Top Rated Parks to Visit in Rochdale

"The award-winning Avenham and Miller Parks are two adjoined parks located close to Preston City Centre in the stunning Avenham Valley and providing the ideal place to picnic, take a walk, relax and get some fresh air. The popular Ribble Valley Way National Trail also follows the river through Avenham Park and provides a fantastic and idyllic picturesque setting to enjoy by foot or bike."

"Source: Photo by user Charlesdrakew used under PUBLIC DOMAIN. Lister Park is located outside the downtown area and is one of the city’s biggest attractions, given to the city of Bradford by Samuel Cunliffe Lister. The park has been effectively revamped, the lake has been re-opened for boats and a Mughal water garden has been developed."

"It is one of the city’s main parks and was given to the City of Bradford by Samuel Cunliffe Lister, who built Lister’s Mill. The park has been effectively reconditioned in recent years. The lake has been re-opened for boats and a Mughal Water Garden constructed."

"One of the first public parks in the country, Peel Park opened in 1846 and was named for the Bury-born Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850). In 1851 the newly laid out park was the main venue for Queen Victoria’s visit to Manchester and Salford. Sitting beside the River Irwell, Peel Park is hemmed by the University of Salford and some of its residential buildings."

"Proximal to the centre of the city, this public park is one of the finest Victorian parklands in the North West. Opened in 1861 and is listed as Grade II, this municipal park boasts of a Japanese Garden with ornamental plants and astounding water features. Other interesting attractions include the Derby Walk, The Belvedere, Ribble Walk and Boar War Memorial on Board Walk."

"Facilities are children’s play area, a visitors centre with toilets, a pond, a conservation area with a dipping platform, angling. Once the ash tip for east Manchester’s power station, it was greened up in the 1980s and since recent investment, is a key green space within the Medlock River Valley. Clayton Vale is a Local Nature Reserve and is a great place for families to enjoy woodland and riverside walks, cycling, picnicking, or pond dipping."

"You cannot have a list of the best parks in Manchester and not include Vimto Park. You may or may not know, but the beloved drink’s birthplace is this great city. Vimto Park is next to the University of Manchester and is home to a Vimto monument."

"From the makers of Altrincham’s Market House food hall, this city-centre spin-off corrals a similarly stellar lineup of traders (burger and steak stars Tender Cow, Honest Crust, Pico’s Tacos, New Wave Ramen, Mumma’s Fried Chicken) into Mackie Mayor, in the Grade II-listed former Smithfield market. Look out for irregular special events, such as dinners on 1 and 8 July with hotly tipped Manc pop-up Higher Ground, creators of the already-legendary oxtail madras pasty. No bookings, outdoor seating available, app-ordering, currently card-only."

"Owned by the team behind the incredibly successful Altrincham market, Mackie Mayor may be a newcomer to the Northern Quarter but it’s already so popular that you’ll struggle to get a seat at weekends. Instead, why not visit in the evening on a weekday or rock up for breakfast before the crowds appear?. Whether you choose to sit up on the mezzanine and photograph the view or get up close and personal and document your dinner, this is the place to be seen."

"Mackie Mayor, 1 Eagle Street, Manchester, M4 5BU. A ‘Time Out Food Hall’ style venue packed with an impressive array of local artisan food and drink businesses, in a stunning Grade II listed market building in the Northern Quarter."

"Brunch is the main occasion at this stylish cafe, but with eye-catching plates like the warm griddled peach salad with proscuitto ham (£.7.10) and the green eggs with avocado, green salsa on sourdough (£6.10), it deserves a place in this list. Tucked away on Warwick Street, the little joint also has a hidden terrace in the back - perfect for soaking up the rays on sunny days. 8 Warwick St, Prestwich, Manchester M25 3HN / alltheshapes.co.uk"

"You're sure to get a good Manchester breakfast at All the Shapes. This spot has been making a name for itself in the brunch scene for a few years now. It's not hard to see why with their extensive menu of delicious foods."

"All The Shapes is on Warwick Street in Prestwich and is relatively new on the scene, having opened last November."

"Praised for its “guilty pleasure” food, Good Food clearly love a good old dirty burger at Manchester’s Almost Famous. They say: “Love or loathe its loud and lairy, ‘in-yer-face additood’, there is no denying that Almost Famous is Manchester’s foremost exponent of Frazzle-dusted fries, hot ‘pho-king’ wings and other gut-busting ‘dude food’."

"A New York Italian-inspired family restaurant and bar, Frankie & Benny's Preston transports diners back to 1950s America. In typical stateside fashion, find a bustling open kitchen and plush booth seating in the dining room, along with 1950's-style…"