Tegg's Nose Country Park
A gritstone hill above Macclesfield with old quarry machinery to clamber round, a summit view across the whole Cheshire Plain and a good coffee shop at the bottom. Free apart from the pay and display car park.
West Park
Macclesfield, Cheshire
Opened in 1854 and funded partly by penny subscriptions from the town's own workers, West Park is one of the earliest municipal parks in the country. For a family that history translates to the useful stuff: a playground with a separate toddler area, a skatepark for older ones, wide lawns, ornamental gardens, a picnic area and a cafe open nine till five every day of the week.
Everything is free, parking included, and the park stays open from 8am until dusk-ish hours that shift with the season. The one catch is the toilets, which keep office hours on weekdays and close by mid-afternoon, so time the last orange squash accordingly.
The park also holds three pre-Norman stone cross shafts and the West Park Museum, given to the town in 1898 with Egyptian artefacts and Charles Tunnicliffe's bird paintings inside. The museum is currently closed to the public, which is a shame - check before promising anyone mummies.
Know before you go
- The council toilets keep short weekday hours and close by mid-afternoon - the cafe is your fallback.
- Parking is at the Prestbury Road drive end; the playground and toddler area sit close enough together to watch both at once.
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