Cuerden Valley Park

A 650-acre valley park squeezed between the M6 and the M65 and somehow still a secret outside South Ribble: woodland, wildflower meadows, a lake, a walled orchard and the River Lostock running shallow enough through it that children treat it as the main event. It draws around 300,000 visitors a year, mostly from people who live within three miles.

The Berkeley Drive entrance has the eco-built visitor centre and the Cuerden View cafe, and it is the right start with small children: flat paths, the orchard, the river dip, ice cream on the way back. Older ones get proper distance, with valley and woodland routes that swallow an afternoon.

It is free and open around the clock; the trust that runs it makes its money from the car parks, which charge day and night. Think of the £2.50 as the entry fee for one of Lancashire's best free days and it feels cheap.

What it costs: Free entry, open all hours. Parking is charged 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, paid on exit by number plate: £1.50 up to 1.5 hours, £2.50 up to 2.5 hours, £3.50 up to 3.5 hours, £4.50 over 3.5 hours and £9.10 over 9 hours.

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