Clifton Park Gardens

Clifton Park is the beautifully landscaped garden with a Georgian house providing sweeping views, specimen trees, and leafy avenues.

Dotted within it are horticultural gems, the memorial garden with its stunning bedding display, the carpet bed, rock garden and walled garden.

A tour around the park is a joy for the garden enthusiast.

Walled Garden

This secluded and tranquil part of the Park offers a place for schools, volunteers and community groups to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs. There are apples, pears, cherries and other trees against the sunny South facing wall. Some plots are permanently planted, for example, with rhubarb, gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries. Other plots are maintained by groups to grow a variety of produce under the guidance of the Horticultural Officer. Schools can attend regularly to learn about the importance of plants and how they grow. Other features of this garden include the Walker sundial, a clay bread oven, a mosaic compass with the Walker crest by local artist Maggie Howarth and a huge stone trough.

Memorial Garden

The Memorial Garden has always been a place for outstanding floral displays. With the central fountain, now permanently engraved with the names of Rotherham's VC holders, it is also a pleasant place to sit and reflect. When the Park was regenerated in 2009/10, box hedges were added to the memorial garden to add structure. The bedding plants are changed twice a year, with tulip and other bulbs planted in autumn for spring flowering. There are approximately 7,000 plants put in by the Park's Gardening team each season - a lot of hard work goes to produce these stunning displays.

The Carpet Bed

This was traditionally planted up by the Park's Horticultural Apprentices who have included a number of people who have since graduated to supervisory roles in RMBC. For a number of years the bed was unplanted or only had bedding in it, but in 2011 it was replanted by the first Park's apprentices in over 20 years. The first design was the Friends of Clifton Park logo and the bed was designed by the Park's Horticultural Officer. The design for 2012 will be to commemorate the London 2012 Olympics and the design has been approved by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Rock Garden

The Rock Garden was relandscaped in 2009/10 and includes a waterfall and several ponds. The rock is of a different type to the prevailing sandstone bedrock of the area, thus enabling plants which need a different pH to be established. There are some interesting plants in the area which are not found elsewhere in the Park. This includes several Japanese maples which provide stunning autumn colour, bamboos, a yellow weigelia and a laciniate (narrow leaved) beech tree. The planting around the waterfall is predominantly naturalistic with grasses and herbs; in due course it is expected that marginal water plants will also be placed in the ponds. This will add to the display of colour and attract wildlife.

Garden House and Courtyard

This elegant new building contains a visitor reception, indoor and outdoor event spaces, toilets and bowls pavilion.

Bandstand

Perhaps Clifton Park’s most famous landmark. Look out for details of forthcoming free concerts.

You can hire the bandstand for your own concert or special event.

Roman Granary

Impressive remains relocated to Clifton Park in 1922 when steel works were extended across the site of a Roman fort at Templeborough, west of Rotherham town centre.