Just had a lovely half hour with our two spaniels. It was very hot but the dogs found shady places…read moreunder the trees. Lovely meadow, well fenced in. Easy parking. Will definitely book again.

Walton Hall Park is not the biggest of parks in Liverpool but large enough to say the least! On a…read moresunny day, it is a wonderful place to spend the day with family and friends. If you fancy a picnic, there is plenty of open field space where you can't be noticed or noticed if you wish. The park has one main lake and a smaller pond where you can enjoy fishing or feeding ducks, swans or geese. Having said it is a great day to spend on a sunny day, it is also a great day to spend on a snowy day; back in January's snow flurry, the park had a magnificent white display with lakes turning into an ice rink. The place was beautiful to walk through but naturally hazardous for children and animals. Occasions like this are rare but when the opportunity arises, I would recommend a visit whether sunny or snowy!

I used to live fairly close to this park. It's pretty good sized, and provides a nice place to…read morewalk, play with your dog, take the kids for a picnic, etc. There's a paved track that runs all around the grassy area. I'm not sure how long the track is--possibly a fourth of a mile. Around the edges there are some trees that provide nice shade in the summer months. All in all a clean and pleasant park. :)

Pickerings Pasture isn't easy to find. Squashed on the edge of an industrial park in Hale, south…read moreLiverpool, it's in a pretty odd location and if you haven't been before, there's a chance you may get lost. But that doesn't detract from its superb view. To the left lies the Runcorn Bridge. On a bright day sun glints off it and the glass panels on the other side of the water. To the right off this grassy stretch is a delightful bird watching spot. Nuts adorn every other tree alongside fat balls, meaning there are many types of birds you won't find in the average garden. The watching spot looks onto a mere, which it has to be said isn't that impressive. You do see the odd heron, mind you. For photographers it's a real challenge to snap the birds before they fly away - besides the cocky robin that is.

Pickerings Pasture is a stretch of small nature reserve on the banks of the Mersey estuary with…read moreviews of the turbid river and the Runcorn bridge glinting faraway in the sun, even at night. It was constructed in the early eighties, when a thick duvet of clay was draped over the pungent industrial detritus that had been accumulating on the site since the 1950s. While this sounds like the beginnings of a zombie film (and believe me nobody would want that more than myself) there's still a sublime stroll to be had around this wildflower grassland. In the far corner of the reserve stands a shoddy bird hide that you should probably avoid. There's always one grubby old man sat here staring out at the wastes beyond. You get the feeling striking up a conversation with him would result in a flash of eyes and an inhuman shriek, followed by him walking from a shallow grave a week later. Yes, I'm just scaremongering. Visit Pickerings Pasture on a sunny afternoon and you can sit on a bench and watch the river go by, wondering just what the hell it is those petrochemical plants across the river are pumping up your nostrils.

Hi Mike. You have proved that it is definitely possible to teach an old dog new tricks! Your advice…read morehas transformed our relationship with Angel, our 11-year-old rescued Bichon. We've had her for about a year but her possessiveness over food and resources was getting much worse and we were really worried that things were not going to work out with our current family situation. After one home visit from you, we have put in place all of the advice and training measures you suggested and everything is going really well. The daily growling incidents have reduced considerably now we know how to avoid and distract. Mealtimes in particular have improved - we are putting only small amounts of food in her bowl, then putting it down after she waits and then repeating the process until she has had the whole portion. One of the key things you helped us realise, is that just because she is 11, not to let her get away with things. For example, she used to have a set route she preferred for walks, with lots of little foibles about where to cross the road and stop at certain points. We used to indulge her routines and because she is an old dog, let her do what she wanted. But now, if we want to go left and she doesn't, I stand still until she stops pulling. Then I start to move towards the way I want. If she pulls again I stop, and I do not look at her. Eventually she starts to come towards me and once we are trotting off in the new direction she is fine. Thanks again for your advice. It has made Angel a much happier little lady.

From the owner: Dog & puppy training in Northwich & Cheshire…read more A well-behaved dog is a pleasure to own. At the club we show you how to interact with your dog and improve your dog handling skills. What's more, socialising with like-minded people and their dogs is a treat for you and your dog too.

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!