This walk starts by the Clock Tower at Fisherman’s Walk and is a circular walk around the park. Walk Down Warrenhurst Road and the gates are directly in front of you.
The gates predate the park, the gates come from one of Blackpool’s first tourist attractions Raikes Hall, which was a pleasure park and is now housing between Blackpool Town Centre and Stanley Park. The Memorial Park started life as East Warren House, and in the early 1900s was transformed into Warrenhurst Park where Raikes Hall gates were rebuilt as the main entrance. At the time there was a boating lake, and places to play cricket, tennis, various walks and pavilions.
Fleetwood Council bought the park in 1922 to commemorate the soldiers from the town who died in the Great War. The park was redeveloped then by Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie FRIBA, who also designed new sections of the town with the original plan that the town hall would be situated in the park which never happened.
Passing through the gates we enter the park and follow through the tunnel of trees. When we get to the memorial we are going to take the outer circle and take the second path on the left-hand side. Follow this path to the end.
Here we can see Fleetwood Stadium as well as the parkour course. This was built as part of the redevelopment of the park a few years ago. The children’s play park had been next to here on the edge of the field but was moved into the area on the other side of the bushes.
Now you have a choice you can either take the lower of the higher path past the pond. If you take the lower path by the pond, sketch the ducks, and the terrapins that live in the ponds. Whichever route you take we are going to follow the path to the newer gates at the end.
Here there are a few choices, we are going to take the ramp.
Through the rose gardens and out the other side back to the war memorial. From here we are going to make a sketch, it is your choice of subject, the rose gardens, the war memorial, back towards the gates. Draw whatever calls to you.
When I was a child there were peacocks and peahens in the park, you could hear them from the streets surrounding the town. There were also different buildings here which have been replaced. But the question is if you could introduce something
Once you have done this, walk back out through the gates to complete the circuit.