Parks & outdoors Macclesfield
Playgrounds, country parks, woodland trails and nature reserves. Most of these cost nothing.
There are toilets and a picnic area at Trentabank, which matters more than you would think when you are up in Macclesfield Forest with a four year old. The forest and its four reservoirs are open all day, every day, with nothing to pay at the gate, though the car park is pay and display, as it is at Tegg's Nose. Tegg's Nose has old quarry machinery to clamber round and the whole Cheshire Plain from the top, and West Park, open since 1854, has the playground, toddler area, skatepark, gardens and a daily cafe, with only its little museum currently closed.
Conifer forest and four reservoirs in the hills east of Macclesfield, with miles of forestry track between them. Herons nest at Trentabank and are visible from the path, so there is something to point at when the legs go.
A gritstone hill above Macclesfield with old quarry machinery to clamber round, a summit view across the whole Cheshire Plain and a good coffee shop at the bottom. Free apart from the pay and display car park.
One of Britain's oldest public parks, opened in 1854 and part-paid for by Macclesfield's own workers: playground, toddler area, skatepark, gardens and a daily cafe. The little museum on the park edge is currently closed.
The reliable default: gardens, a children's zoo, a big playground and plenty of room to run. Pay for parking, nothing else.
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.
St Helens' biggest park. Play areas, open space and a walled garden, and it costs nothing.
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.
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.
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.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.