When the Queensway Tunnel was dug beneath the river, the subsequent rubbish pulled from the ground…read morewas dumped and landscaped into what is now Otterspool Prom. Here you can do everything there is to possibly do on a riverside promenade; things such as walk, ride a bike, look at the water and...um...well that's about it. I suppose you could rollerblade if you wanted. If it's a warm day and you don't mind the style your hair will be sculpted into by the blustering gales, you can follow the prom and its interconnecting paths right up to the Pier Head. If you don't fancy that, try and unearth the ruins of the 1984 Garden Festival, which lies hidden by tree trunks and weeds. You don't know how overtly creepy something is until you accidentally stumble across a kid's overgrown swing park. I still have nightmares.

What a spectacular view. Did you ever see such a coastline? Especially when the waves are choppy…read moreand the wind blustery. I absolutely love the promenade; walking along beside the river with the breathtaking view of the Welsh hills in the background is really relaxing, there's lots of cyclists and dog-walkers around and it's a lovely environment on a clear sunny day. The park which was renovated through the 'Pride in our Proms' project is Amazing. It's a mini world of Big Kid heaven... for me anyway I regressed about 10 years and was on the swings, seesaw and monkey bars, and when we'd totally worn ourselves out running around and taking cool scenic pictures of the sunset we went for a well earned pint from the Otterspool pub which is handily a hop skip and a cartwheel across the park. Go fly a kite, see the sights, play on the park and grab a pint!

Stadt Moers Park is a bit of an oasis, sandwiched between Whiston and Prescot. It's basically a few…read moreacres of open parkland, much of it left to grow wild. There are footpaths you can take, and a large lake that's quite popular for fishing. It's a nice getaway for half an hour if you live in the area, the only drawback being that it's close to the motorway, so there's a steady hum of traffic in the background. There's a visitors centre open for occasional events, such as a weekly walking group and various educational stuff. There are also yearly events such as Whistonbury, a music-festival-cum-arts-and-craft-fair.

This place is lovely for walks and great views. You can take the kids or your dog and have a really…read moregood walk and feel great. If you only want a brief stop though, you can always park up and just go on the grassy area with your kids or dog, just remember to clean up after either, keeping the area nice and clean! Sadly it's not got any play things for children, but if you take a ball or a kite (if it's windy)etc, then you should be able to have some good old fashioned fun!

You could walk around Sefton Park every day for a century and not see it in the same way twice. I…read moredon't know what would be so special about that 36,501st day but that'd be the one you get bored on. A mighty, verdant wonderland of precise landscape design, the park has everything- a lake, a cricket club, a cafe, tennis courts, an obelisk, a grotto, a dingly dell, a palm house, a nature reserve, an iron bridge, a swing park, a bowling green, fountains and a bandstand. Once upon a time, there was also an aviary, an open-air theatre and even a freaking pirate ship. Nowadays it plays host to the jangly joy of the Africa Oyé festival, as well as whatever circus has thundered into town from across the eastern horizon. Opened in 1872 by Prince Arthur (Queen Victoria's son) who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople", the park received a vital face-lift in 2009. The lake was cleaned, sloppy grass banks were resculpted, signposts erected, statues polished and view-blocking trees were sliced down, somehow making the vast park seem even more open and welcoming. Oh yeah, I forgot ducks off that list before. It has ducks. Ooh and grass.

Wow, on a sunny day people sure do know how to kick back and relax! The best place to do this in…read moreliverpool has to be Sefton Park. Out of the city and into the countryside, or so it would seem! Big open fields, winding tree-lined paths, a boating lake (not that I've ever seen a boat on there), greenery galore. The Palm House is beautiful and having seen it in the midst of a deep snowy winter and it's reflective crystal maze esque glory of summer, it's always amazing. Today, we were strolling around the lake and there wasn't just one swan or two, but a whole family with their little cute baby signets just catchin' the sun on the path and people were just sitting watching them, almost cooing in appreciation at them they were so gorgeous. The park has also opened up a little cafe that serves yum stuff like rum and raisin and mint choc chip (my fave!) icecreams, coffees teas and lollies etc from a little glass pod on the edge of the lake, the seating outside gives a great view of the park to enjoy your surroundings and relax! So pack a picnic or a barbie, throw down a tartan rug and soak up the sun in one of the most mesmerising parks in the world! (Well, in our lovely little Liverpool bubble anyway!)

