Stamford Park
The Altrincham park that has everything in one place: two age-split playgrounds, a basketball court, tennis, a cafe, toilets and a car park. Grade II listed, Green Flag, and flat.
John Leigh Park
- Cost
- Free, street parking only
- Ages
- 1 to 11
- Where
- Altrincham, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Just turn up
Sir John Leigh handed this land to the council as a public park in 1917 and it has stayed exactly what it was meant to be: fourteen acres of sloping ground above Broadheath, formal gardens at the top, sport at the bottom. It carries a Green Flag Award.
The two play areas are split by age, infant and junior, which is a small thing that changes a visit completely when your children are four years apart. There is also a Pets Corner with an aviary the Friends group help look after, a trim track, a bowling green, tennis courts and, importantly, public toilets including accessible ones.
The one gap is parking. Trafford's own page lists facilities and does not include a car park, so you are on the street around Oldfield Road, in an area where the residents got there first. Aim for a weekday morning or the first hour of a Saturday.
What it costs: Free. Trafford publish no admission charge. They also do not list a car park here, so it is street parking on Oldfield Road and the roads around it. Toilets are on site.
Know before you go
- Two playgrounds, split infant and junior. If you have a toddler and an eight year old, this is the reason to pick John Leigh over Stamford Park.
- Pets Corner is the thing everyone remembers. Rabbits, guinea pigs and birds, free, and a reliable ten minutes of quiet.
- Trafford do not list a car park. Oldfield Road is residential, so go early or be prepared to walk a few streets.
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What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.6 across 864 Google reviews.
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