Parks & Gardens Gallery

Parks & Gardens

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Croxteth Hall Country Park - is at the heart of what was once a great country estate stretching hundreds of square miles and was the ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. It is now managed by The City of Liverpool and is one of the major heritage centres of the North West, attracting thousands of visitors every year.

Sefton Park - is a glorious rolling Victorian parkland. The park is surrounded by a roadway lined with flowering trees and interlaced with rambling carriage drives in keeping with its Victorian design. The chief gardener to the City of Paris in 1867, Edouard Andre, won a competition to design the park. There are a number of lakes and ponds, woods and gardens and a magnificent Palm House.

Ness Botanic Gardens - in 1898, Arthur Kilpin Bulley, a Liverpool cotton broker, founded Ness Gardens by building his house on a gorse covered sandstone outcrop. He systematically incorporated surrounding fields into what has now become one of the country's leading botanic gardens, a learning garden with plant introductions from all over the world. On his behalf, pioneering plant collectors scoured the temperate regions of the Far East for alpine and hardy plants which could be cultivated in our climate. After his death the gardens were bequeathed to the University of Liverpool by his daughter in 1948. A notable garden of international repute, it continues its excellence in research, conservation and public education.

Martin Mere - is run by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, a charity working to save wetlands for wildlife and people. WWT was founded by the artist and naturalist, the late Sir Peter Scott, in 1946 on the banks of the River Severn in Gloucestershire. Sir Peter believed in bringing wildlife and people together for the benefit of both. When you visit Martin Mere you come into close contact with wetlands and their wildlife. You can get close enough to feed some of the birds straight from your hand.

Cabin Hill Nature Reserve - managed by English Nature, this 28 ha reserve has restricted access but can be surveyed from public footpaths along its boundaries and permits are readily available from English Nature. The creation of a flood bank in the 1970's left wet areas which have since become important for the Natterjack Toad. The reserve has breeding Lapwing, Snipe, Skylark and Reed Bunting and would no doubt reward regular visits in spring and autumn with further records of uncommon migrants. Like Ravenmeols, there is a major wader roost and Pinkfeet roost on the offshore sandbanks in winter.

The National Wildflower Centre - aims to encourage the creation of new wildflower landscapes for the benefit of people and wildlife. We call this creative conservation. As a millennium project, developed with £4m of funding, nwc is open to visitors for a wildflower day out. In addition, it is a resource centre for education, life long learning, demonstrations and research to promote the importance of wildflowers in the environment.

Speke Hall Garden & Estate - the restored garden has spring bulbs, a rose garden, summer border and stream garden, and there are woodland walks and magnificent views of the Mersey basin and North Wales hills from The Bund, a high bank. Home Farm, a 5-minute walk from Speke Hall, is a model Victorian farm building, restored and part-adapted to provide a restaurant, shop and visitor facilities, and offers estate walks, children's play area and orchard.

Calderstones Park - as one of the city's largest parks and a recognised Botanic Garden it attracts many visitors from outside the area and provides many opportunities for passive and active recreation, including opportunities for educational enrichment provided by the Ranger Service and the Botanical Collections. In recognition of the high standards attained, Calderstones Park has achieved and sustained Green Flag status from 2002 to 2006.

Reynolds Park - the main feature of the park is a walled garden, which probably serviced the mansion house with kitchen produce. The garden was constructed with the ha-ha by 1840. During the period 1925-35 the council took pride in converting several ex-kitchen gardens into decorative flower gardens. These included those at Calderstones, Greenbank Parks and Sudley Estate. The garden at Reynolds Park is known as being a prestigious area for summer bedding plants, herbaceous borders and in particular is noted for its Dahlia displays. In 2001 the park and walled garden was awarded the Best Public Landscape Award by the North West Britain in Bloom Panel. Together with Woolton Woods both parks added to the success of Woolton Village in the 2001 competition. The village and its environs was awarded 2nd prize in the Large Village Category, which was a great achievement, bearing in mind that it was their first entry into the competition. In recognition of the high standards attained, the park has achieved and sustained Green Flag status from 2002 to 2006.

Camphill & Woolton Woods - the mature woodland on the site mainly originates from the early period of private ownership. The park provides an opportunity for walking, running, dog walking, football, cycling, picnicking, and bird watching. There are several public events held on the site each year and the park is popular with schools and other groups such as Brownies, Guides and Beavers. The large open fields visible from the surrounding roadways are edged in summer by drifts of wild flowers planted by the local community. Throughout the year many indigenous woodland tree species are to be seen in Woolton Woods and Camp Hill and winter, spring and summer bring a glorious succession of snowdrops, bluebells and wild flowers. There are many wild animal habitats and wild bird food sources to attract a wide variety of wildlife, enriching the visitor's experience of a 'Country Park in the Town'. In recognition of the high standards attained, the park has achieved and sustained Green Flag status from 2003 to 2006.

Here's a map of Liverpool Parks. Click on the baloons for further details and of course you can zoom in and out or use your mouse to drag the map to see other areas:

Parks & Gardens

Recommended Further Reading