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.

What can you say about Martin Mere. Besides the mad bird (of the wildlife variety) that actually…read morebarks at you and has teeth Free Willy would be proud of, this is one tranquil place. Have a gander at a pink flamingo, Asian otter, or the humungous African thingies with spiky hair. Apart from the bars on some enclosures, to keep Willy at bay no doubt, this is a great place for photos. I took a holiday from work one day and spent a good few hours meandering around the Mere, which is itself one large body of water engulfed in birds with spotters hiding in the wooden huts. It is a tenner or so to get into the mere, unless you have a £60 odd a year membership in which case its free. The staff are really friendly and happy to talk you around the park, with its many different directions and sections. The cafe does a mean coffee, a prerequisite if I'm to attend, and, considering, isn't badly priced at all.

Martin Mere's wildlife gardens are home to a hundred species of the world's duck, geese, swans,…read morecranes, flamingos and an otter and a beaver enclosure. The reserve hosts thousands of migratory birds each year and the duckling nursery is an award winning experience. With year round programmes of walks, talks, events and spectacular wildlife encounters, this is a wetland wildlife attraction for everyone. Whether you want to feed swans, see the work of beavers or climb across swan flyways, Martin Mere's offers a valuable day out to get close to nature. Their site is amazingly beautiful and diverse which makes it appealing for the young and old. This is relaxing British nature at its finest. There is always something new to display each season waiting to be explored. If you enjoy wildlife spotting, this is a fun and educational experience of doing so.

The park is 7 miles long and runs from Carr Mill Dam to Newton-Le-Willows. Inside the park is the…read morevisitor centre, Stanley Bank nature reserve as well as loads of footpaths and cycleways. It is just perfect for taking your bike if you are up for a short ride. Public events take place around the park including guided walks, slide illustrated talks, moth nights, birdwatching events and art days. The park is also used regularly for school events such as pond dipping, bug hunting, nature rambles and scavenger hunts. The park is a site of special scientific interest for the nature enthusiasts to enjoy and there are numerous areas to fish (permits can be obtained through the local fishing clubs).

Beautiful park in the heart of the Sefton Park neighborhood. Lots of serene walking paths, and a…read morerange of birds to be seen.

Brilliant, beautiful park! Fun to scoot around! Saw a few ducks and a few caves. Will be going…read moreback! Can't wait.

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.

Mansion House Built in 1828 the Mansion House is described…read morein the Liverpool Heritage Bureau 'Buildings of Liverpool' as 'asymmetrical and of two storeys in the Georgian tradition'. Today it is no longer a private house and contains offices of the Council, including the Housing Market Renewal Initiative and City Safe. Ornamental Gardens Situated at the centre of the park, this area comprises of three stlyles of gardens, one of ehich is the a Flower Garden. Originally a rose garden, it now provides a quiet area where visitors can absorb the scents and beauty of traditional planting schemes. The other two gardens are the Old English Garden and the Japanese Garden. The Glasshouse Situated in the Ornamental Gardens, this glasshouse displays examples from the city's temperate and tropical Botanical collections. There are plenty of things are and thepark is beautifuk, it has tennis courts too, and cafes etc..

One of the finest parks in Liverpool. A lake. Botanic Gardens. Mansion House. Worth a visit.read more

Is it swan season? I took a stroll through Greenbank park today and if the crazy bird woman from…read moreMary Poppins were there she would have Loved it. Birds Everywhere. This little girl was having a whale of a time running into them all and feeding the baby signets. This park is so quaint, there are lots of benches down by the side of the lake so you can sit and soak up the scenery and gorgeous little winding woodlandesque paths. Did I mention the kids playground? It's an amazingly colourful mesh of metal with a roundabout! Yes, I'm still a kid at heart, swings, monkey bars...I'm there, all with the backdrop of beautiful trees and water. Come sit and relax and watch life glide by for a while or see who can get the highest on the swings... whatever floats your boat!

The amount of greenery crammed into South Liverpool is a defining factor in its often changeable…read morelevels of loveliness. With its proximity to the Goliath of Sefton Park, Greenbank may seem a tad unnecessary and it's somewhat of a mystery why it hasn't just been engorged by the larger tract down the road. Here the underground stream that gave the Brookhouse its name, as well as my neighbour rising damp, bulges out into a turgid stretch of brown water scattered with ducks. Fisherman gather round the banks like gnomes to harvest the supply of scaly things beneath the surface. The best time to visit, and conveniently also my most recent, is after a spring rainstorm when the place is deserted and moisture plops from the heavy leaves. Lavverly.

Stanley Park, situated between Liverpool's two football clubs: Liverpool and Everton, is huge-over…read more100acres-and so beautiful. During the recent regeneration of the park ,over 50 species of trees and shrubs were planted to provide year-round colour, paths were resurfaced, the Victorian pavilions and bandstand resurrected and the magnificent Gladstone Conservatory salvaged and restored. As well as this the children's play area was revived and lighting and security systems installed. The outcome is fantastic and provides yet another glorious park space for the people of Liverpool to escape the chaos of city life and just relax

Being a Liverpudlian, its suprising that I had never actually visited Stanley Park before. This…read morepark does not look much from the outside when you're viewing from the main road at its enclosed gates. However, upon first impression I caught a glimpse of the park's beauty almost instantly. There is plenty of trees and foliage around that provides a cool shade, plus many benches for you to take a rest bite. Moreover, I was delighted to see the lake inhabited by many species of birds and ducks. On the other hand, it was failry clear that the lake was infested with litter and appeared filthy with murk. Incredible how wildlife lives there. On the more positive side, there are beautiful overhead walking bridges that take you from the Everton side of the lake (Yaay!) to the Liverpool side (Booo!). Further down the park is a glass house called Isla Gladstone Conservatory and a children's playing area with several obstacles to keep the kids occupied. The Conservatory (as Tina has already mentioned) has been revived and always worth a visit whilst you're at the park. Stanley Park is a pleasant getaway from the busy traffic that surrounds. It has many lovely features that you shouldn't miss.