Yarrow Valley Country Park, Chorley

This is where we spent out Sunday, the weather was glorious, the location was beautiful and yet, in spite of this, I am reluctant to ever visit Yarrow Valley again! This is in no way related to the place itself, the park is gorgeous - lots of woodland to walk through, plenty of nature to absorb, lush, green surroundings and yet it was a little bit like combining this...

With this:


Nope, you're not mistaken - that IS the Chatsworth estate from the infamous Shameless. I do feel very reluctant to be so negative about the park but as this blog is aimed predominantly at families I feel obliged to be honest and for me, personally, this place is not somewhere I felt comfortable having a family day out with my young children - it really was a very surreal experience to be in such stunning surroundings and witness such bizarre behaviour! Firstly, the picnic area, albeit beautiful with plenty of open space to play ball games or let the kids run around, was full of lager swilling teens, swearing at the top of their lungs (so loudly you could hear it all the way across the other side of the park, shouting loudly about lewd topics, while their babies sat glumly in their prams! Even after we bid a hasty retreat from that area, we came across numerous discarded cans, bottles on virtually every bench we passed and several 'Sunday dad's' out with their toddlers for the day ...and their cans of cider too! It was a little bit like being in Jeremy Kyle's green room!!

Okay, enough said about that........I wouldn't say don't visit this park... I would say, maybe not on a Sunday! It really is a gorgeous location, full of little bridges and babbling streams and crawling with nature. There was an ice cream van parked up in the car park, a visitors centre and they have toilets and baby changing facilities. The park offers lots to the community with angling, canoeing and plenty of nature walks etc so it is a great shame that it is sometimes spoiled. All that aside, it would be a lovely place for a picnic and a leisurely stroll, taking in the scenery. The only other point I would add is that it can be particularly nerve racking with younger children as they can get right up to the edge of the water in some parts! (Of course this does make it easier to feed the ducks!).



Toilets: Yes
Dogs: Yes, ideal dog walking spot
Address: Yarrow Valley Country Park, Off Birkacre Road, Chorley, PR7 3QL.

Haigh Park, Wigan

We visited this park for the first time on Saturday and it was a big hit with us all. There is a good sized park area for the children to play in, cafe and visitors centre, plenty of picnic spots and lots of lovely scenery to enjoy.

The walled garden is a lovely feature (dogs must be kept on leads in these gardens) and the woodlands are full of trees which umbrella over to act like wonderful dens for the children to explore (not to mention an ideal place to shelter from the hail and rain which we were greeted with when we arrived!). Another lovely addition is a miniature railway which meanders through the woodland and costs £1 per person for a little ride around.


My 9 and 4 year old have repeatedly asked me when we are going to go back there so I guess this one comes pretty highly recommended :) There is ample parking however this does cost £1.50 and you can see Haigh Hall while you're there, it is closed to the public but you can hire it out for functions.


Upcoming events:

Fri 10th Apr, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
FAMILY ORIENTEERING
Join the Wardens Team for some competitive family fun on our orienteering course. All maps and tuition provided. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Booking essential.
free

Sun 12th Apr, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
EASTER FUN AT HAIGH
Make an Easter basket and chicken hat to use as we play chase the chick. Followed by an egg and spoon race in the gardens. Booking is essential. Charge applies.

Mon 13th Apr, 12:00pm - 3:00pm
EASTER BUNNY TRAIL
Turn up any time between 12pm and 3pm to hunt the bunnies and find the clues to complete the puzzle. All participants are entered into the prize draw to win an Easter egg and bunny. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Charge applies. Booking essential. For further information and to book telephone 01942 832895.

Wed 15th Apr, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
FAMILY BIKE RIDE
Bring a bike and a picnic and enjoy a gentle cycle through the Haigh estate. Small numbers of bicycles are available if required. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Booking required.
free

Pram accessible: Yes
Toilets: A bit smell and unsanitary ... but yes!
Dogs: Yes, lovely dog walking area but they need to be kept on their leads in the walled gardens
Address: Haigh Hall Golf Club,Haigh Hall Country Park, Haigh, Wigan
WN2 1PE

The Sand Dunes

There are sand dunes stretching from St Annes to Blackpool, the part we went to was situated directly opposite the Pontins Holiday camp. Great fun for running around, jumping off dunes, walking the dogs, building sandcastles, sunbathing...all the fun of the beach but with a little more privacy and tranquility!! Of course it's only a short walk across to the beach should you choose to do so too.

Moss bank Park, Bolton

This is an extremely popular park, one of many in the Bolton area. We went on a saturday and it was absolutely jam packed full of people, this would be my only criticism of the park - perhaps a little TOO busy so it made it harder to keep an eye on the children in the play areas etc but it was a wonderful place to visit and there is so much there to do! When we went there was a small funfair there but I am uncertain whether that is there permanently, my guess would be no.


