Woolston Park

There's plenty to do at Woolston Park whether it's discovering wildlife, using the sports facilities and play areas or making it a base to explore the wider countryside. Woolston Park covers 56 acres and was officially opened in 1977. It was created from neglected farmland to provide a valuable refuge for people and wildlife amongst the rapidly expanding local community. Spittle Brook forms the backbone of the park. Its steep banks are the result of engineering works carried out to reduce the threat of flooding to local housing. Thousands of tonnes of soil were bulldozed and shaped to create the park. The wildfowl pond was excavated and trees planted to form the woodlands we see today. Stands of willow provide a link with the area's agricultural past, when vegetables were grown on the peaty soils of Woolston Moss. Farmers carried their produce to market in wicker baskets made from willow grown on the wetter parts of the farm, with many areas along Spittle Brook being used as willow beds.