Hesketh Park is one of the largest parks in southport. It dates back to the 1800s. The park has…read morerecently celebrated its 140th birthday. There were lots of celebrations during its birthday. There are lots of places to walk around. Many nature trails lead off from the main path. There is a beautiful rose garden, with weaping willows in it too. This is ideal on a hot summers day to go and sit, or lay on the grass. In the park is a HUGE duck pond. No matter what time of day you go, there's always ducks or geese waiting for bread. At the top of the duck pond is a water fountain, which has just been rebuilt in the same style it was 140 years ago. There are many ways to walk around the duck pond, with walls to climb or steps leading off to other parts. The play area is great for children. There is a wide range of things to do for many different ages. Next to the play area is a crazy golf course, although this is only open during the Summer. There is also a lovely gcafe situated right next to the play area. It sells lots of food, soft drinks, tea and coffee. It's perfect for parents to sit in whilst the children play on the slide. As well as all of this there is many more! An Aviary, which doesn't have many birds left, great for in Spring time when the chicks are born. A huge conservatory boasting many different plants and flowers blooming. An Observatory, which isn't open that much. A giant flower clock that tells the time, which is over 50 years old! In my opinion this is the best park in Southport, as it's very spacious and safe. My 2 year old loves it, we try and go at least twice a week.

From the roundabout at the northern end of Lord Street (by the Fire Station and Law Courts),…read morecontinue straight on along Albert Road, to reach the park entrance, at Park Road. Hesketh Park really is one of my favourite parks since its refurbishment. As you walk around the park you will find ornamental lakes, fountains and at this time of year very colourful flowerbeds. If you are lucky you might even come across a red squirrel - they haven't come out for me yet - but they may for you. The park also features a historic observatory; a conservatory; aviary; waterfalls and cascade; American, herbaceous and mixed flower gardens. There is also a clock garden, where a carefully restored floral cuckoo clock 'calls' the hours. Awesome! There's also a café and large play area for children.

It's doing these Yelp reviews in Merseyside's Southport, the go-to for Liverpudlians looking for a…read morebit of seaside fresh air, that makes me realise I spent most of my youth here. The Brunette, my oldest friend, lived in Churchtown during our schooldays and despite the fact that we and our social circle were a bunch of moody teenagers who wore Doc Martens and locked ourselves in our bedrooms listening to Nirvana, we just loved a trip to the Botanic Gardens down the road from her. I have photos still of the times we spent there, and there amongst all that black eyeliner, ripped denim and scowling adolescence, are smiles. We got so inspired by the place that a friend of mine wanted to take romantically inspired photos of us posing with blossom trees and water features in the background. Nothing lifts a mood swing like feeding the ducks. Years later I'm older, wiser, I probably still use too much Kohl but I've certainly curbed my impressions of Kevin the Teenager. 'That's so unfah I HATE you!' *Door slam* Well, we all still have our spoilt brat moments. But one thing that will always remain is the way the Botanic Gardens did and still does brighten my day. Having opened in 1874 they are traditionally Victorian, harbouring incredible floral displays, gorgeous walkpaths, a winding lake that stretches the length of the complex and the potential to take boat trips. The duckies are always great, particularly in spring when the babies come out to play, so take plenty of bread. There are benches for picnics, free parking available, a café if you need to stop to rest or haven't brought a packed lunch, a pottery shop, a gift shop, free admission and even a regular bus that stops at the site directly from Southport's central Lord Street. So even if you're just mooching around the town you've no excuse not to come here. As starkly beautiful in winter as it is Technicolor and gorgeous in summer, don't miss out on this superb attraction.

I wish there were more public gardens like this around. Such a nice place to go when you have a…read morerelaxed day off. Love the birds and animals they have there (they're caged, which is to be expected). Peacocks! Pheasants! All sorts of parrots! Yaaaay... :) They have nice trails. We walked by the pond and fed the ducks. There were so many of them that swarmed us. And seagulls came to try to steal their food. Was good fun. I like the playground as well. Even though I'm not a little kid, I think they actually have some fun swings and things. Lots of families come through (for obvious reasons). Lots of dog walkers as well. They have a cafe, and you can sit down for a drink or go inside to look at their goods. All kitschy stuff, mind, but why not support the botanical gardens when possible? There are a few fun and random things there. And food. The thing about it is that I've heard from those who have lived in this area for a long time that there have been serious cutbacks from the former glories of the botanical gardens? The greenhouses are closed off, the flowers have been removed from some parts of it, and there are cutbacks in staff as well. It's kind of sad because I think it could be a really pretty place if it's maintained. In any case, it's worth going for a visit, even for just a short stroll.

