Manor Park Country Park

The playground here is properly enclosed, which makes a huge difference when you’ve got a toddler who thinks fences are optional. Kids get slides, swings, a climbing structure, and a water feature to mess around with — enough to keep the 2-to-12 crowd genuinely occupied while you grab a bench and decompress. After they’ve worn themselves out, the walking paths around the lake are worth doing; the birdlife is decent and it never feels too crowded on a weekday morning. Parking is easy, there are loos and baby changing on site, and the open grass fields are big enough that the dog can have a proper run without getting in anyone’s way. Honestly one of those parks that does a bit of everything without doing any of it badly.