Platt Fields

Walked passed this, looks amazing and has a great atmosphere too

Brilliant large park in South Manchester right near the student heartland of Fallowfield. Can offer a large space for big groups of students to enjoy a spot of BBQ and beer in the summer but anytime of year its definitely worth a walk around or a sit to enjoy the greenery in this part of the Manchester.
Definitely a place for the sports lovers to enjoy a spot of football or many other sports.
Parklife music festival in June is a big music festival hosted here where big music artists head to the two large stages available here. Very popular with locals and many people around the UK.

As a cyclist, I’m interested in safe, peaceful routes around Manchester by bike. The route from the University area to Fallowfield offers some nice traffic-​free stretches along the dedicated cycle path on Oxford Road, through Whitworth Park, then through Platt Fields Park. And just one minute by bike to the south of Platt Fields is the Fallowfield Loop, which takes you traffic-​free all the way to Chorlton.
Platt Fields Park is about four times the size of Whitworth Park, allowing for several ‘zones’. At the north end is the Gallery of Costume, then we have the showground which looked a bit scruffy when I visited, due to it being between events. But I was glad I persevered, as the remainder of the park on the southern side of the small river is all much more tranquil with a large pond and some secluded bits with a conservation theme. I was impressed by signs of a previous initiative to plant raspberries and other berries for visitors to the park to enjoy, although it looks as if this project is currently in need of some TLC.
I don’t need to tell you what city parks are good for — give Platt Fields a look and see if it fits the bill for what you have in mind!

Not a place owned, occupied by or having anything to do with the Platt family from Coronation Street. Richard Hillman never even buried any of his victims there, Maxine ended up in the foundations of one of his show houses or something (correct me if I’m wrong, Corrie fans). Anyway, grisly murder aside, Platt Fields is actually the venue for a great many Manchester countryside events so I suggest you pack the picnic blanket and hot foot it there for some fresh air and good entertainment.
Here be small festivals, cultural and ethnically-​themed events to coincide with calendar holidays, there’s a food, drink and music festival in August and the mighty Mancunian Ian Brown is playing in June. Pretty swish, non? Even if you’re not gearing up for an official event it’s a great place to while away the hours, escape from the city, eat some pre-​packed goodies and feed the ducks. As you can imagine it’s popular with families but also students, as Platt Fields lies only a short walk from Fallowfield, one of Manchester’s student Meccas.
The park is really into its wildlife too, to the extent of producing a biodiversity study in 2008. You can read this online, they report on the different plant and animal species to be found there. I was particularly interested in the bat survey being a bat fan, and sure enough the park is home to brown long-​eareds (one of the funniest looking bats around, bless), Daubentons and Pipistrelles. The report even suggests that the park is an important site for bat conservation and wishes to arrange more bat boxes around the trees. Excellent stuff.
Ian Brown himself said that Manchester’s got everything except a beach. Places like Platt Fields really make you feel like you’re not missing out on anything, and with an impressive lake to boot we might not have a beach but we can at least go rowing for a wee while.
But if Parklife Festival dares to thump against my window again next year, I’ll be one unhappy bunny.

Platt Fields is gorgeous. Why has it taken me so long to fully explore the place. That’s the downside to living in the City Centre. I just get stuck inbetween University and town and the bubble of it and rarely venture down South. Until today.
The glorious sunshine is getting the sporty lot, picnickers, kids and families, dogs and their owners, joggers and bikers, down to Platt fields to enjoy it at its best. I didn’t realise how big this place was. The map tells us that there is a lake with lots of ducks, a wheelchair friendly garden, a labyrinth, a Shakespearean garden. There’s a lot more to Platt fields than just grass.

Coming from a village where it cost you about 3 quid to see a rubbish fireworks display, I was happy to see the abundance of free bonfire night celebrations organised by Manchester Council.
This bonfire night is not as big as those in Heaton Park and Wythenshawe Park, but unlike the village celebrations, it is always on bonfire night itself (remember remember the 5^th of November, not the 9^th or 10^th!) and is always packed with students and families.
It’s a pretty standard affair — everyone crowds around the barriers forgetting that the fireworks are actually going to be high in the sky, then rushes over to crowd around the giant bonfire. There are of course the obligatory hot dog and donut stands with plenty of rides including the one which launches a pair of you high into the sky above the park (it’s good fun, trust me).
If you want some free bonfire night fun but don’t have a car and don’t fancy the crush on the metro to get out to Heaton Park, then PFP is the place to go.

Platt Fields is the biggest and best park in the area. Its green hills stretch out, well, about a five-​minute walk, behind Fallowfield.
So Manchester is not the best for green spaces. Nonetheless, Platt Fields isn’t bad. I couldn’t recommend it for a long afternoon walk or a day-​trip with the extended family, but for a kick around with a bunch of mates or walking a dog it’ll do just fine (as long as your dog isn’t a fussy one).
Its got plenty of open green space for football, and during the summer its pretty busy so you can always find people to have a game with. It does have a little cage for 5-​a-​side games but its gets so muddy its practically unplayable and you’re better off setting up your own goal posts with jumpers just like you did as school. If you didn’t do this at school, its achieved by taking two jumpers and placing them on the ground, creating a space in between them that serves the function of a goal. You then kick the ball into this structure.
Its also got a skate park, if that’s your thing, but later on this tends to be frequented by hoodlums and WKD.
The lake is absolutely the highlight, and contains plenty of floating birds to feed. It does have boats which apparently can be rented out, though I have yet to see this occur, possibly through lack of demand, as you would be able to cross the lake in well under a minute. The boats can be put to good use collecting balls that are inadvertently kicked into the lake, but the park wardens are an obstacle.
It also has some swings, but they’re rubbish.

Walled off from the rest of reality is a green zone. This strange land is home to joggers, dogs and kids with BMXs. Big paths inter connect a series of attractions for the pedestrian or cyclist in this sprawling chunk of nature. The park has hundreds of benches, flower gardens and trees where you can throw sticks for your pooch or sit and watch the people go by.
Kids are well catered for with football pitches, a skate park and play areas. There’s also a big lake in the middle that is the habitat for a few swans. Different times of year the park is a venue for somebody or someone. Come summer the place is full of thousands of students lining up for the mad ferret festival with many notable artists playing. Other times it will be hosting a sports tournament or bit of public entertainment that usually draws a crowd. Bonfire nights and Halloween see the park swarmed in sparklers, carnival rides and fireworks.

Every city needs a good park or two, and Manchester is no exception. Just alongside Wilmslow Road on the approach to Fallowfield proper lies Platt Fields, a rambling expanse of fields and streams. As I write this review it looks particularly picturesque, having recently been enveloped in the blanket of snow which has fallen over the whole of Manchester.
It’s the sort of park which does exactly what parks should do for me: it looks nice, it’s big and open, and it has a lake you can go boating on. Not that the lake is particularly large or deep, but it’s the thought that counts. It also plays host to a skate park, playground, church and gallery, as well as the annual fireworks celebrations every bonfire night.
I’d like to think that I will spend lazy days there now I live in such proximity, gazing at the clouds as I write poetry to my love, capturing the beautiful scenery with my words. I imagine I will instead just go past it on the bus everyday as I do more productive things, like visit pubs and get lost. But I hope I inspire one of you to do it for me. Maybe you could write one about me.

This is such a great place for BMX fans and kids in general, who have a place to congregate and socialise other than the streets or malls. With membership only £5 a year or £1.10 for a session, there’s year round training, events and championships here on this large dirt course. I think it’s fantastic to see so many kids still interested in real physical exercise in a wii-​fit generation!