There’s a whole lot more to this pretty park.
Calderstones Park is a stunning 94-acre park in South Liverpool boasting woodland, lake and fields, with botanical and historical interest. There is plenty to do around this park whether it be discovering more about the ancient megaliths that the park is named after, feeding the ducks by the lake or grabbing a coffee at the mansion.
This park has a lot of history behind it and was named after the Calder Stones- a group of six megaliths (pre-historic stones) which date back further than Stonehenge and that once stood in the green space. The Calder Stones are the remains of a Neolithic burial chamber which once stood on the edge of the Harthill Estate, which later became Calderstones Park.
The megaliths have moved from different locations in the park, from the park’s entranceway to the greenhouses in an attempt to preserve them but the temperature and humidity affected them. The six surviving stones are now arranged in two parallel rows and allow visitors to observe more closely than before but still remain in a protected environment.
Also home to the extraordinary, 1000-year-old Allerton Oak, look out for its hollow trunk and branches supported by stakes. Apparently, its dilapidated state was due to the explosion of the gunpowder ship, Lottie Sleigh, over three miles away on the River Mersey in 1864. This ancient tree in Calderstones Park was also named England’s ‘tree of the year’ in 2019 by the Woodland Trust.
There’s also the Harthill Botanical Gardens to explore within Calderstones Park and is the perfect place for an unhurried stroll. Founded in 1802, there are almost 4,000 species of plants to discover, brought from ll over the world by merchants and other travellers. The park also boasts more gardens including a Japanese garden, old English gardens as well as woodland area that is beautiful come autumn time with the floor covered in leaves.
The park also features a lake for you to feed the ducks and geese. There’s also the Calderstones Mansion House, which was once the old farmhouse and now features a café- and of course no trip would be complete without a slice of cake from there. Calderstones Park is also home to the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament so if tennis is your game its also well worth a visit.
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