Heaton Park Farm and Animal Centre

Prestwich, Manchester M25 2SW

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Opening Times

Open daily:

Farm Centre 9am - 6pm (3:30pm in winter).

Animal Centre 10:30am - 6:30pm (school holidays, Easter - Sept), 4:30pm (term time Easter - Sept), or 3:30pm (otherwise)

See official website for current opening times.

Admission Prices

Free

Description

Now owned by Manchester City Council, at over 640 acres Heaton Park is one of the largest municipal parks in Europe. Located on the northern edge of the city, near the junction of the M60, M62 and M66 and ringed by the former mill towns of Oldham, Rochdale and Bury, at its heart is the Grade 1 listed Heaton Hall, one of the finest houses of its period in the country. Both the park and hall still retain many of their original features.

The Farm and Animal Centres are located within Heaton Park, around the Stables buildings adjacent to the Hall. The centres are home to a selection of farm animals, including Cows, Pigs, Goats, Alpacas, Ducks, Hens and Geese, plus Rabbits and Guinea Pigs. There is also a flock of Hebridean Sheep and a herd of Highland Cattle out in fields in the Park.

Official Website

www.heatonpark.org.uk

(Opens in separate window)

Facilities

Car Park

There are several car parks within Heaton Park. The nearest to the Farm and Animal Centres is the Hall Car Park, accessed from the St. Margaret's Road entrance.

A charge of £1.50 applies at weekends, holidays and during major Park events.

Eating

Stables Cafe, adjacent to the Farm and Animal Centres, open at weekends and during school holidays, 10am - 4:30pm (peak), or 3pm (winter).

Lakeside Cafe, by the Boating Lake, open daily all year, 10am - 4:30pm (peak), or 3pm (winter).

For Kids

Themed play area within the Animal Centre, other play areas and facilities elsewhere in the Park.

Attractions

Animal Collections

Mammals, Birds

Note: The animal pictures on this page are merely representative of this type of attraction; they do not mean that the animals can be found at this specific attraction.

Star Animals

Alpacas, Hebridean Sheep and Highland Cattle.

Other Attractions

There are many other attractions around the Park, such as:

Heaton Hall itself (open April - September)

Horse Riding Centre

Tram Museum, including rides on Sundays, April - Sept, and most Bank Holidays

Horticultural Centre

Boating Lake

Bicycle hire

Golf and Pitch & Putt courses

How To Get There:

By Car

From M60 junction 17:

Leave the M60 at junction 17, and turn north onto the A56 towards Bury. Then take the next turning right into Clyde Avenue (one-way street). Follow this road to turn left as it joins Hardmans Road (still one-way), then turn right at the next cross-roads onto the A665 Bury Old Road. Follow the A665 back across the M60 (and under the Tramway) for about 1 mile. After going across the traffic-light controlled cross-roads with Heywood Road (left) and Glebelands Road (right) take the second turning to the left, just before a small park (also on your left), into St. Margaret's Road. Continue along this road, past the church on your right, and the entrance to Heaton Park will be on your right just before the road turns left. Follow the drive through the Park to the Hall Car Park.

From Bury:

Either follow the M66 south to the M60, then turn right onto the M60 towards Salford and Eccles. Leave the M60 at junction 17, the next junction, and continue to the Park as described above.

Alternatively, follow the A56 south to its junction with the A665, just before it reaches the M60 at junction 17. Fork left onto the A665 Bury Old Road and continue to the St. Margaret's Road entrance to Heaton Park and the Hall Car Park, as described above (from M60 junction 17).

From M60 junction 19:

Leave the M60 at junction 19, and turn south onto the A576 Middleton Road towards the City Centre If you are planning to visit other parts of the Park as well as the Farm and Animal Centres, you could take the first entrance to the Park, on your right at traffic lights a short distance from the motorway, park in the Smithy Lodge Car Park, and then walk through the Park to and past the Hall. Otherwise, to reach the Hall Car Park, continue along the edge of Heaton Park to the end of the dual carriageway, then turn right onto the A6044 Sheepfoot Lane. Continue along the edge of the Park, then turn right onto the A665 Bury Old Road. Continue along the edge of the Park, past the Heaton Park Metrolink station on the left. Then take the third turning to the right after the end of the Park, around another small park on the right, into St. Margaret's Road. Continue along this road, past the church on your right, and the entrance to Heaton Park will be on your right just before the road turns left. Follow the drive through the Park to the Hall Car Park.

From the City Centre:

Follow the A665 north out of the centre, along Cheetham Hill Road and onto Bury Old Road. Continue across the cross-roads with the A576 (Leicester and Middleton Roads) and then A6044 (Sheepfoot and Scholes Lanes, at the Grand Lodge corner of Heaton Park). Continue along the edge of Heaton Park to the St. Margaret's Road entrance and Hall Car Park, as described above (from M60 junction 19).

From Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham:

Follow the M60 north-west to either junction 19 or 17, and continue as described above.

From Rochdale:

Follow the M62 south-west to the M60, then south-west onto the M60 towards Salford and Eccles. Leave the M60 at junction 17 and continue as described above.

From Bolton:

Follow the M61 south-east to the M60, the turn north-east onto the M60 towards Rochdale. Leave the M60 at junction 17 and continue as described above.

By Public Transport

By Metrolink Tram:

The nearest station is Heaton Park, to which trams run regularly from the City Centre and other places. A pedestrian entrance to the park lies across the Bury Old Road from the station. Follow the main path into the Park straight ahead to the T-junction near the Boating Lake, then turn left and continue up the hill to the Hall. The Farm and Animal Centres (in the Stables buildings with the clock tower) will be on your left as you approach the Hall.

By Bus:

Many bus services call at the Park, including nos. 56, 59, 64, 64A, 135, 137, 138, 150, 151, 484, 495. The no. 135 from the City Centre stops at the Metrolink Tram station.

Data on this page last updated: Apr 13 2014

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