A photograph of Heaton Park's old paddling pool has sparked fond memories for families in Manchester.
The pool was a popular attraction for children who would spend hours playing in the shallow water.
We shared the image on our Manchester Family Facebook page and were inundated with comments from people remembering the place with fondness.
Joan Evans-Barrow said: "Loved to go there with my brothers and sisters and a good old picnic then onto the lake to see the swans and ducks. Good life."
And Joanne Etchells said: "I was only telling my boys about this last week - I used to love it here and the play park next to it."
Robert Kelly remembered how he and his friends would rarely come away dry after a visit.
He said: "We used to go to Heaton Park from Collyhurst every Sunday.
"We used to run up and down that paddling pool and you could bet one of us slipped on our a***s and got soaked. Sometimes the bus driver wouldn't let us on the bus so we spent our bus fare on toffees and walked home. By the time we got there we was dry as a bone and ready for our tea."
Helen George remembers the place well having lived near the park until four years ago when she moved to Radcliffe.
She said: "My mum used to take me every day when I was little. I remember the original rose gardens too."
Helen shared even more photos with us - on the swings, petting the horse, near the Middleton Road entrance and one from 1988 showing the original lions in the park before they were replaced by replicas.
People took to Twitter with their memories too, including Mark Kelly who said: "Great memories of this. Quick paddle with an ice cream, kick a football around for hours and then the boating lake where I sank EVERYTIME!"
KevMez99 said: "Absolutely, we used to go in the school holidays, my mum used to take a whole load of us and the stream that runs off the paddling pool had sticklebacks in so we'd take a net and bucket, very happy memories of childhood."
And Jayne Marshall added: "I remember playing there. I used to drag mum there every visit. I also remember there were two ponies that grazed on the field and I’d take them carrots.
"Thank you for sharing this, it’s brought up a lovely memory of my mum, who’s just gone into hospital. I’ll show her this to cheer her up."
David Bell has his own memories of the lions and said: "My parents used to tell me 'If you're still in there when it gets dark, the lions from the Hall will come down and each you up'.
Manchester city council didn't have the exact date of the pool's closure but said it was eventually shut down on health and safety grounds.
Readers also recollected how over time the pool had deteriorated and some had not so fond memories of cutting their feet on the broken glass at the bottom of it.
While there's no longer a pool there, visitors still flock to the boating lake, which has become even more appealing following the opening of the new this summer.
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Manchester city council's executive member for skills, culture and leisure, said: "The picture shows how, over many decades, Heaton Park has been one of Manchester's most important places for families to go out and enjoy the great outdoors.
"The paddling pool in the image was removed many years ago, but play facilities for children in a safe environment will always be one of the most crucial parts of the park's offer to the public and this is why we recently invested £500,000 in the creation the new Lakeside Adventure play area, which is located in the south of the park and allows local children to interact with the natural world, in a way which will fuel their curiosity.
"We are proud to make investments such as this, which will ensure that future generations can look back fondly on their pictures from today and share them with their children and grandchildren in the years to come."
Did you visit the paddling pool? Do you have fond memories of the park? Let us know in the comments or share your views under the post on our Manchester Family Facebook page.
