It’s also English Tourism Week 2023 and as the Fylde coast gears up to welcome visitors galore to its beaches and other seaside attraction over the coming months, it’s opportune to take a look at some of the other key outdoor delights in the area for residents as well as visitors to enjoy – our glorious parks.
1. Stanley Park, Blackpool
This Grade II-listed park opened in 1926 and has been voted the best park in the UK for the second time in three years.
It stretches across 390 acres and is renowned for its bandstand, boating lake and Italian gardens. Main entrance is from West Park Drive. Photo: staff
2. Anchorsholme Park, Blackpool
After being closed for several years, Anchorsholme Park. on the very northern edge of Blackpool, overlooking the seafront, reopened in July 2020, significantly refurbished and enhanced following completion of United Utilities’ £80 million waste water project. There is a new café, outdoor seating areas, sports areas, music and a performing arts space for events and activities., while new playground is fully inclusive for all children. Photo: submit
3. Devonshire Road Rock Gardens, Bispham
Devonshire Road Rock Gardens were first opened to the public in 1925. They are at the side of the distinctive Warbreck Water Tower and were originally created as a public park for residents of new housing in the area. They are on Beryl Hill, believed to be the site of a cairn and beacon, used to warn of Napoleonic invasion many years ago. From the top of the Gardens, the Bowland Fells and Pendle Hill van be seen on a clear day. Photo: staff
4. Ashton Gardens, St Annes
Ashton Gardens were originally established as St George's Gardens at the town's inception in 1874, at the time it was called St. George’s Gardens. They remained largely unchanged until 1914 when Lord Ashton gave a donation to acquire the gardens for the people of St Anne’s. He also bought another strip of land which connected the gardens to Clifton Drive North. The gardens were redesigned, with large areas of ornamental planting replacing the native sand dune vegetation and were formally opened as Ashton Gardens in 1916. The Gardens, with a playground, cafe and rose garden, underwent a major refurbishment in 2010 thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £1,436,000, as well as additional funding towards a total project cost of just under £2m. Photo: submit
5. Lowther Gardens, Lytham
Lowther Gardens is the oldest park in Lytham St Annes. They were opened in 1872 as a gift to the people and visitors of Lytham by John Talbot Clifton of Lytham Hall. They were named in honour of his wife's family and to commemorate her brother, Henry Lowther, who became the 3rd Earl of Lonsdale.
The delightful green space popular with visitors and residents alike surrounds Lowther Pavilion theatre, between the seafront and the main road into town, and includes a cafe and playground as well as leisure facilities such as a bowling green, putting and Lancashire's first padel tennis court. Photo: submit
6. Memorial Park, Fleetwood
Memorial Park is in the heart of Fleetwood and thanks to £2.4 million funding from the Heritage and Big Lottery funds, recently undergone restoration, with a wide range of facilities, including a new sensory garden for group visits. The park was originally opened as Warrenhurst Pleasure Gardens at the start of the 20th century and expanded in the 1920s as a tribute to those from the town who died in the First World War. Photo: submit