Warburton

Rixton Claypits Local Nature Reserve

Hollins Green · 1.2 miles

The former clay-extraction site at Rixton, close to the village of Hollins Green in Warrington, has reverted to a mosaic of ponds, scrub, woodland and damp grassland. Work on the boulder-clay began in the 1920s to supply a nearby brickworks and stopped in 1965; since then natural regeneration has created a range of habitats that are now managed as a local amenity by Warrington Borough Council. Two sections covering a total of 15 hectares are designated both as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, recognised for their calcareous grassland and for supporting the largest breeding population of great crested newts in Cheshire. The reserve, formally created in 1996, offers waymarked paths that guide visitors around the water bodies and grassland, and a small visitor centre provides information about the site’s ecology. Angling is allowed on the lake that lies between the two protected sections, with the Warrington Anglers Association overseeing the activity; the principal fish species are tench, bream and roach, while carp and pike are also present. Access is via the surrounding countryside, and the reserve is under the care of the local council, which maintains the facilities for public use.

Walkden Gardens

Sale Moor · 5.6 miles

Walkden Gardens is a public green space in Sale, Greater Manchester, England. The gardens are named after Harry Walkden on whose death in 1949 his plant nursery passed to Sale Borough Council and provides the site for the gardens. The gardens are owned by Trafford Council and The Friends of Walkden Gardens help maintain and develop the gardens. A notable feature of the gardens is the dovecote moved there from the grounds of the now demolished Sale Old Hall.

Lancashire Mining Museum

Lower Green · 6.2 miles

A former deep-coal mine on the edge of the Bridgewater Canal now operates as a heritage museum, offering insight into the Lancashire Coalfield’s industrial past. Situated on a 15-acre site near the village of Lower Green in Greater Manchester, the attraction is run by the Red Rose Steam Society and is listed under the name Lancashire Mining Museum. Visitors can view the only surviving pit headgear on the Lancashire Coalfield—a wrought-iron lattice structure rising almost 30 metres, built by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees in 1912—and the adjoining engine house that houses the largest steam winding engine ever used on the coalfield, a 3,300 horse-power twin-tandem compound unit supplied by Yates & Thom of Blackburn. The museum’s collection includes twenty-eight colliery locomotives, described by sources as the most extensive assemblage of its kind in the United Kingdom, and a short restored railway line of roughly 200 metres. As of 2019, one locomotive on this line was operational, with another undergoing essential maintenance before passenger services can resume. The site’s history stretches back to shaft sinking in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, production from 1912, amalgamation into Manchester Collieries in 1928, modernisation after nationalisation in 1947, and closure in 1970 before its conversion to a public museum. Opening times are published on the museum’s listing, and the venue is classified as a history museum, providing a tangible link to the region’s mining heritage.

Sale Water Park

Sale Moor · 6.8 miles

A 152-acre stretch of parkland, incorporating a 52-acre artificial lake, lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford between Sale and Stretford. The site, opened in 1979 and owned by Trafford Council, occupies a green-belt corridor alongside the River Mersey and the M60 motorway. The lake originated from a 1970s gravel pit dug for material used to raise the motorway embankment; the pit reaches about 115 feet deep, making the water body roughly 90 feet deep in places. The surrounding land was once part of the Sale Old Hall estate, whose lodge now serves as the clubhouse for Sale Golf Club and whose dovecote has been restored in nearby Walkden Gardens. In the north-eastern sector of the park, Broad Ees Dole provides a managed wetland that supports a variety of wading birds. Established in the 1980s and officially opened in 1987, the area’s water levels are altered seasonally to maintain mud flats for species such as common snipe, little ringed plovers, redshank and sandpipers. The site gained Local Nature Reserve status in 2003, and after an invasive swamp stonecrop outbreak, extensive soil removal and herbicide treatment were carried out in 2005. An orchid meadow now hosts heath-spotted orchids, while smooth and great crested newts breed in the marsh. The Dole has no footpaths, but wildlife can be observed from surrounding trails. Recreational use centres on the lake’s water-sports facilities. Trafford Water Sports Centre, reopened under Peak Education, offers windsurfing, dinghy sailing, kayaking and two on-site restaurants. The Sale Water Ski Club also operates from the lake, and anglers can fish for carp, pike, perch, roach, eel and catfish under licences managed by the Sale Waterpark Angling Group. The park forms part of the local flood-defence system, with a sluice gate that can store excess Mersey water when river levels rise, a function overseen by the Environment Agency.

Pennington Flash County Park

Aspull Common · 6.8 miles

Pennington Flashes Local Nature Reserve is part of the wider country park. The lake and surrounding marshland are home to a diverse group of mammals, birds and insects.

Mesnes Park

Earlestown · 8.1 miles

Outdoor green space offering sports facilities, a playground & fitness equipment