At the north end of Lord Street in Southport is “Hesketh Park”:https://www.visitsouthport.com/things-to-do/hesketh-park-p92113 , a public park since the mid-19th century. Originally designed by Edward Kemp it has been altered over the years. Like many public gardens it isn’t kept in quite the splendour that I remember from my childhood. However, it is still nice for a wander around, especially in the spring to see all the bulbs in flower. It has recently received a much needed £3M renovation thanks in part to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Two of the entrances to the park have lovely Victorian lodges. They were the homes of the park keepers (not sure they still are) and are usually adorned with colourful flowerbeds.
The park is 2 hectares in size and contains a children’s play area and a café along with a glass conservatory and a large pond with a few water fountains and an island in it. There are plenty of benches to sit and watch the wildlife. By the path around the pond there is a majestic gold fountain.
There are a number of different walking paths and themed gardens (e.g. roses, sensory), a floral clock, mini golf and some outdoor gym equipment to try out. There is one hill that is quite steep when approached from some directions but the paths are quite good for accessibility. There is also an observatory run by volunteers from the Southport Astronomical Society but I have not been inside it as I’ve never been there on an open day. The observatory used to belong to Joseph Baxendell, the noted astronomer and meteorologist.
Whenever I’m visiting Southport I usually end up in Hesketh Park for at least one walk, I just don’t often take photos so the pictures I’ve attached are from 10 years ago.
There is plenty of on-street parking around the circumference of the park. There are a lot of care homes and seniors’ housing on the roads surrounding the park so it isn’t unusual to see older as well as young people enjoying time in this little oasis.