I don’t remember there being a winter so filled with mist and this year has been magical for it. Our second visit of the season to Haigh Hall Country Park was shrouded in mist.
The first visit
Back in December we (Jit and I) wanted to get the family outside for a bit rather than sitting inside in the warm. So over a hot tea, I clicked through nearby places on Trip Advisor on my phone and discovered Haigh Hall. Getting everyone wrapped up warm we headed the slightly longer journey than I had anticipated (I checked it from Manchester and not the Wirral whoop!)
To be honest, it really was cold on our first visit and we didn’t get much of a hike in as my sister and parents’ aren’t into it. We were just glad to get them outside for a bit even if it did mean that they got chilly!
However, it was a great place from what we saw in our short visit that we knew that we would be returning.
Back again
Trying to come up with places hat were local for an afternoon wander I remembered Haigh Hall. So we quickly packed up the cat with our outdoor gear and a picnic and headed out to Wigan for some outside adventure. While we had been in at Haigh Hall Country Park in December, I had noticed on my Googling that there are three routes within the park and another Jubilee walk that takes you beyond the boundaries. As we only had an afternoon we decided to stick with a shorter way marked walk so headed out for the red route.
The red route is pretty straight forward, although some of the way markers are missing or difficult to find so I would recommend using View Ranger app or similar for plotting and tracking your route.
I have been using View Ranger for a while now and I thoroughly recommend it as you can track where you are going as well as check for other paths. This was especially useful on our trip to Haigh Hall as we hit some boggy parts after all the rain so were able to quickly and easily find alternative routes to keep us a little bit cleaner at least!
The route
Anyway, you start out at the car park and pass by the golf, courtyard (and toilets!), play areas, house and walled garden and the route takes you into the wooded area. After exploring within the main parts of the park, the route begins to take you around the edge and onto the canal towpath as well as around the woods by the main entrance. There are definitely some muddy bits but these can be avoided with a little bit of route planning.
As you can see from the pictures, there is plenty of of to get your feet stuck into – literally! But there is a lot of hard standing too. If you’re looking for somewhere near to Manchester with reasonably priced parking and loads of stuff to do for the whole family, then I would definitely recommend Haigh Hall. We are already planning out next trip to do some more of the way marked routes as well as explore the Jubilee Legacy walks.
Whether we will see some dryer weather at the weekend or not, Haigh Hall is worth checking out. The kids will have an amazing time anyway!
Wishing for the weekend already…
Have you been out for some outside adventures lately? Where have you been?
Let me know in the comments below 🙂
Haigh Hall Country Park and Woodland
School Ln, Wigan WN2 1PE
Haigh Hall Woodland Park
Features: Cafes, toilets, cheap car parking, HUGE play area, crazy golf, golf, walled garden, shopping, views, woodland walking routes (x3), treetop adventure, mini railway dog friendly.
Resources: Map and Instructions for Red Walk