Every park on this guide is scored out of five on a fixed set of factors. Five of them apply everywhere: prams and access, scenery, toilets and water, parking, and safety. Those are the things that decide whether a visit works regardless of who you brought with you.
On top of that, each park carries factors specific to what it is for. A kids and family park is also scored on its playground, its picnic and BBQ facilities, and shade. A dogs park is scored on off-leash areas and walking tracks. A scenic park is scored on food and coffee nearby. Eleven factors exist in total, but no park is scored on all of them — a family park is scored on eight, a dogs park on seven, a scenic park on six.
The overall number is a weighted average of whichever of those apply, not a straight one. Playground, prams and access, food and coffee nearby, and picnic and BBQ count half; everything else counts in full. Those four say more about how you are visiting than about the park itself.
The scale, factor by factor
All eleven factors, grouped by the parks they apply to. Every park is scored on the first five; the rest depend on what the park is for. Scores land on one decimal, so 3.4 means "a 3 that is reaching towards the 4", and a 2 or a 4 sits between the anchors either side of it.
Scored on every park
These five decide whether a visit works, whoever you came with.
Prams & access
Half weight- 1
- No formed path. Grass, mud, steps or a stile between the car and anything worth reaching.
- 3
- A sealed path to the main attraction, but it runs out. Gradients that need two hands, or a kerb with no ramp.
- 5
- A continuous sealed loop at a gradient you can push one-handed, an accessible toilet on the same level, and a mobility park at the gate.
Scenery
Full weight- 1
- A mown rectangle between houses, with nothing to look at.
- 3
- Pleasant and green. Mature trees, some planting, a view of something.
- 5
- The reason you came. Harbour, bush, a crater rim or a canopy that stops the conversation for a second.
Toilets & water
Full weight- 1
- Nothing on site. The nearest toilet is a drive or a long walk away.
- 3
- One block of toilets near the main car park, open in daylight. Drinking water if you are lucky.
- 5
- Toilets you would happily use, an accessible one among them, sited near the playground rather than across the fields, plus a working drinking fountain.
Parking
Full weight- 1
- Street parking on a road that is full by nine, or a shoulder you cannot safely stop on.
- 3
- A car park that works midweek and fills on a fine Saturday, with a walk in from the far end.
- 5
- A sealed car park with room at the weekend, free, and mobility bays at the entrance rather than the back.
Safety
Full weight- 1
- Somewhere we would not send someone on their own. Poor sightlines, no lighting, or a hazard with nothing between you and it.
- 3
- Fine in daylight with the usual care. Unlit after dark, or a road or water edge to keep an eye on.
- 5
- Open sightlines, other people about, lit main paths, and no drop, road or tide to think about.
Kids & family parks
Added on top of the five above.
Playground
Half weight- 1
- No playground, or one set of equipment past its life.
- 3
- A decent modern playground for one age group. Unfenced, or a long way from the toilets.
- 5
- Fenced with a single gate, equipment from toddlers to older kids, shade over it, toilets and parking close by.
Picnic & BBQ
Half weight- 1
- Sit on the grass. No tables and no bins.
- 3
- A few tables, some in shade, bins nearby. No BBQ, or one that is always taken.
- 5
- Plenty of tables under mature trees, free working BBQs, bins, water, and a toilet within sight.
Shade
Full weight- 1
- Open lawn. Nothing over the equipment and nowhere to retreat to at midday.
- 3
- Trees around the edges, so there is shade to sit in but none over the playground itself.
- 5
- Mature canopy across the parts you actually use, equipment and tables and the path between them, still usable at one o'clock in February.
Dog parks
Added on top of the five above. The sign at the entrance is always the authority.
Off-leash areas
Full weight- 1
- On-leash throughout, all year.
- 3
- Off-leash in part of the reserve, or off-leash outside summer swimming hours.
- 5
- Off-leash across the whole reserve year-round, with room to run, and fenced if you are lucky.
Walking tracks
Full weight- 1
- A lap of the perimeter and you are done, in under ten minutes.
- 3
- A formed loop of twenty minutes to half an hour, mostly on one surface.
- 5
- More than one route, half an hour to a couple of hours, varied ground and somewhere to get to at the end.
Scenic parks
Added on top of the five above.
Food & coffee nearby
Half weight- 1
- Bring a thermos. Nothing within a walk.
- 3
- A cafe or a shop about ten minutes away on foot, keeping ordinary hours.
- 5
- Somewhere good on the edge of the park or over the road, open early and at the weekend.
Anything not described here is not scored. There is no factor for how busy a park is, how much we liked it, or how photogenic it turned out.