Alexandra Park Let’s Go for a Walk

Overview

This downloadable leaflet is one of a series that describes some easy walks around some of Oldham’s fantastic parks and countryside areas. They are designed to show you routes that can be followed until you get to know the areas and can explore some of the other routes and places within the parks.

Alexandra Park

Alexandra Park was the first public park in Oldham, opened in 1865 and was named to commemorate the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The park was one of the first ever ‘Job Creation’ schemes, developed to provide employment to the many cotton mill workers, who due to the Federal blockade of Confederate seaports during the 1861 American Civil War, found themselves without any raw cotton to spin.

More recently, the park has been restored to its former glory by significant investment backed by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and was reopened in 2004 after refurbishment.

Walks and accessibility

The leaflet outlines two walks: a ‘Green Walk’ of 1.4 km and a ‘Blue Walk’ of 2.5 km. Both paths are suitable for wheelchair and pushchair users, with the Blue Walk including some alternative options for less accessible sections. There is also a playground with play equipment for children with disabilities.

For longer walks, there are marked paths from the park leading into Snipe Clough, Brushes Clough and to Park Bridge Heritage centre and beyond.

Note that according to Oldham Council, toilets are open only when gardeners are in attendance.

How to get there

To work out how to get to and from the walk start points, simply click the Google Maps links shown on this page. Then click ‘Directions’ and enter your postcode or location in the relevant field. For public transport options, click the train icon.

Alternatively, input the postcodes shown into the TFGM journey planner at https://my.tfgm.com/#/planner/