Great piece of wildlife and nature, beautiful lake and surroundings. My dogs love going walkies…read morethere all the time and like to have a little splash around. Perfect place to take sunrise/ sunset pictures. Very nice atmosphere, perfect to get out of the house for a few hours

Perfect 4 all the family including the dog. Very clean + tidy, even though you have to pay to park…read moreit's worth the money we love going for a walk around the lakes + watching the skiing.

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!

What a great find!…read more Pugney's is just off Jn 39 on the M1 and it has a big lake where you can hire canoes, kayaks, dinghies, windsurfers and even pedaloes. Around the outside of the lake you can take a small train ride (for the younger children), there is an activity park (no swings and slides though) and even places built specifically for bird watching. Today I went on a pedalo with my two children. It only cost £6 for the three of us and it gave my legs some much needed exercise having to do the pedalling for all three of us! Afterwards my eldest went on a kayak (only £3.70), he had never been on one by himself before but he quickly picked it up and really enjoyed himself. The cafe sells paninis, jacket potatoes and sandwiches all at reasonable prices and there are two ice-cream vans ouside. There are also benches outside for people who want to bring their own food. The best thing of all is that there is no gift shop so my children can't pester me to buy them something! Pugney's is overlooked by Sandal Castle and this is only about three minutes drive away and well worth a visit afterwards!

My main memory of Pugney's country park is of dropping my Thornton's turkish delight bar in there…read morewhen I was about eleven, and being grudging and outraged for the rest of the walk. I suppose that wasn't 'Puggy's' fault! In spite of that, it's an attractive local spot and attracts all the water sports enthusiasts and a horde of waterfowl, is a nice spot for a walk and handy for Sandal Castle. (Also known as the spot where the Grand Old Duke of York marched his ten thousand men, up, down and half-way). It is however a bit short of public conveniences and eateries, which might increase tourism in the spot. Just a thought!

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.

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.

Loads to do at this park, which ever end of it you go into! If you're near the sports centre,…read morethere's a big playground for kids, and a little one for the really young uns! And in the summer there is an excellent little railway. I took my boy on it back in September - think I enjoyed it more though haha! At the other end, there's a duck pond, pitch and put, a putting green, tennis courts, and gardens. And there's grass - loads of grass places to picnic etc! There's also a nice little cafe and a pub hidden away in there somewhere too! In the summer, they have a music festival with real ales etc. and this year Dodgy headlined the Saturday, which was pretty cool!

A great park right in the centre of Wakefield. There are so many things you can do at Thornes Park…read more- from feeding the ducks to playing pitch and putt or tennis! There's also a nice childrens' play area and a lovely rose garden, but I think the best thing really is the amount of grassy space to just have a picnic or play football or rounders. Part of the park is also used to host Wakefield's music festival every year, which showcases a host of local bands playing every type of music - from heavy metal to folk! This festival is certainly worth attending as every year it gets better and better, but the park's worth visiting at any time of the year. It's quite large but there's good access, with at least two car parks (and there are pubs nearby if you get thirsty!)

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.

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.

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.