Chesterfield

Queens Park is located behind the Queens Leisure Centre in Chesterfield. When we walked in through the large iron gates, the first thing I noticed was the Cricket Pavilion and I initially wondered if we had walked in the wrong entrance. But walk past this building and it opens out into fields and gardens. The next thing I noticed was the grade II listed glass house, which really is a beautiful feature and surprisingly large for the kind of building it is. Certainly this was the largest glass house of this type that I have ever seen.

There are quite a few buildings in the park, including two bandstands and the rather grand looking Leisure Centre. Im not sure what some of the others are, but they look Tudor in style and just seemed to fit perfectly into the surroundings. The only building that didn't quite fit was the modern café. Here you can have a meal or just pick your own ice cream. The café also houses the public toilets.

As you head down with the cricket field on your right, you reach the boating lake where you can hire out rowing boats. The lake is bordered by a small train track and if you follow the road round to the right of the lake you reach the train station. You can have a ride around the lake for £1 per person (under 3s free). When we went on it, it wasn't very busy and we got two circuits of the lake; I suspect, however, that you would probably only get one go around on a busy day. Its a good vantage point to see all the ducks and geese, as they are so used to the train that even the loud whistle doesnt faze them. It is also common to see carp basking in the shallows of the lake. They seem to have no fear of the boats that pass close by them, but then no fishing is allowed on the lake so I suppose they have nothing to fear.

There are two playgrounds in the park. One is suitable for younger children and the other is more suitable for older children. We started with the smaller one which was next to the café. Half of it is built in a large sandpit and my children, who had brought there buckets and spades with them, seemed to think they were at the beach. The other half is set up for water with a kind of water obstacle course where you can pour the water into various pipes and troughs. Unfortunately the sand and water get mixed up into sludge here. It is really good fun for the children, but I recommend you be prepared for wet sandy children and consider bringing a change of clothes with you. Think beach.

The other park is really for bigger children, but mine, who are three and five, had a good go at it anyway. All the normal playground equipment was larger than average, practically adult size in fact. Then there were extra climbing, spinning and sliding things. I couldnt resist trying out some spinning poles and that started a load of other adults trying them out. Soon we had lots of dizzy grown ups walking around like drunks!

While we were at the park there was a bouncy castle and inflatable slide, which were £1.50 for 7 slides or 5 minutes on the bouncy castle. Apparently these are more or less a fixture during the summer months. Of course my children conned my parents into paying for them to go on the slide, but the looks on their faces was worth it.

I would certainly recommend it for a good day out, whether you just want to stroll around the gardens and lake or to take the children out for the day. For me it was a pleasure because it helped keep my children entertained without me constantly trying to find things for them to do. And that, for me, is a relaxing day!