What's in the Park

For Children


The Toddlers' Playground >>
The Other Playground >>

Sports & Activities


The Skate Park >>
The Boating Lake >>
The Basketball and Tennis Courts >>

Exploring


Platt Hall >>
The Shakespearean Garden >>
The Eco Arts Garden >>
Cathedral Arch >>
We couldn't begin to tell you about everything in the park. For starters, it's changing all the time! But below you can find some information on the various features and facilities available, from the playgrounds to some of the corners that even regular visitors may have missed.

Why not come and have a look around? You may find something that we haven't.
 

For Children

For young children there are two playgrounds in the park. As well as these are some other climbing platforms behind the Lakeside Centre.

  toddlers' play area

The Toddlers' Playground

The Childrens' Play Area to the left of the Lakeside Centre (as you face it) is for children up to the age of five. It was built with the help of the SureStart group.
 
playground

The Other Playground

The Playground on the other side of the Lakeside Centre is for children up to the age of 9.
top ^  

Sports and Activities

The area to the South of the lake is occasionally described as the teenage village. This is a little misleading as there is no upper limit on who is allowed to skateboard or play basketball. I'm not sure if the name even includes the bowling greens!

  the skate park

The Skate Park

Platt Fields is lucky to have a great set of ramps which are regularly used by locals of all ages.
 
the Boating Lake

The Boating Lake

The lake is hard to miss. Squarely in the middle of the park, it is open for boating throughout the summer.
 
basketball court

Basketball and Tennis Courts

There are two basketball courts. One is an older court. The other is part of a new complex, comprising of the basketball court and two tennis courts with fixed railing nets.
top ^  

Exploring

There are various interesting features in the park. Here are a few to get you started.

  Platt Hall

Platt Hall

Located in the North East corner of the park, Platt Hall is the home to the Manchester Art Galleries Gallery of Costume. Built of brick in 1762-64 it is an interesting building in its own right.
 
the Shakespearean Garden

The Shakespearean Garden

These beautifully sculpted gardens are designed to be from around the time of Shakespeare.

Tucked away in the south eastern corner of Platt Fields - known as "Ashfields" - even some regular visitors miss this area.
 
the Eco Arts Garden

The Eco Arts Garden

These areas have been created by volunteers from Powwow Eco Arts. Follow the link to find out more about what they've done with the area.

Volunteers, placements and artists are welcome to help with the project - further details can be found on the news page.
 
Cathedral Arch

Cathedral Arch

Again, located in the Ashfields area of Platt Fields, the arch was previously part of the Manchester Cathedral knave stonework. It was installed at Manly Hall before being subsequently moved to Platt Fields.
top ^