Haslam Park

Haslam Park sits between Tom Benson way and the Lancaster Canal, northwest Preston. Preston has several parks, and this has to be the easiest to miss. A high fence carefully screens any sign of it from Tom Benson Way, and around most of the rest of its periphery, access is from a number of dead-ends off suburban streets no one will just happen upon, and there seems to be no signage - not until you have got out of the car, and walked into the park.


This is the entrance from Cottam Lane. It looks impressive, but to find it, you have to know it is here, to venture under the railway and road. It is telling that the car park has space for just five cars.

The main entrance is from Blackpool Road.


That is pretty much all you can see of the park from the road; a gate and a handful of trees. A short side road to the right of the gate leads to a car park - this has space for 35 to 40 cars.

There are no signs to tell you this is a park, as opposed to really fancy house. No sign from the road to tell you there is a car park here. It really does feel like Preston does not want you to know the park is here at all.

The main feature of the park is this tree-line avenue, which runs parallel to Tom Benson Way.

The park dates from 1910 - which I think makes it the most recent park - and second largest after Moor Park. It has sports facilities and a playground. The north section is less formally maintained and kept as a nature reserve, though it was in the south section that I saw squirrels.

I combined a walk through the park with a walk along the canal, but that is a story for another day.




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