves as interesting obstacles to dodge (mostly successfully) while out on my runs. However, I would have to agree with India T in that I wouldn't feel particularly safe running here at night as its not very well lit and the middle area can be quite secluded.

This park is a bit of a jack of all trades in the fact that so much is there for such a variety of…read morepeople. As, it isn't that well known it is only really busy in the best of summer days which in my opinion lets it down a bit. The playground area is one of the best around with tonnes of things to keep the kids busy for atleast a couple of hours. The park itself is kept well and surrounded by trees which encloses it slightly. This place is perfect if you want to get out of the office and have a bit of lunch and get into the sunshine which I have done on numerous occasions in the past. The tennis courts offer those who can't stay still, a chance to burn off all that energy.

Blaker's Park is a smaller local park wedged between Preston Drove on the south end and Stanford…read moreAvenue at the north end. It is much more compact park than Preston Park down the road and works perfectly for families and young kids. The whole park is on a slope which makes it a little more difficult for portable barbecues but great for rolling down the hill! As you walk down the grassy slope from Stanford Avenue you reach a lovely red brick clock tower and a small cafe stand (great coffee, GREAT cakes!) and two tennis courts in excellent condition (free before 10am). Next to the tennis courts is a small playground for young kids with a sandpit, slide and various climbing frames- as well as some picnic tables for parents. Grab a coffee and watch your kids burn off their energy!

St John's park used to have the town leisure centre at the end of it before it moved to another…read morepart of town. For the park, this was actually a good thing as the space was reused to put in three tennis courts, a skate park and a basket ball net plus practise area. Alongside this, there is a children's playground and the local cricket team class this as their home turf. There is a cricket pavilion here and you can also watch a cheeky free game of local cricket on the weekend. The park is well placed for amenities and is fairly pleasant. Sadly, it is not much more than a big rectangle and it would have been nice to have a wooded area to go on a walk. You will find yourself doing laps or running out of space fast if you want to use it for jogging or an afternoon stroll. Still, as a place to bring your kids for a knock about with a ball or other activities (I actually learnt to ride my first bike at this park) you could do worse.

I've never played basketball here, and in fact I've never particularly liked Basketball, with all…read moreit's nigglyness and sweatyness, it just doesn't massively appeal to me. The basketball court which is located right on the seafront and between the two pier's, however makes me wish I'd grown up like Leo in the Basketball diaries, (minus the heroin addiction) playing basketball everyday and just hanging at the court. Come shine, usually this place is always in use with either one big game, or possibly two smaller games, being played with both hoops. Sometimes, especially in the summer it can get really busy, with people watching the current game, to wait their turn. Basically this place is a testament to how council money should be spent more often. It's in an amazing location, it's fun, it's free and it really does bring people from all over the world who love the game together. Now, I think they should build some 5 a-side footy pitches around their too.

Like the volleyball court, this is a good addition to the activities available on the seafront. The…read morehoops are rugged and the surface is more than adequate. Thankfully, this is also a good time to have a beach without sand. No chance of skidding around here from wayward grains. On a nice day, particularly in the summer expect this place to be very busy. It's a good/bad thing that the court is free and it kind of operates like leaving a coin on a pool table in a pub. Get your game then the next one comes in after. I'm not the biggest fan of basketball these days, but did used to play a fair bit back in my college years. having a good understanding of the rules, this means I can happily park up with a few cans of beer and watch some free live sport. You can get to see a decent game, with players having a high level of skill. Of course, it's a bit hit and miss of who will be playing at a given time, but certainly worth wandering down to if you want to get in a game or just watch some sport for free.