Places I’ll miss in Manchester – Part 2

OK I’m expanding this area to encompass Greater Manchester, as Salford is technically the other city adjacent to Manchester.

Light Oaks Park is the true hidden gem, sometimes not even labelled on maps it’s literally 100 yards from my front door and I visit the park everyday, rain or shine as its where I walk my dog.

The park is teeming with wildlife, there’s a vast array of birds – from Magpies and Jays who hang around in groups to the Woodpeckers and Finches who are more often heard than seen, not to mention the jewel in the crown – the duck pond. Mallards and drakes and Moorhens are the regular pond users but occasionally the odd Canadian goose or heron has been spotted.

In summer, the pond fills with deep green lily pads that the baby moorhens skirt across, a huge array of lush greenery surrounds the pond, protecting it’s inhabitants from the curious young children who like to explore around it’s edges.

I love watching the colours change by season, in spring the pinks of the cherry blossoms, followed by the blue-purple of the sea of bluebells than covers the floor of the shady wooded area. In autumn the trees around the playing field at the top of the park alternate between glorious yellows and deep reds and browns as the trees prepare to shed in time for winter.

When we’re really lucky and it snows, the whole parks seems peaceful, draped in white, the weeping willow in the centre of the park, standing as majestic as ever sprinkled in white.

Aside from all the natural beauty the park has to offer, it’s also well equipped for all ages, as well as a children’s play area, there are tennis courts, a football pitch and outdoor gym equipment that all get regular use all year round. Not to mention the numerous other dog walkers and their pooches that like to stop and say hello.