Decided to give Homestead Park a go with my power chair rather than my scooter. I had my email to the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust half written in my head, asking if they could make the crazy paving a bit smoother and found that they have done exactly that: the pathway near the pond that was a bit rough going is now tarmac like most of the rest of the paths – hooray!
Homestead Park, York
I still emailed them, though, to enquire if the surface of
the car park could be improved as it is really bumpy and they promptly replied
to say that they are looking to improve it, so good news all round for those of
us who like a smooth ride when possible.
Circle Garden, Homestead Park, YorkCelebrating 800 years of York as a city
It was a lovely, sunny day so the park was being very well
used: the children’s play area seems really popular and there were plenty of
people admiring the gorgeous flower beds.
Homestead Park, York
There always seem to be improvements on the go. During our
last visit, they were replacing the trees on the Cherry Walk and these were in
bloom and looking lovely. There was a guy in waders clearing the pond and
plenty of other staff generally tending the place, which is always immaculately
kept.
Always improvements going on at Homestead Park, York
Great to know that they are committed to improvements in
accessibility as well as in horticulture!
I thought I was going to be blogging about Rowntree Park but when we got there (as we half expected) it was closed because the river is in flood. (The rest of the city is fine, just a couple of riverside paths are under water!)
Instead, we tracked across town to The Homestead and discovered that, whatever the time of year, there is always something interesting to see there.
Spring flowers at The Homestead
They are replacing the old flowering cherry trees in the Cherry Walk (and in fact seem to have planted lots of new trees all round the park) so that particular part was fenced off, but you could get round to see all the rest of the park by just taking a different route. There are plenty of daffodils out as well as camellias, hyacinths, primulas, scillas, hellebores and lots of ornamental bushes with interesting foliage.
Gearing up for Spring at The Homestead
When we last visited they were creating a space with some seating next to the mediaeval garden. This is now finished and has an attractive water feature.
Medieval Garden at The Homestead
The park also has a children’s play area and pop-up café, although these was shut on the day we visited probably because the heavy rain had made everywhere so muddy. There is also a rock garden, pond and plenty of benches and also toilets including an accessible one which no longer seems to need a RADAR key.
Hellebores at The Homestead
The car park has several marked Blue Badge bays and although there is some rather bumpy concrete to get over to reach the path, and some of the paved paths are a little rough, most of them are tarmac.
Plenty of daffodils are already out at The Homestead
It’s good to know that The Homestead can be enjoyed at any time of year and as the weather improves and the tree-planting is finished, it can only get even more beautiful!
The Homestead Park, York, is a 14 acre park belonging to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in the grounds of what was the home of Joseph’s son Seebohm, which is now the headquarters of the JRF.
The Homestead, York
You can enter on foot from Waterend or from Shipton Road, where the carpark is, which includes several Blue Badge spaces. It’s gravelled, so my powerchair would not have coped with it, but we had taken my scooter, so, having parked in the bay nearest the gate, it was just a case of bumping over some concrete before the tarmac began. The paths in the park are largely tarmac with some crazy paving and flat except for a few sloping bits near the pond – easily avoidable if needed and there are a number of benches as you go round.
Formal beds, The Homestead
The whole place is beautifully kept – I expect it’s lovely all year round but this was certainly a good time to visit as there is lots of blossom as well as spring flowers, some in immaculate formal beds with wonderful colour combinations, others in less formal herbaceous beds and perhaps because of the previous day’s rain, there was a lovely woodsy smell.
The Homestead, York
There is also a medieval garden, constructed in honour of the 800th anniversary of York being granted a royal charter.
Medieval Garden, The Homestead
The pond, surrounded by acers and rhododendrons was a surprise – we must have missed it when we visited once, many years ago.
The pond, The Homestead
There is lots of play equipment for the under-12s, as well as plenty of grass to run around on, toilets, including accessible ones (they require a RADAR key – I contacted the JRT after our trip to check if this was the case and they said the park staff always have a spare one) and there was also a pop-up reading café in operation the day we went.
Blossom at The Homestead, York
Noticeboards by each entrance have a plan of the layout of the park and leaflets about the park, the wildlife and the trees which you can also download from their website and there are signposts pointing out where things are. There is information about the park on DisabledGo, but as ever, it’s completely contradictory, including saying that there isn’t level access to the accessible loo! This is why sites with reviews are a much more reliable source of information – I shall submit a review to what is probably the most extensive one, Euan’sGuide, soon!
The Homestead, York
I can imagine us going back to The Homestead Park in summer to see how the formal beds have changed – it’s not a long visit (unless you sat in the sun for a while or spent a long time in the reading café!) but it was such a pleasure!
Another lovely York park is of course Rowntree Park with its pond, café, play equipment and ducks!
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