Calderstones Park Reviews Summary

Park Facilities

Pros:

• "Good play equipment for children and a lake."
• "Large children's play and swing area, very safe as well. Metal railings enclose the park."
• "Plenty of free parking available."
• "Many different areas to explore including a stream and climbing rocks."
• "Two playgrounds for different ages and ice cream parlour."
• "Great playground for the kids."
• "There is 2 playgrounds for toddlers and older kids."

Cons:

• "Could do with attractions for 8 to teens."
• "The kids play area is in a terrible state this park is not to be recommended."
• "Play area was only for little ones but there was gym equipment available if my teens had been so inclined."
• "All the kids slides were very dirty and little one came away filthy and only two toddler swings available for use."

Cafe and Food Options

Pros:

• "The manor house has been fully refurbished replete with cafe and outside eating areas."
• "Cafe was fabulous with polite (despite the pressure of a queue) and efficient staff."
• "Excellent cafe, although always a long queue."
• "There's an ice cream parlour which serves 'proper' ice cream and there's a cafe on the mansion."
• "The ice cream parlour has amazing ice cream with 30 different flavours!"
• "The reader Cafe has good coffee and tasty cakes."
• "Coffee is some of the best I've had and the cafe is dog friendly which is lovely."

Cons:

• "Beautiful park if not raining or cold, because if you feel like a bite to eat or a hot drink you have to sit outside and freeze at the cafe as they don't allow dogs in."
• "The cafe is nice although a little expensive, but the cakes and stuff are very tasty."
• "There's a cafe near the swing park (a touch expensive)."
• "The ice cream parlour served the best ice cream ever, according to my 3 Yr old granddaughter."
• "Would be 5 star but the cafe shut at 25 mins early meant shut at 6 and was shut at 5.35."
• "Love calderstones park, always have, would give a 5 but the cafe is currently closed for refurb and it doesn't seem to be moving very fast!"

Natural Beauty and Maintenance

Pros:

• "Large variety of trees including redwoods and a 1000-year old oak tree."
• "Lovely open space with plenty of secluded spots just to sit and watch the world go by."
• "It's still being looked after very well by the parks team."
• "Had a lovely walk through Calderstones at lunchtime, the pathway was tree lined and out of direct sunlight, which was a welcome bonus in the heatwave."
• "Beautiful old park that was once a stately home."
• "Steeped in history from thousands of years old tombstones to the great Allerton Oak itself."
• "Lovely gardens and fantastic wildlife."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately some of the park areas seem neglected."
• "The park is overgrown in some areas, there was a fair amount of rubbish and some things marked on a map such as the 1000 year old tree are hugely disappointing."
• "The park itself isn't maintained as it previously was. This is due to the local council budget cuts."
• "Visited on the 31/12/21 the park pathways are a disgrace due to the large amount of muddle puddles leading up to the mansion House."
• "The garden areas could do with some maintenance."
• "Sad how the fishing lake is so neglected pumps to clean and oxygenate the water for the fish where only used twice in 2020 not even been touched in 2021."

Accessibility and Events

Pros:

• "This park is amazing there is a lake, an area for children, a quiet area where there is a Maze."
• "Relax in the Old English garden or the Japanese Garden."
• "We visited The Reader for their Bank Holiday celebration which was great. BBQ, live music, library on the lawn and great weather."
• "Good wheelchair and buggy access throughout the park."
• "It is a great place to take the family, especially child as there are events on throughout the year. Such as faires, craft event's, shows, Christmas event's and more."
• "The boys had great fun in the swing park."
• "Brilliant walk with the kids and the dog big park looked for the stones and the oldest oak tree in Liverpool (probably oldest living thing in Liverpool) and then finished of with ice cream at the ice cream shop."

Cons:

• "Down side was the hideous fairground in the centre...why?!"
• "The loud noises scared my kids and just ruined it for them."
• "However, once we got to the ride which was called the sizzler or something like that, I sat down in the seat... My safety bar could move up and down unlike others and I did try to tell the man but he ignored walked into his office."
• "The park only has two car parks, both at the same place, near the ice cream parlour, with a small road separating them and they can get full quickly."
• "Parking can be an issue as there's limited spaces meaning some people parked outside in the street."
• "No cash transactions at moment so make sure you take your bank card with you if you want to buy anything."

Animal-Friendly Environment

Pros:

• "It’s very dog friendly and beautiful."
• "Dogs having fun all around."
• "The park is huge. We took the dogs and they loved it. It's very clean."
• "It is also a fantastic place to walk the dog; there were dozens of dogs there when we visited."
• "Dogs are allowed in some areas but not in the picnic areas to keep them cleaner."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately experience marred by selfish dog owners who either let their dogs run wild or do not clean up their dog's mess."
• "Unfortunately the park has been taken over by dogs and their owners."
• "Very muddy and far too many dogs running around off their lead."
• "THIS IS NOT A DOG PARK! Yes it's a brilliant walk with them, no that doesn't mean you should let your dog off the lead if you don't have recall training perfected."