Middleton Park Reviews Summary

Park Facilities

Pros:

• "Vast open space with forest area and river."
• "Has a good sized cafe with outdoor seating area next to the water area."
• "Free parking. Loads of space for dogs and kids to run around."
• "There's tennis courts, basketball courts, badminton courts, bowling green and plenty of space to play football."
• "The park is kept lovely, and there are 2 cafes to now choose from."
• "Good play area for all ages."
• "Wheelchair friendly with accessible paths."

Cons:

• "Also sometimes there is the sound of motorbikes going up and down the deeper paths destroying the tranquility."
• "It's a good place to come for walk, but as it's always busy you can struggle to find parking."
• "Cafe was friendly although they didn't have take away cups with them the day we visited which was disappointing."
• "Not a bad bike park really needs some local volunteers to help maintain it as it's a bit sketchy in some places due to poor maintenance."
• "The only criticism would be the limited play equipment... not nearly enough range of apparatus for anyone over 8/10 years old."
• "Very sad update, 1.12.23. two swans who were life partners have been shot by some sick individuals."
• "I was however disappointed by the state of the tennis courts."

Recreational Activities

Pros:

• "The trails are fantastic with areas for beginners to areas for advanced mountain bikers."
• "There's also a bike park with many different paths throughout the park."
• "There are also several fields, and some even have horses."
• "The picnic area is strategically situated within the park, offering visitors a tranquil spot to relax and enjoy the scenic beauty."
• "Used to have a bad reputation but the council and local residents have done loads to make it a nice friendly place to go and an enjoyable place to be."
• "A wonderful park, that is improving year by year."
• "The surrounding woodlands are very scenic."

Cons:

• "Such a shame the cafe and toilets were closed but so was most of the country with lockdown restrictions."
• "We had a lovely visit to this lovely park which was badly let down by the rude and ignorant woman who runs the information centre/cafe."
• "Access to the bmx pump track was tricky though- looked closed at first glance."
• "Could use a bit more things to entertain kids and adults instead of just having a play park for little kids."
• "The downside is there are a bunch of idiots riding in quadbikes and motorbikes."
• "There does seem to be a lot of horse muck on the paths lately which is not pleasant."
• "Occasionally horses on them which wouldn't be a problem except they don't clean up after themselves."

Cafe and Amenities

Pros:

• "The cafe and its staff are amazing! They offer a great range of food (gluten free options too!) and a friendly atmosphere!"
• "Two nice cafes."
• "Absolutely love this place. Turn up with your bikes and its free."
• "Cafe was good, limited menu but loved the bacon sarnies."
• "Cafe on site which offers a good selection of refreshments and snacks."
• "The cafe is very good, lots of choice at a reasonable price, efficient service."
• "A lovely cafe with friendly staff as well as a bike shop too."

Cons:

• "Would be nice to see cheaper drink/snack availability for kids though."
• "However, the ice-cream van is pretty expensive though but aren't most ice-cream vans that are based parks these days?"
• "What did concern me was an area at the top of the slope across from the carpark. What I thought was a red painted concrete/tarmac was in fact water covered in a red algae or something, yes there's a fence round it but small children could quite easily fall in there."
• "Pond looked a bit worse for wear last time we were there but still not bad!"
• "Some bits could be better maintained eg the rose garden."
• "This is such a nice park to have this close to the city centre."
• "The tennis courts are not actually flat."