Yarrow Valley Country Park and the Yarrow Rocks Play Area in Chorley

What it actually is

Yarrow Valley Country Park is a large outdoor park on the edge of Chorley, described on the council's own page as "a 700-acre facility, run by Chorley Council, including a café and information hub built using Heritage Lottery funds". It has held Green Flag status since 2004. The draw for families is a combination of two things: a natural-materials play area called Yarrow Rocks, and a network of waymarked walks through woodland and alongside water.

The play area is the part worth being clear about, because it is not a standard swings-and-slide playground. The council describes it as "a play space in which young people are encouraged to challenge themselves and take calculated risks", and lists the features as a giant rope swing, a natural climbing wall, a rock stack, an embankment slide, a basket swing and a sand pit. That is a good fit for children who like to climb and test themselves. For under-fives it works, but with supervision: the page specifically asks that "parents and carers take particular care to watch toddlers as there are a number of attractions designed with older users in mind". A basket swing and a sand pit will hold a two-year-old happily; the rock stack and rope swing are aimed higher.

How a visit tends to go

Most family visits start at Birkacre, where the Treeface café, the information centre and the main car park are. There is a large information board by the café and car park, and cycle parking is available. A height restriction barrier is in place at that entrance, so anything tall needs the overspill car park instead — worth knowing if you are arriving in a camper or a high-roofed van.

There are three other car parks, at Duxbury, Euxton and a small one at Dob Brow off Yarrow Valley Way. Parking charges apply at Birkacre; the other car parks are free of charge. Check the venue listing for current charges rather than relying on anything written here.

A typical pattern is play area first, walk second, café at the end — or the reverse if you want to tire everyone out before cake. The Treeface café has "a range of drinks, cakes, snacks, homemade meals and ice cream". You can also bring a picnic; the council asks that litter goes in the bins provided and notes that BBQs and fires "are not allowed in any of the borough's parks or open spaces at any time".

For the walking part there are four waymarked routes — yellow, red, green and blue — with downloadable guides on the council's page. Picking one before you set off is sensible with children, since the park is big enough to over-commit by accident. Footpaths have been resurfaced and steps improved through Duxbury Woods, Yarrow Meadows, Wallets Wood, Kingsley Wood, Copperworks and Big Wood, and "where possible stiles have been replaced by kissing gates to improve access for those with low mobility" — useful if you are pushing a buggy, though a country park on a wet week is still a country park.

Facilities, dogs and the weather problem

Confirmed facilities here are parking, a café, toilets with baby changing, and an accessible toilet. The council states that "toilet facilities including baby changing and accessible facilities are available to all park users", which means a nappy change does not end the visit.

The park is dog-friendly, but with a rule attached at the play area: "dogs must be on a lead at all times and kept on the main path, away from the play space".

The honest limitation is that this is entirely outdoors. There is no indoor attraction to retreat into if the weather turns — the café is the only shelter, and the walks and the climbing equipment will both be less appealing in persistent rain. Plan it for a dry day, bring wellies for the woodland sections regardless, and expect mud.

There is also live work on site: the council page carries a December 2025 note that visitors "may notice work taking place at the reservoir". Worth a quick check on their page before setting off, in case access near the water is affected.

Who it suits

Best for families with children who are steady on their feet and keen to climb — the Yarrow Rocks features reward that. Younger siblings are not excluded, but need an adult within arm's reach. Older children who have outgrown toddler playgrounds get more here than they would at a standard park, between the rope swing, the climbing wall and the distances involved in the longer waymarked routes. Other groups use the site too, including Wigan & District Angling Association, which holds the fishing rights at Birkacre, and Euxton Canoe Club, who use the big lodge on alternate Fridays and Sundays — so there is often something to watch from the bank.