Khan's

Bowring Park

Roby · 1.2 miles

Bowring Park is a public park in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, near Liverpool, England. It is the oldest public park in Knowsley and includes the first municipal golf course in England. It was opened in 1907 and was a gift of Liverpool's first Lord Mayor William Benjamin Bowring in 1906 of the Roby Hall Estate. He was the senior partner in a shipping firm. His wife Isabel Maclean Bowring of Saint John, New Brunswick, was sympathetic to the suffering and needy among the poor of Liverpool. Originally 100 acres (0.40 km2) in size, it lost some to the M62 motorway.

Croxteth Hall

Deysbrook · 1.9 miles

Set within the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, Croxteth Hall stands as a Grade II* listed country estate that once formed the ancestral seat of the Molyneux family, Earls of Sefton. The core of the house dates from around 1575 and later acquired Tudor, Georgian and Queen Anne elements, with the principal west façade erected in 1702 and a visitor wing added in 1874. After the death of the seventh Earl in 1972 the property transferred to Liverpool City Council; roughly half of the original grounds were sold, while the remaining 500 acres now operate as Croxteth Park, a public country park that retains play facilities for children. The hall itself welcomes visitors for a modest charge and is not wheelchair-accessible, although opening times are published on the council’s listing. The surrounding park offers a range of attractions. A Victorian walled garden houses the historic Liverpool Botanics collection, including national collections of dracaena, codiaeum, coleus and a variety of orchids and bromeliads. Adjacent to the hall is a working farm and Mull Wood, part of the 85-hectare Croxteth Local Nature Reserve, where a wild-flower meadow has been established near the old kennels. Regular activities include a free 5 km parkrun each Saturday at 09:00, events organised by the Friends of Croxteth Hall, and occasional concerts, fairs and markets managed by the council. Part of the hall also accommodates the Liverpool campus of Myerscough College, teaching around 350 full-time students. The historic kennels, designed by John Douglas in the 1870s, remain in use and are maintained by the Croxteth Park Volunteer Group.

Newsham Park

Fairfield · 1.9 miles

Spanning 121 acres, Newsham Park is a Victorian public park in Liverpool that mapping data places close to the town of Fairfield. Opened in 1868, the grounds were the first independent commission of landscape architect Edward Kemp, who had trained under Joseph Paxton. The park hosted the Royal Agricultural Show in 1877 and is protected as a Grade II* listed site, forming part of Liverpool’s group of Victorian parks that also includes Stanley, Walton Hall, Princes and Sefton parks. Within the park the Grade II listed Newsham House, once visited by Queen Victoria, now provides lodgings for judges attending the Crown Court. The Grade II listed Seamen’s Orphan Institution stands nearby, having later served as a hospital and been earmarked for residential conversion. Two lakes dominate the landscape: the smaller supports model-boat sailing, while the larger is used for fishing for roach, carp and tench (a registration permit is required). A children’s play area and the Lakeview Kiosk, operating from 09:00 to 17:00, serve families. The western edge contains the Academy of St Francis of Assisi, a four-storey secondary school built in 2004, whose contemporary design sparked local debate over its fit with the Conservation Area status that protects the surrounding Victorian housing. The park’s condition has been flagged by English Heritage as “poor”, placing it on the Heritage at Risk list. In July 2012 the lakes were temporarily closed because of a blue-green algae concern but were subsequently reopened. Formerly, the site was served by the now-closed Stanley and Tue Brook railway stations.

Knowsley Hall

Stockbridge Village · 2.5 miles

Set within 2,500 acres (10 km²) of parkland on the edge of Liverpool, Knowsley Hall lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, with Stockbridge Village the nearest settlement. The estate, designated a Grade II* listed building in 1953, encloses Knowsley Safari Park, offering a sizeable natural attraction alongside the historic house. The hall originated as a medieval hunting lodge attached to the Lathom House estate and was inherited by the 10th Earl in 1702, who expanded it into a substantial residence. Gothic castellations and further extensions were added around 1820 under the direction of architects such as John Foster and William Burn, the latter also providing a boathouse and park bridges. Early-20th-century alterations were carried out by W. H. Romaine-Walker for the 17th Earl, while post-Second World War reductions were overseen by Claud Phillimore, resulting in the demolition of a wing and a library and a reduction of the footprint by roughly a third. The family no longer occupy the hall itself, preferring a smaller house built later in the grounds. Architecturally, the house presents a long north-south wing dating from the 1720s-1737 (the east wing) in red brick with stone dressings, while the south wing and the detached Dynamo Tower are constructed of ashlar red sandstone. The oldest segment of the south wing, known as the Royal Lodging, features two round turrets with conical roofs and a façade of nine bays with tall sash windows. The east wing’s extensive frontage includes a two-storey stone portico with Doric and Ionic columns, adding a classical touch to the overall composition.

Greenbank Park

Wavertree · 2.5 miles

The park lies in the Mossley Hill suburb of south Liverpool, close to the well-known Penny Lane and adjacent to Sefton Park. Although the nearest town listed on mapping data is Wavertree, the site is set within a residential neighbourhood and is bounded by mature trees that frame a small central lake. The water feature dominates the middle of the grounds and provides a visual focus for visitors strolling along the perimeter paths. The land that now forms the park was part of the Greenbank estate owned by the Rathbone family from the late eighteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. In 1897 the city corporation reached an agreement with the Rathbones to acquire a portion of the property, and the resulting public space retains the walled garden as the sole surviving element of the original house grounds. Within the garden an artwork by Lulu Quinn commemorates Eleanor Rathbone, linking the site to its historic owners. Facilities include a children’s playground, football pitches and a fishing pond where anglers may try their luck while observing nesting waterfowl and herons. A bridge spans the northern end of the lake, and the surrounding open grassland is designated as a conservation area. Managed by Liverpool City Council, the park is open to the public without charge and can be accessed on foot from the surrounding streets. Information about the site is available through the council’s official web page.

John Lennon's Childhood Home

Gateacre · 3.1 miles

Visitors can step inside Mendips, the 1933-built semi-detached house where John Lennon lived from the age of five until he was 22. The property sits in the Woolton suburb of south Liverpool, close to the Gateacre area, and is listed at Grade II. It was originally owned by Lennon's aunt, Mimi Smith, and her husband George Smith, and became Lennon's home in July 1946 after he moved from nearby Wavertree. The house remained his residence until mid-1963, and it lies a short distance from the site where his mother, Julia, was killed in 1958. The National Trust now cares for the house, having received it as a donation from Yoko Ono in March 2002 and completing a restoration to its 1950s appearance by early 2003. An English Heritage blue plaque was installed on 7 December 2000, marking the years Lennon lived there. Both the house and Paul McCartney’s childhood home were added to the Grade II list in February 2012. The National Trust keeps the bedroom light on throughout the night on each anniversary of Lennon's death. As a National Trust landmark, Mendips is accessible to the public as part of the Trust’s heritage sites, with visitor information provided by the organisation.