Hardwick park

Overview of Hardwick Park

Hardwick Park is just on the outskirts of Sedgefield which is in County Durham. This site is owned by Durham County Council and because of this they can get quite strict. Just to warn you it’s pay and display but there is lots of disabled parking there so you shouldn’t have a problem parking there. Disclaimer if there is an event on then it might be hard to find parking but that happens rarely.

The walk is a mile and a half long but there are plenty of places to stop to sit down on the route. Hardwick Park route is really wheelchair accessible and buggy friendly. As well as this the walk is very peaceful which is good for people with autism, a learning disability or dementia.

It is really family friendly they have a lot for kids to do, they have play parks for them, do birthday parties and have a baby changer in the disabled toilet.

History of Hardwick Park

Hardwick is a Grade 2  listed site constructed in the 18th century with many historical sites to explore. In the 18th century a man called John Burdon wanted to create grounds for himself to enjoy. He unfortunately died in 1792 and the estate was a mess and therefore the estate needed work during to it.

Furthermore, in 1999 Durham County Council set out a restoration project to improve the park they managed to get funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund for about £4.1m to restore the site to what you see today. Work was completed in 2010 when the park opened its doors to the public.

Facilities

• ·    Gift shop
• ·    Toilets
• ·    Play parks
• ·    Classroom
• ·    Exhibition centre

• Other things in Hardwick Park to be aware off

• You can feed the ducks for about £2.00 and you need to have cash on you this needs to be paid for by cash at gift shop
• They do parkrun on a Saturday and Junior park run on a Sunday for kids
•  If you have a Parkrun barcode you can park for free on a Saturday and Sunday in between 9-11
• Hardwick Park  have a festival every year called Hardwick Live
• There is a hotel on site which runs completely separate from Hardwick Park.