Blackburn built this park to show off in 1857 and the bones are still grand. You come in under a Grade II listed triumphal arch off Preston New Road, the Broad Walk climbs the hill beneath huge lime trees, and the two lakes at the bottom hold swans, moorhens and ducks. The playground sits right next to the water, which keeps the duck-feeders and the swing crowd in one place.
It is all free, tennis courts included. There is no car park, so you leave the car on the surrounding streets and walk in. One honest warning: the 1900 glass conservatory, the park's most photographed building, has been shut for about a decade waiting on restoration money, so it is outside-only for now. Push on up to the Colourfields platform at the top instead; the view over Blackburn is the payoff.
What it costs: Everything is free, including the tennis courts.
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One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.