The area surrounding the Etihad (Manchester City's football stadium) has been getting a face lift…read moresince the 2002 Common wealth games. Since the conclusion of the games it has seen extensive development. The Manchester sports and leisure trust has thus gone from strength to strength and as a result Mancunians have benefited massively. These benefits include the best sporting facilities and equipment available (some free of charge) across a host of venues including this one. The tennis courts indoor and out are of the highest quality, arguably the best in Manchester. The outdoor hard courts in particular (given the amount of rain Manchester gets) are of an exceptionally high standard. So much so that some of the Manchester City's multi millionaire footballers can often be spotted enjoying a few games here. The backdrop of the canal and the stadium is picturesque on a hot summer's day. So I highly suggest you visit the website: http://www.manchestersportandleisure.org and register for a membership so you can start reaping the rewards for being a Mancunian.

If you fancy yourself as the next Agassi, you might be interested to know that Manchester Regional…read moreTennis Centre offers 6 indoor and 6 outdoor courts that you can book without having to pay an expensive yearly membership. Even if you're an amateur you can hire rackets and balls too before deciding if it's worth investing for real. Prices per court, per hour start at just £4.80, not bad at all considering your alternative are park courts that aren't maintained half as well.

Brand new tennis facility and looks great. Allways seems to be players on the court when I am…read moretaking the dog for a walk.

Ahh, Hyde Park. I thought I'd update my review, since it's been eons since I last show it some…read morelove. I've always been confused that everyone calls it Hyde Park, but it's actually Woodhouse Moor. What's up with that? I'll have to do some research and find out. I do love this park, even though there are down sides. The positives include amazingly huge trees, which often house my favourite birds - crows - who you'll find pecking about the place doing their thing. It's lovely to walk through, summer or winter, with these behemoths towering over the paths. The amount of green space makes this city feel much less of a city, and even on a summer's day when filled with students, you can find a spot to enjoy the green. There's also a WWII bunker, but, thankfully, it is closed off. I imagine it'd be terrifyingly claustrophobic in there. They're pretty strict about barbecues, which is probably a good thing, as people have a tendency to be lazy at the best of times - even on Unity day when it's encouraged to use the many bins, litter is just scattered around. And as mentioned previously, Unity day is one of the awesome yearly reasons to come out to the park. This year I had a delicious lunch from Sukhothai, and listened to some fabulous local live music. Also, some heavy boom music, which is all part of the experience. Last night a crew of us went to celebrate bonfire night here again, and whilst it's probably worth trekking to Roundhay more, I'm actually really fond of the underdog. I mean, you really have to work at being able to see anything. They place the fireworks so that they go off just at where the tree tops are, for most of the audience, and the fire safety brigade means you're actually about a mile from the blaze. (Which, naturally, means there's little heat or light to be seen.) But I love the naff-ness of it. And this year there were at least 10 really loud huge fireworks to finish, so I was pleased. 15 minutes of boom, and about 40 of making sure you don't lose anyone in the crowd. All part of the funs! The mulled wine I made also helped. But, jokes aside, I do love this place. And it could be the fond memories and being a country girl that does it, but I'll recommend a wander through Hyde Park to anyone. Bring a guitar, bring friends, bring your skates. Or just your imagination!

Woodhouse Moor consists of three parts…read more Formal Park: The main park area (which is usually referred to as Hyde Park) a 26 hectares square of green including a kids area, skate park, tennis court, basket ball court and allotments. This part of the Moor is predominantly used by students during the summer season, playing frisbee, eating picnics, drinking and generally making a mess. I don't mean to sound like a grouch, I for one absolutely love getting merry on the park and basking in the sun but I always clean up after myself. Unfortunately many people do not. During early August the park area also plays host to Unity Day, a fantastic celebration of culture and community with the aim of bringing people together. This is not to be missed. Monument (upper): A small piece of green home to a statue of Henry Rowland Marsden. It is adjacent to a strip of takeaways and plays host to nothing more than the occasional magpie or seagull. Somewhere I have sat and scoffed a pizza out of pure convenience, but otherwise would not have given a second thought. However, there are some little lonely looking steps that once were used for mounting horses, kind of interesting! Ish? Cinder (lower): Cinder is on the other side of the road from Monument and is a semi grassy, mainly gravelly spot on which the fair always parks its bum. The fair is like many other, and is more scary than fun due to it's gobby teenagers and rowdier of the locals. I have seen the odd jumble sale on here though which is always worth a visit.

I love me some green space and this is a nice bit of it. Rothwell (Springhead) Park is a lovely…read moremixture of open space, wooded areas, activities and nature. There is a small aviary (which is easy to miss as it is tucked away near the rose garden), a skate park (the domain of local youth particularly after dark), newly refurbished, lit tennis courts, crown green bowling and a massive open space where local events are often held. In common with many Local authority parks the equipment in the play areas has seen better days. In my opinion the main lack in this park is a nice cafe with out door seating

tennis world is situated of marton road next to the playing fields and skatepark it is quite…read moremisable as it is just a very small cinderpath leading to tennis world excellent place to go and learn the game for all ages coaching is very good and the coaches are very patient with the children, it can turn out to be a little bit expensive if you want private coaching one to one , not very much parking but enough and sometimes there is a security guard on duty, also there is a bar which sells snacks and drinks.friendly tennis place for all ages

Now it's my welcome pleasure to say that the parks in Leeds are pretty much spot on. They all have…read moresomething good to shout about and yet are all that little bit different. East End Park is a good example of that. It's a Victorian Park (although I didn't see any corset clad women to speak of) and pretty too. The main appeal though is it's encouragement to keep the kids off the streets and active. That's not to exclude other age ranges but the facilities include tennis courts, football pitches, basketball court, playground and even a teen shelter. You've also got a bowling green for those a tad older. They are also big on sports camps throughout the summer months and have a popular annual bonfire. The Friends of East End Park are also devoted to improving and maintaining the park itself, so it's pretty much well looked after. You could do far worse than a trip out here if you want something of an outdoors nature to do.

My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the grounds. There's so much to see, including a pond with water…read morefowl, and an old mansion that looks right out of a book! There are so many green fields, I wish I were a native, so I could bring my dogs out here to run.

Roundhay park will always be a special place to me, I have so many memories here!…read more Situated a short drive from the city centre and with plenty of bus options, it's a MASSIVE expanse, with green areas, woodland, a lake, a cricket ground and more. There are other options in Roundhay, such as Tropical World (paid entry- animals and plants, a great day out for kids and grown ups!), as well as gorgeous flowered gardens to wander round. If you've got a dog and want to explore, it's perfectly dog friendly, but obviously you must clear up after them, and in the gardens it might be best keeping them on the lead. Within the park itself you can stroll around the massive lake (or jog if you're that way inclined!) or sit in one of the bandstands or on the grass and have a picnic. There's a kids park, and a gorgeous restaurant right on the lake, which I've never been to but hope to eventually. In the wooded bits there's plenty to explore, with some little ruins dotted around to get the kids' imagination going. Roundhay is a fantastic and free day out. I've never had any problems with crowds, yes it gets busy but it's so big there's plenty of room!