This is a beautiful park located in south Manchester, at the junction of the M60 and the M56, between Wythenshawe, Baguley, Brooklands, North Moor and Northenden.
The park consists of 100 hectares of open parkland dating back to the 13th century, with historic woodlands, open grasslands and beautiful wildflower meadows.
Steeped in history
There are three Grade ii listed buildings to visit located in the Park: North Lodge, the statue of Oliver Cromwell and Wythenshawe Hall. Unfortunately, the Hall is currently closed, due to Covid restrictions but hopes to open soon as it’s been part of a large restoration project after an arson attack. We can’t wait to visit as it looks fantastic from the outside! Please visit the Manchester Council website for further information on opening dates.
Lots of funs things to see and do!
Wythenshawe Park Playground
There is a large playground with a children’s play area suitable for all ages. There are climbing frames, swings, a large slide and lots more. We found there was certainly a good selection of equipment. A favourite was the large, long “scary” slide!
Wythenshawe Park Community Farm
This is a small community farm which is a registered charity, run by volunteers. It’s free to enter and the farm is open 7 days a week, from 11.30am to 4pm between April and October, and from 11.30am to 3pm from November to March. *Please check website for Covid restrictions.
There’s a good selection of animals such as cows, goats, pigs, ducks and horses and there’s a prize-winning herd of cattle! Our children really enjoyed seeing all the baby lambs, and we were lucky to arrive just as they were being fed! Feeding times can also be found on the website. The farm also sells locally produced meat and vegetables – we came away with some lovely fresh eggs! *The farm is currently closed due to Covid restrictions but hopes to open soon.
Wythenshawe Park Woodlands
There are endless paths around the park taking you in lots of directions surrounded by lots of woodland and open space. Thirteen woodlands have been identified in the park with several different trees ranging from Oak trees, Willow, Sycamore and Pine trees to name a few! Perfect for exploring, catching up with a friend or in our case tree climbing! All the paths are pushchair and wheelchair friendly. Perfect for dog walkers, runners, or cyclists too!
Sports facilities
Before our visit I had no idea of the number of sports facilities there are at the park – 8 senior football pitches (a big hit with my son!), a baseball field, a multi-games area, tennis courts, and an orienteering course! All seem free to use – we just had a kick around on the grass. Next time we will bring our tennis rackets! Please check website for opening times.
Cycling for everyone
The athletics track doubles up as a cycling track and is used by a number of charity cycling groups, you can just turn up, join in and have fun! There are a number of guided cycles, but the main focus is to offer cycling to disabled people through guided cycles. The charity has a number of adapted bikes and offer sessions throughout the week. For more information contact Simply Cycling. All sessions must be pre booked.
Horse riding
The Park has stables located next to the farm and offer a range of horse-riding lessons and escorted trekking, as well as disabled riding. Pre-booking is necessary and for further information, visit The Stables website.
Courtyard Café
This is a small little café about 5 minutes’ walk from the Park. It serves a wide range of hot and cold meals and snacks. I can recommend the bacon buttie and the cakes are to die for! It also has lots of drinks and snacks suitable for children. There are several tables inside or there is a beautiful courtyard with some tables and chairs outside too! We sat outside as we were lucky enough to visit on a sunny day! At the moment the café is only serving take away options but hopes to be able to open its doors fully over the next few months.
Toilet facilities
Yes, our little one needed the toilet during our trip so I’m pleased to say I know where these are – there are toilets next to the Courtyard café and one at the Horticultural Centre. All toilets seemed reasonably clean and well maintained.
Horticultural Centre
Originally used to provide plants for the council throughout the city, this is now home to many social groups and gardening societies. They also run self-guided trips of the garden area and there’s often events on too, for details phone 0161 998 2117. There’s also a Bee Club that meets every Saturday between 10am and 12.30pm, at the Horticultural Centre too – they also run all year round activities email wpbc@hotmail.com for more information.
Parking
We came in through the main entrance, there is a large car park with plenty of spaces available and parking was free on our visit. It does get busy on weekends so if you can’t find a space there is on road parking just outside the park.
There’s so much to see and do at Wythenshawe Park that you won’t know what to do or where to go to first!
