THIS photograph of a lovely park scene makes us yearn for the warmer weather and look forward to those balmy days.

Here we see Bolton’s Moss Bank Park, in a photograph taken in May, 1978.

It was the spring bank holiday and hundreds of people had gathered to enjoy the sunshine.

The sand pit is filled with children brandishing buckets and spades and the swings, in the background, are equally busy.

This was a time when Bolton’s major parks would be filled with families at holiday time.

Moss Bank Park was once a private estate belonging to the Ainsworth family.

It included bleach works as well as a home and park.

The site had been used for bleaching cotton by the Ainsworth family since the mid 18th century.

The house and grounds were developed on the site as the process of bleaching became more industrialised and less land intensive.

The site was opened as a public park on June 27, 1928.