Discover Heywood: Parks, Valleys and Railway Experiences

Heywood offers a varied getaway combining parkland, wooded valleys, railway experiences and active days out on the bike. Anyone looking for holiday accommodation can tailor their stay to their own interests: peaceful moments in nature can be followed by cultural impressions, a journey on the historic railway or a cycle ride along a car-free route.

Queen's Park between lake and activity

Queen's Park has a picturesque lake that visitors can enjoy. This gives the park a distinctive appeal for travellers who do not want to spend their holiday constantly on the move, but also wish to take in a landscape at their leisure. At the same time, it has an activity centre with a BMX track. This makes it possible to combine relaxing moments in the park with sporting interests when planning a trip, without every holiday day having to follow the same pattern.

The history of Queen's Park also gives this place a special character: it opened in 1879 with money provided to the town by Queen Victoria. This historical connection makes the park an interesting destination for visitors who enjoy linking their trip with local history and tangible sites. For families, the change between lake, park and activity centre can keep the day varied, while the different interests within the group can be given differing weight in the travel plans.

Wooded valleys and expansive views

Those wishing to get to know the character of the surrounding landscape will find spectacular views in the wooded river valleys and hillside areas of the Ashworth and Roch Valleys around Ashworth Valley. This combination of woodland, valley scenery and hillsides particularly appeals to travellers who enjoy being outdoors on holiday and are looking for changing landscapes. Plan a separate day trip for this and choose your accommodation so that it suits your preferred pace of travel: holiday accommodation can serve as a personal retreat between nature and cultural experiences, without requiring any particular facilities.

Railway and cycle route as special experiences

The East Lancashire Railway offers a professionally guided Rail Ale Trail. It also runs an annual programme of events for all ages and interests. Alongside the landscape, this provides an opportunity to discover Heywood from a cultural and experience-focused perspective. Depending on your travel plans, you can combine a railway day like this with a walk, a visit to the park or another activity.

For cyclists, a new link path from the East Lancashire Railway station in Heywood is particularly interesting. It forms part of the Rochdale Canal towpath route, which is considered relatively easy, car-free and family-friendly for all cyclists. These features can help you decide whether you would prefer a cycle ride without motor traffic or another type of outing during your holiday. Those travelling with children can take the nature of the route into account when planning the day; the specific length or duration of the ride is not fixed by this.

Choose the right starting point

When looking for accommodation in Heywood, it is worth deciding first what you would like to focus on. Those interested in nature can consider Queen's Park and the landscapes of the Ashworth and Roch Valleys, while culture and railway enthusiasts can include the offerings of the East Lancashire Railway in their plans. For active days out, the Rochdale Canal towpath route provides another option.

If you would like to expand your travel plans with pages about other places, you can also visit Ashton-In-Makerfield, Marple, Romiley, Cheadle, Standish, Horwich, Egerton and Stalybridge.

For the higher-level travel overview: Greater Manchester.