Platt Fields Park — Attraction in Manchester

Welcome to the Friends of Platt Fields Park

The park was first opened in 1910, and the Friends group was established in 1997, so there is much of interest to see. Please contact us, to give us your thoughts on what we are doing - feel free to criticise as well as praise - all feedback is welcome. We would especially like to hear your suggestions as to how the park might be improved.

WHO ARE WE?

We are a voluntary organisation and a registered charity (No 1086533)

We are always keen to increase our membership as this puts valuable funds into the kitty to improve the park.

Our activities are co-ordinated by a voluntary Committee, which is elected by the public every year. The Committee meets on the 3rd Sunday of each month to discuss funding and improvements to the park.

WHAT DO WE DO?

We have many different projects on the go all the time, some short-term, and some more ambitious and long-term; most of these require us to raise funds from outside sources to match any money available from Manchester City Council.

Members of the Friends have initiated, encouraged and been engaged with countless events and activities in the Park. We actively encourage cross-cultural events and projects hosted by local communities and other organisations; much of our inspiration arises from the strong belief in the accessibility of 'parks for everyone'.

We produce a regular Newsletter, 4 times a year, which is sent out to over 200 different bodies and individuals.

We aim to hold 4 'Open Meetings' a year (usually in January, April, July and October) to advise the public of our plans and to give them the chance to voice their opinions. Everyone is invited to attend, members and enthusiasts alike. These meetings are advertised on our Web-Site, and locally, via posters at the park entrances as well as in local shops, libraries, etc.

We hold a regular volunteer afternoon, known as "Volunteer Sunday" at 1.00pm on the 3rd Sunday of every month. Everyone is welcome to attend, and we attract a wide mix of people who are keen to do things to improve their local park. At these events we do a mix of gardening (weeding, planting, pruning), construction (fencing, raised beds, repairing the pizza oven, etc.), artistic projects (sculptures & mosaics) and clearing (wind blown leaves, soil, & rubbish). The cleaning of the lake (in waders) is one of our most popular activities!

We encourage biodiversity in the park, and are actively pursuing plans to increase the habitat for wildlife within the park. We have a comprehensive Biodiversity Plan for the park (you can view it here).

We are actively developing and cataloguing an archive of the park, covering its last 100 years, and we now document all projects and events which take place. If you have memories or photographs of the park then we would like to hear from you. In addition we have made a small DVD of the history of the park.

We even produce our own Christmas cards - to raise funds for the park.

As a member of the Friends, you can help support our ongoing projects, add your ideas, skills and enthusiasm, organise something you are passionate about, and add your voice to our campaign to improve the environment and facilities within the park. We need your support to keep the pressure up on Manchester City Council, to maintain Platt Fields Park in the state it should be - a safe, welcoming, and green environment for everyone in the heart of the City.

PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR CAMPAIGNING WORK TO KEEP THIS GREAT PUBLIC SPACE THRIVING WELL INTO ITS...

The centrepiece of the park is a large pleasure lake, which is used for boating and fishing. The lake has an island sanctuary in the middle, as well as a lakeside visitors' centre and a boathouse. The park also contains part of Gore Brook and part of the Nico (Mickle) Ditch.

A panorama of the lake and the central island sanctuary There are gardens of different kinds, including community orchard gardens, which contain ferns, roses and heathers. There is also an educational garden and an environmental area, as well as Elizabeth II Jubilee gardens and an Eco Arts garden near to the boating lake. There is a Shakespearean garden located in the Ashfield part of the park in the south-east corner that was designed to have only plants mentioned in Shakespeare's works. The Ashfield area also has an arch from the nave of Manchester Cathedral, which was previously located at Manley Hall, Manchester for a time. Ashfield was added to the park at a later date: it was formerly the site of Ashfield House and was donated to the City by Edward Donner.

There is a labyrinth and picnic area, a Veterans' pavilion and a pair of children's playgrounds. One playground is for toddlers up to age 5, with the other for kids up to the age of 9. Both are located near to the Lakeside Centre.[4] Sports facilities include a pair of bowling greens and courts for basketball, five-a-side, roller hockey, tennis, as well as a mini soccer pitch, cycle pathways and a skate park. A new BMX track was completed at the South end of the park in the summer of 2008.

The old boathouse is now the location of Platt Fields Bike Hub, a community project involved in bicycle repairs, bike hire and other cycling-oriented projects activities.

There are three dedicated show fields in the park, which have the infrastructure to host large and small scale national and local events. Events hosted in the park have included the Manchester Mela and Eid Festival, as well as annual fireworks and bonfire displays.[8] Until 2003 the site hosted the Manchester Flower Show. Facilities-wise, the site has a car park with disabled parking and toilets. The site also has a park office.

Over 40 languages are spoken in and among the diverse communities that live around and...

Platt Fields Park really exemplifies a marvellous multi-faceted sense of community! Many of the activities in the park are supported by volunteers.

There’s Market Garden, offering locally-grown produce, a youth-handicraft program, and a ‘sit-down-and-take-a-break’ area for coffee and pastries.

There’s a playground, with numerous slides and swings, for kiddies.

There’s a model boat club, favoured by seniors who are often seen skilfully guiding their model boats across the lake.

For the more physically active groups, there are Saturday morning park runs, a tennis court, a BMX track, a basketball court and a cricket field.

There are also vast areas of open field for just sitting and watching the world go by, meeting with friends, or enjoying family picnics.

Very often there are various fairs and cultural events, that give the term ‘fun’ a whole new meaning.

There are dozens of benches throughout the park and a centrally-located WC.

As well as providing a wonderful sense of community, this beautiful park also affords quiet areas for those who simply seek solitude and quiet reflection.

On my latest visit to Platt Fields, what totally mesmerised me were the colours of nature! I’m still trying to get my head around the vividness of Nature’s palette! Simply gorgeous!

This lovely site is easily accessible from downtown Manchester. From Piccadilly Gardens, take bus 42, 43, 142, or 143, and get off at Platt...