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!

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.

An unsung gem of the Welsh countryside (you'd be amazed how many people haven't heard of this place…read more- don't remain one of them). Park up at the visitor centre (£1) and take a long relaxing walk along the dam's retaining wall - with picturesque views down across the lower valley - or for a much more enriching experience, park on the access road on the other side of the reservoir, which you'll find by taking the B4501 from Denbigh. Apart from having access to the forest walk, there's a plethora of Bronze Age remains - cairns and burial mounds, and a ritual temple - to be found on the well-signposted archaeological trail. Interestingly, only 20 people were ever buried at this location during a 500 year period. You eventually work your way round to the visitor centre, housing a free interpretative exhibition, with a handy cafe and a toilet complex, attached. Whatever the weather (and we've been there on the wintriest of days) it's a fascinatingly eerie (drowned villages always are, somehow) and beautiful spot.

A wonderfully tranquil place. Brilliant hospitality at the cafe and wonderful food for excellent…read moreprices. A wonderful place for a walk and yet it's always so quiet. The roadway around part of the Llyn makes for easy walking for beginners but for the more adventurous there are plenty of other pathways too. A great place to cycle too if that's your bag.

A little know gem of Warrington with bucket loads of history attached. It's got 2 main areas, open…read moregrass land and the willow marshes. Great dog walking area.

This is a wonderful, natural environment. Excellent for those who like to walk away from all the…read moretraffic and noise, but still be in contact with civilisation. It can be accessed from Farrell Street or Manchester Road (via Peacock Avenue) and has some pathways laid out, suitable for wheelchairs or buggies. Once again, it is often necessary to watch out for bicyclists, but most are very courteous here. The odd kids on stolen and/or illegal motorcycles are not. Contrary to popular knowledge of the law, these are not legal on what used to be called common land and still need a license, tax and insurance - none of which they have. Rant over! Just off the laid paths is a quite large area which is the actual twiggery - water and marshland completely enclosed in shrubbery which is more akin to jungle than parkland. The authorities have had built raised, wooden walkways throughout this area without destroying the natural aspects - it is possible to see all manner of animal and birdlife if one is quiet enough. I have watched heron fishing in the pond near the entrance as well as kingfishers and wagtails. On St George's Day, we usually manage to pick enough dandelions for the next year's dandelion wine - more than two gallons some years.

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.

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.

Living only four miles away, we have now become 'Friends of Ness Gardens' and have been several…read moretimes already this summer (I retired from work at Easter). The Management continue to make improvements all the time, and each time we see changes. If you go three ti,mes or more a year , its well worth joinging the Friends as you will save money. ITs a bit like asmall version of BOdnant Gardens in N Wales for those of you who know it. Edit, visited again 13/3/13 with wife , mother in law and grandauaghter. For the first time we had lunch in the cafe, good quality and well presented food, nice ambience.

This has to be one of the most beautiful places in the Wirral, a true hidden gem. The cafe is…read moreamazing with lovely home cooked food and delightful staff who can't do enough for you, a lovely way to spend a lazy day strolling around. It's worth visiting in every season as it changes so much. I would recommend anyone coming to the Wirral to make time to slot this into their schedule.

TL;DR - Fantastic place for a day out with great walking options and facilities on site…read more We came here for some exercise on a hot day, figuring that the trees would give us some respite from the heat. Having never visited before we weren't quite sure what to expect but were pleasantly surprised. There's ample parking at the main site plus a couple of other car parks nearby which are connected to the main site via walking routes. The main site also has a large cafe with plenty of outside seating, a visitor information centre and large, clean toilet facilities. When we went there were also a couple of ice cream stalls set up which had some really nice flavours on offer. There are multiple walking routes you can do here, and part of what we loved is that many of them are circular, meaning you can get your steps in and then be back at your car (or the loo!). We walked from a remote car park to the main site, then did climbed up Old Pale. It's a bit more exposed up there, but well worth it because at the top you can view seven counties all at the same time - there are large stones indicating which county is in which direction, but also brass plaques on the floor which indicate specific landmarks. The view really is impressive - you can see Jodrell Bank in one direction and Liverpool's cathedrals in the other. We then did another walk through the forest before returning to the car. There's a short walk for children featuring a Grufallo trail but we opted for a much longer one which was nice and quiet. Some of the trails could have been marked a little bit more clearly but with a map in hand we managed quite easily.

In this day and age it would be mad to even suspect a place isn't being looked after round the…read moreclock by teams of environmentalists. They're probably tidying around you as you read this. Trudging through Delamere Forest though, the idea tends to seem less ludicrous. I'm not saying the place is a tip or anything, rather I'm hinting at the overgrown primeval mass of trunk and branch that constitutes the forest. For starters, it's huge, the largest in Cheshire. It's not difficult to imagine a bear lumbering out of the greenery towards you, or the Nazgul. A glacier scraping its way through the area during the ice age left enough room for wetlands to bubble up out of the ground and gurgle. Blakemere Moss is such a lake in the forest, about a kilometre across and reputedly drained by Napoleonic prisoners. Although it was only refilled in 1998, it feels eerily prehistoric. Every time a duck flies over your head you end up flinching in case it's a pterodactyl. They still exist, right? In short, this is a fantastic place to stumble around if you're not in the mood for civilisation. Provided your dog doesn't get stolen like mine once did here you'll be fine. Don't worry though, they gave him back. What rubbish crims.

Balls Wood is the hidden gem of Maghull for those who love parks and the great outdoors in general…read more You could walk right by this park and not notice it--in fact I did at first. Through this camouflaged archway lies a hidden little patch of green. If you long for green and trees and fresh air as much as I do, this is a great place to walk, sit, breath, and drink in the natural world around you. I was taken aback, actually, because it reminded me a little bit of the fields across the road from my grandparents' old stone house back in the USA. As you walk through the arch you have trees on both sides of the mown grass, and you have to walk quite a ways before you come to the open clearing. Apparently this patch of land is home to a bit of wildlife as well so if you're lucky and you time it right, you might spot some cunning and adorable critters.