Friendly Parks for All

We are working to improve the impact, reach and quality of access to parks and open spaces in the borough to residents who experience barriers to access.

Currently the model is being developed in six parks:

The model of accessible Friendly Parks for All has been developed in consultation with several local care charities in order to meet the needs of their clients.

The model includes:

Additional seating and resting places
Act of Kindness benches to encourage conversations between park users
Improved paths and improved access, entrance/exit markers and a meeting point to aid navigation and help orientate yourself within the park
Signage and routes marked with specially designed way finders
Sensory trails

Seeds of Change

The Seeds of Change project aims to encourage more use of parks and open spaces by local people.

For more details see the Seeds of Change newsletter or contact Frances Bennett by email at outdoor.learning@outlook.com.

Accessibility guides

Accessibility guides have been developed for all five parks:

Accessible walks and other activities

As part of the Friendly Parks for All project there are free weekly activities held in one of the Friendly Parks. These are held in association with local charities Ruils and Richmond Borough Mind.

Current programme

Self led trails and activities

Each of the Friendly Parks for All has a waymarked trail to follow or you can explore the parks using downloadable activities available on the links below.

There are additional trails available using the Go Jauntly app. Download the app for free on the App Store or Play Store.

See the entry for each park for more details:

Kneller Gardens activities

Kneller Gardens includes an accessible Sensory Trail and Tree Trail. These can be used by visitors to explore and become more familiar with the Park.

All Ability bike sessions are being run in Kneller Gardens, please see the above leaflet.

View leaflets for:

Carlisle Park Sensory Tree Trail

Carlisle Park includes an accessible Sensory Tree Trail, which allows visitors to navigate the park following the trail whilst getting to know more about the trees here.

Carlisle Park Sensory Tree Trail leaflet (pdf, 1.6 MB)

Heathfield Sensory Trail

Heathfield Recreation Ground includes an accessible Sensory Trail and Sensory Path. There are also plans for an outdoor gym suitable for older people and people with limited mobility.

Heathfield Sensory Trail leaflet (pdf, 1.1 MB)

Stay up to date! Make sure you subscribe to our email updates.