Greater Manchester has no shortage of parks and gardens, each one offering an escape from our busy daily lives and providing a chance to reconnect with nature.

That’s exactly the experience I had during a visit to Burrs Country Park in Bury . A 25 minute walk from the town centre took me to a landscape of intriguing waterways, woodland paths and green meadows.

Occupying 36 hectares along the River Irwell, in the summer months it’s full of lush greenery and with a network of paths weaving through it there’s lots to explore.

Today Burrs Country Park may look rural and picturesque, but like many of Greater Manchester’s parks that was not always the case.

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The park was previously th

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