Coronation Park is a fairly small piece of land in the centre of Ormskirk and is suprisingly a…read morequiet getaway from the noisy traffic that surrounds its borders. There are several trees, velvety lawn and flowerbeds that are well taken care of as you sit down and just watch the world go by. I find this a fantastic place to relax on a sunny day. It is a brilliant place to be with family and friends whether it's for a picnic or a gentle stroll. There are a number of benches where you can just laze and perhaps read a book whilst you escape the thoughts of everyday life, albeit in a pleasant and untroubled area.

During a recent trip to Ormskirk, I was walking past the area where Coronation Park is and realised…read morethat I'd never actually properly noticed it before. I've been to Ormskirk regularly for several years but mainly in the town centre area and so consequently had kind of forgotten Coronation Park even existed. Perhaps it was just because it was a particularly nice day, but the park was buzzing with many people either lazing on the grass or playing football in the sun. The park itself is fairly large and manages to fit in both large grassy areas and lovely garden areas filled with plants and benches. There is also a bandstand halfway down the park which often hosts bands and a small skate park at the far end, making it a perfect stop off for young skateboarders. Due to my experiences with Formby parks, I usually only associate parks with underage drinking and mouthy youths but Coronation Park managed to show me that they can be a lovely place to go and relax in the sun (on the odd occasion that happens).

Southport beach seems unique to me in that it's the only beach I've been to where you can almost…read morenever see the sea. It's so far away! This actually makes it an ideal place to learn to drive in the evening, you can bring your car down here and give your kids a go, pull handbrake turns, and generally ruin the underside... remember to wash the salt off. The seafront has that lovely dilapidated British coastal resort feel...

Nice walk and good views and you can also collect shells and the prints are amazing the beach is…read moreenormous and the sea is nice and clean

In Southport lies the most *chilling* encounter I have ever experienced in my life! I was truly…read moreterrified! It started innocently enough by walking along the Pier and seeing a little store at the end of the boardwalk. It had all these old fashioned Penny arcade games that I imagine that once was popular back in its heyday. We wandered around to find more games to play until we came upon the scariest sight! It was an old automaton doll dressed in a sailor boy's suit. The doll was sitting inside a glass case and it advertised in paint "Have a laugh with Jolly Jack." The doll had the most sadistic upturned smile and its eyes were rolled back in its head giving it an eerie, possessed look! Its arms hung limply at its side. The rivets on its sailor costume had rusted over and bled into the white fabric which gave it an appearance of dried blood! We had no idea what we would encounter if we paid a penny, but we were way too curious not to. Lukas bravely put a penny in the machine and then we stood back and watched with trepidation. Immediately, Jolly Jack's chest started to rumble up and down like it was trying to catch its breath and then suddenly it broke out into the most shrill and skin crawling laugh I've ever heard! Its whole body bobbed up and down and its head rolled side to side while the mouth cackled in that demonic laugh! I've always had a thing about dolls, but this one topped them all! It just kept laughing! It was by far one of the creepiest things I've ever encountered. Eventually the doll stopped twisting and lolling around and settled back into its original position. It took us a little while to get over the heebie-jeebies. Unfortunately, we saw two young Englishwomen behind us putting money into Jolly Jack. We tried to warn them, but it was too late! From the horrified expressions and their dropped jaws we could tell there is equally traumatized. They walked away in the daze never to return. Lukas and I still have reoccurring nightmares from this!"

The pier itself is a lovely scenic walk with nice views . The arcade at the end of the pier however…read moreis a bit of a let down, most the vintage arcade games take your money but dont work .

This park is fairly good sizes with a large grassy area for picnicking, playing ball, walking your…read moredog, etc. There's not much else here, though it's next do a basketball court and children's playground area, though it's unclear whether these are part of the park or part of a school as they are fenced off.

Small leisure centre offering a fitness suite, badminton, table tennis and trampolining. No…read moreswimming facilities. 5 a side football pitch available. Friendly staff and clean facilities. Plenty of parking available on their private car park. The main disadvantage is that the opening hours are somewhat limited.