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.

Lancashire Health and Racquet club is located about a 5 minute drive off the Middleton exit of the…read moreM60. Open from 6.30am if you fancy an early morning swim or workout until 11.pm if a late evening badminton match is more your thing. A humongous gym with a plethora of cardio machines, weight machines and free weights is on offer, plus a cool stretch area too, god forbid you forget your cool down! Need some motivation, then there are personal training sessions available as well. The club says its offers the largest range of exercise classes in the North, I have no actual hard data on this, but I do know classes on offer include Body Pump, Body Attack, Body Balance, Body Combat, Group Cycle, Yoga, Pilates, Legs Bums and Tums . . just reading the list of classes tires me out. Once you have buffed and puffed it out in the gym, there are saunas and steam rooms to unwind and relax in, as well as a tranquillity spa offering such delights as a stress buster stone massage or a muscle relaxer body wrap. As hints in the name, this is also the place to visit for all kinds of racquet sports, offering lessons in tennis, squash, badminton, as well as casual matches with friends; you can get professional coaching and even join the league. There is a crèche for children and they also offer facilities for a range of themed birthday parties all with the expertise of an on-site children's co-ordinator. On Wednesdays there is a Wii night and Thursdays is children's film night, so any parents out there, may never find an excuse not to visit the gym again, as their children will practically be encouraging them to go! There is a fully licensed bar for adults and a restaurant which does Sunday roasts and every Thursday they offer a themed menu night, you may even find yourself visiting without even feeling the need to pop on your trainers. Its expensive of course and completely out of my price range as facilities and service like this doesn't come cheap. There is currently a 'free guest pass' offer available via their website should you fancy a taster, but the reason I visit weekly . . . Roller Derby practice 6.30-8.30 £6 a session every Monday night *insert smiley face*.

This is a really good social and sports club. I became a Tennis member for a couple of years before…read moreI went to Uni and it was definitely worth it. They have two different surfaces of court (clay and hard court) and they are in the process of more resurfacing and improvements. When you are a tennis member you get a key to go down and play whenever you like. You are supposed to observe their clothing rules but they are not exactly Wimbledon strict or anything and neither me or any of my friends have ever had any problems. I also went to their Saturday morning kids/ teenagers coaching which was pretty helpful in improving my tennis game, skill by skill. There were too many of us to really get any one on one coaching, except on the days where only a few of us showed up. I only played in one club tournament and lost almost every point against Adult ladies players but it was still fun. There is a nice club house to get a refreshing drink after playing (or shelter from the rain, it is Manchester after all). Plus I have been to a few parties here and they have always been a good laugh with decent drinks prices and friendly staff. If you get that bored of actually playing sports you can watch the cricket games on the main field, and they have bowling too towards the back.

The tennis club has recently undergone a major half million facelift and I have to say it was long…read moreoverdue. Recently there has been new courts, club house, new coach. The new coach Paul Marshall has been given the task of trying to entice more members and encourage younger people to the sport and it looks like it is working. It would be nice to see it back to how it was years ago when you had to queue to get a court and there were always plenty to do and tournaments going on.

Beautiful place to go and have a stroll. Ample space to take the kids to kick a football about with…read morethe dog in tow. Small park with enough play area for the kids to be kept enetrtained. The only down side is the price for the tennis courts which has rose drmatically in the last year.

This leisure centre boasts an olympic sized 50m swimming pool, and a 20m swimming pool - this can…read morebe particularly handy around 4pm when the kids come in after school as they considerately split the adults and children. The centre also has a huge fitness centre, tennis courts, 5-a-side pitches, grass football pitches, athletics track, and resides inside The Mystery Park. Overall, it's pretty good value for money, the facilities are very clean and the staff are pleasant enough. What is the first thing most people want after a hard work out or swim? Usually something to eat and drink. So I suppose the only way they could improve is provide a cafe/restaurant instead of just your typical vending machines.

Wavertree Sports Park is a great new complex which brings you a whole range of sporting, exercise…read moreand leisure facilities. Lifestyles offer a range of membership schemes or pay and play options, which allows you to use the facilities. The first time I went, I made use of their 50 metre swimming pool though it's not as big as it sounds. There is a smaller pool section which is split up and more for beginners and younger children. At times, they will aisle the swimming lanes making it free from interruptions, which is always good whenever you have wild ones splashing around! It does depend on the time of day you go. Obviously at less peak times such as early morning, it's a lot calmer. If swimming is not your sport, the site does boast a tennis centre, sports hall and athletics park too. The techno-gym is also popular with locals. If anybody has used the gym, I would like to know what puts the techno into techno-gym! As a whole, this is a decent sports centre, very modern and well maintained. I would recommend it to anyone, as it's one of the classier Lifestyle centres in Liverpool.

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!