Burrs Country Park
Riverside country park on the Irwell with a playground, old mill remains and its own East Lancashire Railway station, so a heritage steam train can be part of the day rather than the whole of it.
Parks & outdoors Bury
Parks & outdoors in Bury
Playgrounds, country parks, woodland trails and nature reserves. Most of these cost nothing.
3 in Bury3 free3 suit under-5s
Bury put £180,000 into a concrete skate park at Clarence Park, which is also where the playground, tennis courts, cafe and boating lido are. At twenty hectares it is the biggest park in the borough. Burrs Country Park is a different sort of day: riverside paths on the Irwell, old mill remains, a playground and its own East Lancashire Railway station, so a steam train can be part of the afternoon. Whitehead Park out in Elton has two free car parks and a youth zone for the ones who have decided swings are beneath them.
Parks & outdoors in Bury
Clarence Park
Twenty hectares, the biggest park in the borough, and the one Bury has actually spent money on: a concrete skate park went in for 180,000 pounds, and there is a playground, tennis, a cafe and a boating lido.
Whitehead Park
A mile out of Bury in Elton, with a play area, a youth zone for the ones who think they are too old for swings, a ball court, tennis and two free car parks. Green Flag since 2005.
Parks & outdoors elsewhere in the North West
Walton Hall & Gardens
The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.
Risley Moss
A peat bog nature reserve with woodland trails, a visitor centre and an observation tower the kids can climb. Free, close and short enough for little legs.
Sherdley Park
St Helens' biggest park. Play areas, open space and a walled garden, and it costs nothing.
Dream, Sutton Manor
A 20-metre white head rising out of a reclaimed colliery, with woodland trails around it. Genuinely strange and memorable for kids, and a short walk rather than a hike.
Sankey Valley Park
A green corridor of canal towpath and parkland running from St Helens down towards Warrington. Flat, traffic-free and ideal if the bikes or scooters are coming.
Speke Hall
A Tudor hall with woodland walks, a maze and a natural play area in the grounds. Free if you have National Trust membership, and the indoor house is a good rain fallback.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.