The Countess of Chester Country Park covers 29 hectares, with the Land Trust owning 19 hectares and the NHS owning the remainder. A significant proportion of this diverse site was once a landfill remediated in the 2000s into a country park. Officially opened in 2014 by the Duchess of Cornwall the park has since become a popular community space providing many ecological and social benefits with a particular focus on health and wellbeing.
The park features a rich variety of wildlife including buzzards, butterflies, several wildflower meadows, a reed bed wetland and a nature reserve, alongside cultural highlights such as sculptures, memorials, and art trails.
A site within the centre of the park is used by the Life for Life Memorial Forest charity. This is a very peaceful space where people can have trees planted to remember loved ones.
The Land Trust, TCV and their team of volunteers, the NHS and the Friends Group work together in unison for the benefit of the park and its visitors. This is reflected in the park retaining Green Flag status since 2018. Additionally, the site holds the Chester parkrun – a free community 5km running event held once per week, which sees over 400 runners every Saturday.
Open access
The car park is always open, from Monday to Friday it costs £1 for two hours. Parking is free during evenings & weekends.
The Little Owl pub & restaurant located on Gawer Park, is approximately 5 minutes away from the Countess of Chester Country Park Car Park.
Surfaced paths and gates allow disabled access
Maintained footpaths
Well-controlled dogs welcome and please ensure your dog has good recall before letting off from the lead, within the nature reserve section of the park all dogs must be kept on a lead. Please do not leave dog litter in the park.
TCV (The Conservation Volunteers)
Valley Drive,
Chester,
Cheshire,
CH2 1UL
