Bootle Leisure Centre
There is a flume, and it is the only pool in this part of Sefton with one. Alongside it, a 25 metre main pool with a moveable floor, so the depth changes to suit the session.
Derby Park
Bootle, Merseyside
The park had over £750,000 put into it by the council, Sefton Children's Fund and regeneration agencies, and the money went where it shows. Play equipment and facilities for young people, not ornamental planting. Sefton's largest play area is the result, with a zip wire and two ball courts alongside it.
The setting is older than that suggests. Derby Park was laid out in 1895, it is on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and it sits inside its own conservation area. A seven year old will not care. What survives from all that is a bowls green, a football knockout area, and enough statues and landscaping that the place still reads as a proper Victorian park.
The council's own listing says work is still ongoing on the central steps and paths, so expect fencing somewhere. Nothing is listed in the way of a cafe or toilets either, so come with a packed bag. It is free. It is ten minutes' walk from Bootle town centre, and the Friends of Derby Park keep an eye on it.
Know before you go
- The zip wire and the sheer size of the play area are the reason to come. If you are picking one Bootle green space for a five year old, it is this.
- Nothing is listed for a cafe, a visitor centre or toilets, so take a flask and use the facilities first. Bootle town centre is a ten minute walk if you get caught out. Improvement works on the central steps and paths were still listed as ongoing, so a route you used last time may be fenced.
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