Finsbury Park

Finsbury Park is a 112-acre oasis in the middle of a hectic patch of north London, with the buzzing traffic of Seven Sisters Road on one side and the chatter of Green Lanes on the other. It's a prime example of what a London park should be: a place that's used by all slices of the surrounding community, from the surly hoodies with trousers around their thighs walking soft-as-anything dogs, to the middle-class couples from gentrified Stroud Green Road trailing space-age pushchairs. There's a lovely café in the middle of the park (with toilets), and a children's playground next to that, built with a £5 million Heritage Lottery Fund, that will keep kids amused for hours. There are fast slides going into the sandpit and really tricky climbing equipment to challenge older children, plus lots for toddlers to enjoy. Kids of all ages also love the enormous wooden structure adjacent to the playground, with its aerial walkways, slides, ramps and ladders. The boating lake with ducks and swans in it and the friendly café also border the playground. There's a running track, tennis courts and areas for ball games, plus a small skate park. A real people's park.