Witton Country Park
Blackburn's biggest green space: 480 acres with adventure playgrounds, woodland trails and a visitor centre in the old Victorian stables. Free in, free to park, and it absorbs a whole afternoon without anyone asking for money.
Corporation Park
Blackburn, Lancashire
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.
Know before you go
- Enter under the Preston New Road arch for the full Victorian effect, and do the uphill Broad Walk while legs are fresh.
- The famous conservatory is closed for restoration, so do not promise anyone a tropical greenhouse.
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