The Jungle Parc is an absolutely amazing place for kids, and not too bad for adults too. I never…read moreeven knew this place existed until I was searching the net and then came across this place. I would strongly recommend this for age 7 - 10 though smaller ones are able to come along too, height restrictions do apply to certain parts of the adventure courses, so to avoid disappointed I would recommend you go onto their website and check first. This place is all about fun and fitness for the whole family. They have a massive high wire forest adventure course; which is set within the countryside and developed to encourage you to get moving, and trust me by the end you the adventure a good cuppa and sleep is what you'll need, though if it is for the family then keeping the kids active by getting them tired then Jungle Parc is the place to bring them. It is a very safe environment and with all the proper equipment it is very enjoyable. The X-plorer course is for anyone over 1.35m in height and the Adventurer course is for children from 4 years old and with minimum height of 1.05m. The Jungle Parc is situated in Croxteth Country Park which is only 10 minutes from the city centre.

The Jungle Parc which (like Gemma) I also never knew existed until I came across a flyer, is based…read moreat Croxteth Country Park. The site is generally an incredible place for outdoor activities for those looking to burn off more than a bit of energy (adults and children alike). The premises consists of two different courses: X-Plorer course and Adventurer course (for the little ones). Each course is ideally designed with a practical element, almost like an assault course but with the fun involved. There are 40 amazing activities to enjoy as you glide through trees on rope bridges, zip lines and cargo! It definitely sounds exciting as it really is. Adults are just £20 and Juniors £15. Prices include full training and all equipment to make sure you are fully prepared and safe. Not bad at all for an adventourous day in jungle like surroundings.

Ah lovely Newsham Park, this place holds good memories for me as it was the local park when I was a…read morenipper. It was where I learned to ride a bike, it's where I spent every summer playing footy and it's where, ah, oh yes it's where I fell in the lake when I was 4. Nevertheless it's a much overlooked park as it is situated in the equally overlooked area of Tuebrook which offers little for the tourist or indeed other residents of the city. The park itself though is a big area with plenty of hidden features and spaces for you to explore.

Newsham Park is one of the less 'famous' parks in Liverpool, possibly because it's just a patch of…read moregrass with a pond. I don't mean that in any derogoratoy way, just that it hasn't been marketed to high heaven, or had any botanical gardens put there or anything fancy like that. It is a nice place to go for a walk or sit by the pond, it's usually very quiet so a good place to chill out. My friend lives on the circular round around the park, and the view when you wake up is lovely.

This public park on Woolton Road is one with a very misleading name. Firstly, it sounds like Alton…read moreTowers. Secondly, it's not really near Allerton Road. Thirdly, it isn't dominated by a cloud-impregnating series of jagged towers, as I was hoping when I first came here as a wee nipper. This name in fact comes from the opulent Victorian mansion that once stood on the grounds before dry rot forced it to be torn down in the thirties. Nowadays, the park is scattered with remnants of the estate- the lodge, stables, former laundry and part of the orangery still stand. Also, England's best climbing tree is still here from my childhood although when I found it the other day I got tired just looking at it. Tree- One, Dave- Nil.

Not at all impressed by our visit to Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park today. We took our 5 month…read moreold baby but will not be returning. When we paid we were asked if we had brought a padlock - puzzled, I replied no, why? Apparently now you need to bring a padlock if you want to be able to use a locker in the changing rooms. If not, you have to come out of the changing rooms in your sopping wet swimming stuff, juggling baby, to retrieve your things from the lockers in the main foyer. In addition, the keys for the lockers in the foyer do not have any wristbands on, so what you're meant to do with them is beyond us; we were told we could hand them to the lifeguard but seeing as we couldn't find the same lifeguard twice we thought that adding searching for them to get our key when we left wasn't really something we wanted to be doing, so we opted to tie the key onto my partners swim shorts. I asked if there was a safe place we could leave the pram and was told we could leave it in the cleaning cupboard. Grateful that the young lady was trying to be helpful but surely a new facility such as this should have something better than a cleaning cupboard for people to leave prams? In the end we couldn't find the young lady again to ask her to put the pram in the cupboard so we had to leave it in our view in the changing rooms at the side of the pool. Normally we wouldn't be bothered about it being in our view but seeing as they already seem to have had some sort of security issue with the lockers (the only reason we can think of for them asking people to bring their own padlocks), we didn't want to leave it to chance. Prams are expensive. Scallies are the reason we can't have nice things folks! In the changing rooms it took us a little while to figure out where the baby change facilities were. They are inside some changing cubicles but not very obvious (especially if all are being currently used and you can't see inside). It's quite a squeeze inside, especially with pram and two adults. The changing table itself was disgusting, it looked like it hadn't had a good clean since the place opened. The pool itself was good, much improved on the disgusting old Huyton Leisure, but we didn't get much time in there - we got in at 12:10 and at 12:30 we were told it was closing and we had to get out! Nobody at the front desk had informed us of this when we arrived, so all the effort we had gone to to get out with the baby, get all three of us changed and into the pool felt like a massive waste of time. Really not impressed. We were given a refund, but only once we could find the receipt; so make sure you keep your receipt people, you may not be impressed, and at £4 a swim that's not what you would expect!

