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Swanley Park is a beautifully undulating 60 acre Park
located between Swanley and Hextable which provides
the biggest ‘green lung’ of the parish and
is one of the most popular and well used parks in the
region. The facilities have been developed over the
last 20 years and the Park is the envy of many other
local authorities. It attracts visitors from a wide
area and is maintained to the highest standard by the
excellent parks department.
Five separate parcels of land were originally acquired.
These areas had earlier been used for a variety of purposes
– one was a disused horticultural college, another
area was an orchard and there were some old redundant
buildings of a defunct farm. The large boating lake
that is so well established is man-made, which comes
as a surprise to many people who believe it is a natural
feature of the park.
Swanley New Barn Railway is a very
popular attraction, built and managed with the help
of a very willing band of local volunteers. It consists
of 800m of track forming a loop around the park and
passengers can board at “Lakeside” or “New
Barn Halt” stations and enjoy a scenic train journey.
The trains are equipped to carry pushchairs and buggies.
The railway is open for passenger carriage from Easter
to September.
More recent additions to the park are the paddling
pool and sand play area and family enclosure where young
children can play in safety. Older children can use
up their energy nearby at the large, well equipped play
park.
To celebrate the Millennium a wildflower meadow was
planted and local residents helped develop this area
with tree and other planting to encourage wildlife into
the area. For the Queen’s golden jubilee a new
avenue of trees was planted in the park and many of
the trees were donated by local people. Each spring
the area is brightened by swathes of daffodils planted
by local children.
Converted from an existing cow shed using unemployed
youngsters, the café is open during the summer
months providing reasonably priced hot and cold refreshments
including drinks, snacks and ice creams.
Events are often held in the Park and include Fun Days,
musical events, cross country running and model yachting
competitions. Watch the local press for details of these
events.
Swanley Environmental Group
A group of local people keen on their local environment
have been working in partnership with the Town Council
to develop a natural area in Swanley Park since 2001.
So far a wildflower meadow has been created together
with new hedges planted, a log pile area laid down,
bird boxes put up and native trees planted to enhance
the area. The group meets five to six times a year and
the children especially enjoy working there. |
