Falsgrave Park
Falsgrave Park is valuable community green space, attracting
visitors from all over Scarborough to it's play area, scenic
variety, woodland splendour and stunning coastal
views.
Over the last few years this park has changed a lot. In 2001
Falsgrave Park was run down and under used. The state of the park
was highlighted by a young park user who organised a petition with
local residents asking the Council to make the play area better.
This brought the community together and the Friends of Falsgrave
Park was formed.
With the help of Scarborough Borough Council the Friends of
Falsgrave Park successfully applied for funding to get the play
area everyone wanted. One of the best play areas in town. This has
been a catalyst for many more of the improvements throughout the
park such as footpath and lighting improvements, the creation of
the wildflower meadow and mini stone henge, Conduit House
restoration, and habitat creation and bird feeding area.
There are three main areas to the park, the lower
area which contains the play area, the middle area which is
predominantly woodland and the upper area which is open grass
and wildflower meadow.
Lower Area
This zone contains the children’s play area
and the main path through the park, which links Oak Road and Spring
Bank.
The play area is well located with good visibility from the
footpaths and local houses, and is completely surrounded by a one
metre high fence, making it dog free. It has a wide range of play
equipment for all ages, including a separate toddler’s area.
The play area also includes timber play sculptures, butterfly
borders, seats and picnic benches, and a kick-a-bout area with two
goals and Scarborough’s first legal graffiti wall.
Further improvements to the play area have been achieved in
2006 through the "Twirl and Whirl Fundraiser".
The play area and main path dominate the character of this
zone; the landscape is open grassland with individual trees and
ornamental borders. The grass slopes are very attractive in spring
as they contain around 20,000 daffodils in some 12 different
varieties.
The southern end of this zone has many winter flowering and
colourful foliage plants to provide interest to the visitor at
times other than in the summer months.
Woodland
The second zone is the woodland that runs across the middle of
the site along the steepest section of slope. The woodland is
sycamore dominated with little mature under-storey, but more
diverse tree, shrub and bulb planting in recent years has
introduced greater variety.
A bird feeding area is located at the edge of the woodland,
containing a picnic bench, bird tables and wildlife interpretation
board.
There are both formal surfaced paths and informal woodland
tracks/steps in this area. A small section of boardwalk provides an
access from Parkfield Close. There are excellent views across the
town from this zone, and several timber seats are placed at the
best viewpoints.
The historically important Conduit House is located in the
woodland zone, as the area contains many springs.
Springhill Meadow
The third section is the top field known as Springhill
Meadows. This area contains wildflower meadows, amenity grass,
hedgerows, picnic tables, carved log benches, an orienteering
course, a totem pole and a stone circle.
The stone circle was created with the wildflower meadows in
2003 from local limestone, and is a visual folly also used for
events. This zone also contains the largest area of relatively flat
grass in the park and so is used for most of the larger community
events, e.g. sports days, Halloween.
History
Falsgrave Park was created as a public park sometime between
1875 and 1892, where the park was used even then as a green area
for informal recreation by the close community of Falsgrave. But
the parks historical significance dates back to the 1300 century.
In 1319 the springs of Falsgrave Park were used to supply the town
of Scarborough with drinking water.
Friends of Falsgrave Park
The Friends of Falsgrave Park are a very active
community group within Falsgrave Park. They organise many events
and activities based in the park and work very closely with
Scarborough Council with the development of the park. The excellent
work that has taken place with the help of the friends has resulted
in the first Green Flag Award for
Scarborough Borough, which was achieved in 2005.
Getting to the Park
Falsgrave Park is on the outskirts of Scarborough town, and
runs adjacent to the A64 Seamer Road, just off Falsgrave
Road.
The park can be entered off Spring Bank, West Bank, Springhill
Road, Oak Road and Springhill Lane. Grid reference:
502954/487545
Parking
Although there is no official car parking for the park, there
is on street parking available on most of the streets next to the
park.
The park is 10 minutes walk from Scarborough town centre and
the railway station. Bus services 2, 17,7 and 843 run at regular
intervals to near the park.
Access
The park is on a sloping site, the slope facing eastwards toward
the sea with a height difference of forty metres between
the top and the bottom. It is possible to access all areas of the
park with the use of ramps avoiding steps, although parts of the
park are on a steep slope and will present a challenge to less
mobile people.
Dogs
The only bylaw in place for Falsgrave Park is the Dog Prohibited
Areas, Removal of Canine Faeces and Dogs on Leads byelaws.
These were made by Scarborough Borough Council in 1996 under
Section 164 of the Public Health Act 1875 and Section 12 and 15 of
the Open Spaces Act 1906.
Within the play area dogs (except assistance dogs) are
prohibited. Along the main path and on the lower grass slopes dogs
must be on leads. In the remainder of the park dogs are allowed off
leads.
Throughout the entire park owners are required to clean up
after their pets. There are dog waste bins at the Springhill Lane
entrance, and dog waste is also allowed in the litterbins if in
sealed plastic bags.
Related Documents
Flasgrave Park Management Document
Related Pages
External Website Links
Contact Details
Parks and Countryside Services Manager
Manor Road Nurseries
Manor Road
Scarborough
YO12 7RY
Telephone: 01723 374079
Fax: 01723 500259
Additional Contact Details
Park Ranger Service
Telephone 01723 374079 (During office hours)
Mobile 07967465290 (Out of Hours)
Office Hours
08.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday
Telephone enquiries:
08.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday
Fax or e-mail anytime.