Worden Park

Worden Park is the largest and most prestigious park within the borough of South Ribble attracting over ¼ million visitors every year. As well as offering over 60 hectares of meadows, woodlands and playing fields, the park also includes Worden Arts and Crafts Centre and coffee shop located in the centre of this historic site. This page provides further information about the park’s location and the facilities available.

Site location:  Worden Lane, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 3DH

Managing Authority:  South Ribble Borough Council

Grid Reference:  SD 537 209

Size:  63 hectares

Worden Park is located at the southern edge of the town of Leyland and at the southern boundary of the borough of South Ribble, approximately seven miles south of Preston, Lancashire.  The park was first opened to the public in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations and is now is listed Grade II by English Heritage on its Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 

The park once formed the estate of Worden Hall, owned by the ffarington family who laid out most of the landscape that can be seen today.  Following a devastating fire in 1941, Worden Hall, located near the centre of the estate, was eventually demolished leaving only one remaining wing, the outbuildings and the walled kitchen garden.  Today, the remaining historic buildings house an Arts and Crafts Centre including a theatre, bar, coffee shop and a range of craft units demonstrating a wide range of traditional and artistic skills.   

Today, Worden Park's landscape includes mature woodlands, 11 sports pitches, wildflower meadows and three historic ponds.  The park is a popular destination for school groups on field trips and the Ranger Service provide an Education Programme to help schools make use of the park's landscape as an outdoor classroom.  Worden Park has retained the Green Flag Award (the national standard for parks and open spaces) since the scheme began in 1996 and is the only green space north of London to hold this record.  The park has also received the status as a Quality Assured Visitor Attraction from Enjoy England. 

The park is easily accessible by both public transport and car, and is approximately two miles from junction 28 of the M6 motorway and 25 minutes walk from Leyland railway station.  The park has a large car park accessed from Worden Lane on the eastern side of the site and is ten minutes walk from the town centre car parks which can be used for overflow parking at busy periods.  Please note that while the park's car park is free, restrictions do apply during the week.  Further details are at the bottom of this page. 

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Worden Park Attractions

Model Railway - The Leyland Society of Model engineers have been operating at Worden for almost as long as the park has been open to the public.  They provide free rides to the public on Tuesdays, Sundays and bank holidays (dependent on the weather) around the park's wildflower meadows on a newly extended route which is now almost 1km long. 

Formal Gardens - Originally designed by the landscape architect William Andrews Nesfield, the formal gardens at Worden provide a quiet space for visitors to sit and enjoy the peaceful surroundings, surrounded by colourful bedding displays. 

Hedge Maze - This historic feature is open to the public at all times and is one of very few such mazes which is free of charge to explore.  Due to the age of the maze, visitors are asked to take care not to damage the ancient hedging and young children must be supervised at all times. 

The maze was designed for the ffarington family by William Andrews Nesfield as part of the formal gardens and is now around 150 years old.  Worden Park maze is very similar to the maze at Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk, also designed by William Andrew Nesfield, although there are some differences.  The maze at Worden is planted with hornbeam and has a lime tree at its centre while the Somerleyton maze is planted of yew and has a pagoda at the centre.  Worden's maze also has the extra feature of having two entrances, one being the real entrance and the other being a fool's or false entrance leading only to dead ends in either direction.

Arts and Crafts Centre - Located in the remaining buildings of Worden Hall in the centre of the park, the complex provides space for conferences, wedding receptions as well as a theatre.  A group of craft workshops also form part of a complex where visitors can see a range of produced being crafted, the majority of which are available for purchase.  Parking in the centre of the park is restricted to blue badge and permit holders, however, permits are available from the Arts Centre and craft workshops for visitors wishing to visit the Arts and Crafts Centre.  Worden Arts and Crafts Centre can be contacted on 01772 455908. 

