Park Life
You don’t need your hiking gear to enjoy tranquillity. Chorley’s four main parks are all within easy reach but all are a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of daily life to give your family the complete day out.
Yarrow Valley Country Park
Within a short drive of the town centre is Yarrow Valley Country Park, at Birkacre. With a visitor centre, The Treeface Café, an adventure play area and over 700 acres to explore, there is plenty of space to stretch your legs and while away a few hours walking along the tranquil woodland pathways. Highlights include Duxbury Woods, Big Wood and Copperworks Wood as well as exploring the riot of wildflower colour that grows in Lower Burgh Meadow in the summer months and the magnificent Big Lodge, which is a venue for fishing and canoeing as well as the home of many swans, geese and ducks. Visitors might also appreciate the delights of the Small Lodge, Top Lodge and the Weir, which features a fish ladder to the side, a purpose built viewing platform and is at its spectacular best following periods of heavy rain.
Location
Birkacre Road, Chorley
Chorley’s increasingly popular Yarrow Valley Country Park is a 700-acre facility, run by Chorley Council, including a visitor centre built using Heritage Lottery funds. Yarrow Valley Country Park has been awarded Green Flag status for the fifth year in a row! Have a look for yourself and see why the park is so popular on the Yarrow Valley/Flickr image gallery where you can upload your own photos.
Yarrow Valley Play Area
Since July 2011 Yarrow Valley Country Park has been home to “Yarrow Rocks” a radical new play space in which young people are encouraged to challenge themselves and take calculated risks. Features within this fabulous facility include;
• Giant Rope Swing
• Natural Climbing Wall
• Rock Stacks
• Story Tellers Throne
• Embankment Slide
While we encourage all the family to play together we ask that parents and carers take particular care to watch toddlers as there are a number of attractions designed with older users in mind. In this area dogs must be on a lead at all times and kept on the main path, away from the play space.
Treeface Café & Yarrow Valley Visitor Centre
The Yarrow Valley Visitor Centre has recently been refurbished and the Treeface Café is now open.
The Treeface Café serves drinks, cakes, ice creams and hot and cold food and can be contacted on 01257 515151. Please use the number given below if you wish to contact the Ranger Service.
Toilet facilities including baby changing and accessible facilities are available to all park users.
The Treeface Café, Visitor Centre and toilet facilities are open from 9.30am – 4.30pm daily. These times are extended in the summer months and when events are taking place.
Parking
Free parking is available at the visitor centre.
Ranger Service
The role of the Ranger Service is to patrol the parks – including Yarrow Valley, give advice and information to visitors, run events and activities, coordinate and carry out conservation tasks and management works in our parks and open spaces.
Working Hours: 8.30am – 4pm (October – March) 8am – 4pm (April – September) 7 days a week.
The Ranger Service is based at the visitor centre. The visitor centre telephone line has an answer phone facility and messages are checked daily. Telephone: 01257 515151 (Visitor Centre – please note that this is a separate line to the Treeface Café). The ranger service does not provide an emergency response. In an emergency situation please contact the police, fire or ambulance service.