Henley Park is a pleasant area providing respite from the hectic pace of activity in the adjacent…read moreWhiston Hospital and the surrounding area. It's made up of a large field - great for kids and families on sunny days - surrounded by trees, shrubbery and a footpath around the perimeter. At the back is a rose garden and rockery that provides lots of hiding places for mischievous youngsters. There are plenty of benches, making it a great place to sit down with a book and relax after a leisurely stroll. The local council puts on regular events there; a noticeboard by the entrance will update you on what's happening.

I love this little park. I was taken there as a kid and roll forward took my own child there. It's…read morea good meeting place and a space to sit and think, a place to go when leaving hospital.l beg of all park uses don't disrespect our little park l look at it today and love watching it being used. Dog people pick up your s%#£, cafe up your game and arseholes go elsewhere. Let the little people enjoy it treasure it or it will be taken off us and made into housing. We have nothing around here apart from this little park let everyone enjoy it. From a Prescot resident.

In the verdant solitude of Woolton, Reynolds Park lies hidden like a chest of buried treasure, or…read morethat cockroach in your bed. Once the estate grounds of the Reynolds family, the parkland has passed through many owners, ranging from a scarred old slaver to the man who set the standard gauge for the British Rail system. Excited? For only fourteen acres, it crams a lot in. There's a walled garden, a topiary garden and a sunken garden. Still in formation is the old arboretum, as well as a wild flower meadow and even something called a ha-ha. Yes it's real, look it up. Whether it's a stroll through the gorgeous summer sun or a confused, drunken stagger home, Reynolds Park will enhance any trek you may be going on, without caring a jot for what you think of it.

The Estate has been in the ownership of many families of mixed fortunes over the past two…read morecenturies. The park as we know it today, with the addition of Dove Park in 1907, has developed over the past years and now stands within the boundaries of the 1929 bequest. Unusually for its period the 14-acre park has not been eroded by land sales and provides a key asset to the immediate local community. The original parkland was of fairly modest proportions until that date having been sub-divided in accordance with the requirements of the Enclosures Act 1805, to provide common grazing lands. The Park has been gradually acquired over the past 200 years, with its current boundaries and artefacts remaining mainly unchanged since the original bequest. The 14 acre park is bounded by Church Road, Woolton Park and Woolton Hill Road, Liverpool 25. It contains listed features including the Walled Garden, Gatehouse, and perimeter walls and is set within the Woolton Conservation Area. It could well be described as a 'hidden gem', providing an area of passive recreation and contemplation, with the capacity to absorb limited informal recreation for families, and a safe and secure haven for young children.

You know what I used to be a non believer, believe it or not!!!! Climbing? Pfft...what nonsense!!…read moreHow wrong I was, introduced to it by a friend who insisted I give it a try, bullied further into it by my ex, i did dive right into the activity pool that is climbing. To my utter surprise I found the whole experience absolutely unashamedly awesome. Lord almighty how on earth can the simple exercise of climbing a wall be so much fun, I cannot put into words. Not only does this keep you fit it also increases core body strength for all you athletes out there. As you progress up the walls it really is an incredibly relaxing, fun yet intense experience. The different colours on the walls correspond to different levels of climbers, and reflect the difficulty with which you can climb. I didn't quite manage to get the hang of all that rope knot malarky, but was much more interested in climbing rather than holstering my partner and watching them climb. It would be a massive help if you knew someone who does climb and is good at it to go with initially and learn the "ropes". It was a massive help for me, mainly because I did most of the climbing and my dear friend that accompanied me had the patience of Mother Teresa. No seriously this is an alternative to your boring normal routine, give it a try, it really is a stress buster I tell thee!!

Awesome Walls Climbing Centre is an ace way to keep fit, just five minutes from Liverpool City…read moreCentre. The climbing centre accommodates all ages and all levels of climbing experience. They have all the relevant safety equipment available to hire, including climbing shoes and harnesses. For those that don't want to fork out on hiring equipment but still want to climb, they have a bouldering room that you can scale the edges of which is great fun. They also have a few walls with huge crash mats underneath which you can shimmy up and down without a harness. For seasoned climbers they have some incredibly high walls and some that angle out so your moving across the ceiling. These look to scary and high for an amateur climber like myself. They sell a range of energy boosting snacks at very reasonable prices, and they offer Awesome Wall's members discounted climbing trips across the UK. You can walk or jog to this place in 15 minutes from the city centre, or it will take 4-5 minutes in a cab.