Coffee Shop - Located in the centre of the park adjacent to the Arts and Crafts Centre, the coffee shop is open to the public all year round serving a range of hot and cold food and drinks.  The coffee shop occupies the space that was once the Worden Estate's stables and now, with much of the Victorian craftsmanship of the interior conserved and restored, provides a comfortable space for visitors to relax and take a break from exploring the park. 

Playground - The playground is the largest in Leyland and has 22 pieces of equipment for toddlers (ages 0-6) including swings, climbing frames, springy toys and a large sand pit complete with sand diggers.  There are 14 pieces of equipment for juniors (ages7-12) including swings, a see-saw, climbing frames, slides, rope climbing frame and cableway.  

Walled Garden - This historic feature encloses an area just less than one acreis thought to date back to 1777 and once formed a crucial part of the Worden Estate, used by the ffarington family to supply the house with fresh fruit, vegetables and cut flowers.  The walled garden has now been brought back into production by a partnership between South Ribble Borough Council and the Brothers of Charity.  A range of produce is available for sale from the walled garden on Mondays to Fridays and a range of seasonal events are held throughout the year. 

The garden lies approximately 500m north west of the hall, which is unusually close - some walled gardens were built up to a mile away. The trapezoid shape of the garden is also fairly rare, particularly in one of this period, built presumably to gain maximum benefit from the sun.  Both the north and south facing walls are hollow and flued and show evidence of having been heated by stoves within the walls.

Virtually every self-respecting wealthy landowner at the time would have had a head gardener along with a number of staff who were expected to supply the house with a continuous and varied supply of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers every day of the year, in addition to the upkeep of the estate's gardens and pleasure grounds.  Adjacent to the walled garden entrance is the Bothy where the unmarried male garden staff would have lived in very spartan conditions. The young apprentices, known as 'Improver Journeymen', would have lived several to each room until they progressed to become 'Journeymen' at which time being given their own room within the Bothy.  The head gardener would have lived with his family in the gardener's cottage, the larger brick building to the east of the walled garden and bothy. 

Shaw Brook Italian Walk - Running the entire length of the park close to the southern boundary, the 'Italian Walk' was built for the ffarington family, according to the fashion of the time, to add interest to the landscape beyond the formal gardens.  The walk meanders its way alongside Shaw Brook which was diverted into the gardens from the farmland to the south to flow over stone weirs, past stone shelters and under the arch of a classical folly replicating the romantic landscapes many wealthy estate owners visited on the 'Grand Tour' of Europe.  Today, visitors can also experience this walk through the semi-natural landscape of the park's mature woodlands, although sturdy footwear is advised when ground conditions are wet. 

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Car Parking in Worden Park

In recent years the impact of traffic within the park has increased and many visitors have told us that this is one of the main issues that negatively impacts on their enjoyment of Worden.  Following parking restrictions being introduced to the residential streets around the park, the use of the main car park by non park users has begun to prevent genuine visitors from accessing the park. 

In order to reduce the impact of traffic on the park and ensure parking space is available for visitors, the following parking restrictions have been brought into force:

• Parking on the Main Car Park remains free but will be restricted to 3 hours maximum with no return within 3 hours, 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday except school and bank holidays (except disabled badge holders and permit holders).  This also includes the overflow parking area when this is formally open. 
  
• Parking on the Hall Car Park is restricted to disabled badge holders and permit holders only, Monday - Sunday, 9am - 5pm*. 
  
• Parking in any area of the park other than the two designated car parks is prohibited at all times except for loading. 

Non-compliance will result in a penalty charge being issued. 

* Visitors attending special events at the park when restrictions are in force will be provided with a temporary permit by the Borough Council through the event organisers.  Visitors to the Arts and Crafts Centre can collect a temporary parking permit from the coffee shop or the craft units during opening hours. 

For the safety and enjoyment of park visitors, all car parks and drives within Worden Park are subject to a 10mph speed limit at all times.  For further information regarding parking restrictions and traffic management at Worden Park please call South Ribble Borough Council on 01772 625625