Wigan Parks and Gardens

Throughout Wigan there are many beautiful parks where you can enjoy your evenings and weekends. Whether you want to go for a day out with the family or just a peaceful stroll on your own or with a pet, there is a park to suit you. Here are some of my personal preferences:

Pennington Flash Country Park- This park is one of my favourites and has many facilities for everybody; some are, a play area for children, sports areas for the physically fit, sailing, fishing and even windsurfing. Pennington Flash Country Park is huge, being 200 hectares in size which is equivalent to 494 acres. The park is alive with butterflies, bees as well as damselflies and dragon flies.

Haigh Country Park- This park is free of charge to enter and is covered by woodland. This peaceful park has something for all ages and genders, so even if you are going for a short walk, you can take the kids, knowing they won't get bored at all.  It is really quite pleasant on a summer's day! For more information on Haigh Country Park, you can contact this number, 01942 832895.

Mesnes Park- This 12 hectare park is a lovely public park and opened in 1878. The park lies north west of Wigan city centre. The public transport to and from the area is very good. There are many features of this park. For example, there is a bandstand, so you might see bands playing in Mesnes Park. This means you can relax and enjoy different types of music. There is also a pavilion which can be used for many things, and there is an amazing rock feature. The post code for this park is WN1 2DQ just in case you are using Satellite navigation to get there!

Three Sisters Recreation Area- This is a great place for both long and short walks. This peaceful area is free of cars and unwanted noises. There are plenty of birds so will suit you if you are a keen bird watcher of the feathery type! In summer there are many bees in this area so be careful. There are good facilities, including, disabled toilets, car park, shops, wheel chair access, and picnic areas. For further information about the facilities at this park, phone 01942 720453.

Orrel Water Park- This park has long footpaths for both you and your pets (e.g. dogs) to enjoy. There is a recorded 125 different types of birds in this park. So remember to bring your binoculars / camera whilst you walk. You can then watch and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the birds and take some fabulous pictures. If you're not one for walking, you can also take advantage of the lakes and do some fishing. The lakes are open all year round, so no matter what the weather you can still find time for the outdoors.

All of the parks/gardens listed above are lovely and worth visiting. I recommend each and every park for a day out with the family. I also recommend always taking the children so they can see the different plants and animals. All of these parks have something unique about them. All of the parks in Wigan are kept clean and the ones which allow dogs say that all excrement must be picked up and put in the dog bins. The same goes for litter; each park has bins in and around the park for any rubbish needing to be disposed of. I highly recommend these parks to you.