Ferndale Park is a public green space on New North Road in Mount Albert, Auckland, holding a solid 4.6 Google rating. A good suburban park is the quiet workhorse of a neighbourhood: room for kids to run, a circuit for dog walkers, and a bench in the shade for a lunch break. In leafy older suburbs the mature trees usually guarantee shade and birdlife, but playgrounds, paths and seating vary widely from park to park, so it pays to check the terrain if prams or mobility scooters are in the mix. Regulars tend to favour early mornings and after-school hours, when the light is soft and the ground has dried. For Mount Albert, Ferndale Park is that handy everyday patch of green, right on New North Road.