In addition to the wide open green playing areas, ideal for playing football, frisbee, cricket or just generally running around there are also numerous other FREE attractions. These included a small pet area where you can walk around and look at all the animals, a butterfly house and a large play area with a huge sandpit. Unfortunately the butterfly house was closed when we went due to maintenance but the pet area was open and the children had a wonderful time looking around all the animals.


There is a very cheaply priced train ride available through the park and plenty of spaces for bike riding, scootering and skating. All in all this is a fantastic place for a family day out, you could easily spend the whole day there and there is something there for everyone really. Parking was a nightmare though!!

Pram accessible: Yes
Dogs: Yes just not on the play area or animal area
Toilets: Yes
Address: Moss Bank Way
Bolton
BL1 6NQ

Wyre Estuary Country Park

This is a lovely place for a picnic and a relaxing stroll around the Wyre Estuary. The surroundings are stunning and it is a haven for wildlife! The paved riverside walk makes it easy to push a pram around around the walking route except in high tides when the pathway is flooded! If it;s somewhere with a play area you're after then this is probably not the place for you but if your children are happy to walk and enjoy scenery and spotting wildlife then this is a lovely place to visit.




There is a visitors centre where you can purchase refreshments and use the toilets and it also acts as a tourist information and country ranger's office. Much of the area is accessible for disabled people and there are several picnic sites along the way.

Address: Wyre Estuary Country Park
River Road
Stanah
Thornton Cleveleys
Lancashire
FY5 5LR

Dogs : welcome - a lovely place for a dog walk
Pram accessible - predominantly
Toilets: Yes

Witton Country Park

I actually didn't really have a great experience at this particular park. There is a nice little play area for the children and open space for games of football, cricket etc but my main issue with the park was that cars could drive through part of it! We even witnessed a poor little 4 year old girl be almost knocked off her bike by some boy racer speeding along the path and I found that extremely offputting!
However, on paper the park sounds excellent, unfortunately there was a lot of flooding to pathways etc when we visited and consequently we were unable to visit a lot of it and the combination of this, the car issue and the copious amounts of teenage college students left me with a less than enthusiastic memory. (None of this was helped by the fact that my three year old proceeded to throw up the entire way home and I accept these events may have tainted my view too lol, not that I am in any way intimating the park is to blame!).

I was unable to see all this but nevertheless, the park is home to 480 acres of mixed woodland, parkland and farmland. It boasts several streams, brooks, a riverside walk, ornamental lake and working farm - there is also a tea room and vistors centre and some bizarrely placed 'caged' goats!


I have to admit, perhaps I would feel differently if I had been able to access the side of the park where the ornamental pond etc was hiding! (I'm a sucker for water)but this place just left me cold. Perhaps I would return in the future to check out the parts I missed but I doubt it...it just didn't grab me. Please do feel free to comment and share your own experience as looking at the map I do feel I must have missed a lot so it's certainly worth checking out!



Address: Preston Old Road, Blackburn, BB2 2TP
Website: http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.14416&viewPage=1
Pram accessible: yes
Toilets: Yes

Museum of Lancashire (children go free)

This one isn't completely free but I wanted to throw it in anyway as it still qualifies as a pretty cheap day out because it is free for kids and just £3.00 for adults. I went during the half term hols with three of my little monkeys and though it was pretty reasonable to just pay £3.00 for the four of us.

There are plenty of things to keep the children entertained for an hour or so, as you work your way around the exhibits there are various activities for them do to along the way. Cutting, colouring, dressing up, even a little bit of scooting down a makeshift road. They can even climb in the tank and find out what it was like to be in a Victorian school. The three I took were aged between 12 months and 4 years and they all equally enjoyed it, I think their favourite was the dressing up - apparently Mummy looks very funny in an Elvis wig!

You get to explore Lancashire through the ages, a glimpse into what it was like during the war, the Victorian times etc so it's educational as well as fun :) (Sshh, don't tell the kids!)

There is a cafe inside if you want to grab a cuppa or a snack and they have toilets and baby changing facilities available too.



Opening times: Mon, tues, weds, fri, sat 10.30am - 5pm
Website: http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/acs/sites/museums/venues/mol/index.asp?siteid=3860&pageid=16500&e=e
Address: Stanley street, Preston, PR1 4YP
Pram accessible: NO. There are loads of stairs, it would be highly impractical with a pushchair!
Facilities: * Free parking for cars and coaches
* Light refreshments available
* Gift Shop
* Limited access for disabled users
* Visitors with guide dogs welcome
* Family events and activities
* Baby changing facilities