Harlow Town Park

One of the largest urban parks in the country, Harlow Town Park is a Grade II listed green space that covers 164 acres of stunning landscape. Designed by the celebrated landscape architect Dame Sylvia Crowe in the 1950s, the park was an innovative part of the "New Town" movement, created to bring nature and fresh air to residents moving away from post-war London. Today, it remains a premier destination where mid-century design meets modern family adventure. The park is famous for its unique series of five themed gardens, most notably the Water Garden, where natural springs feed three cascading ponds filled with ducks, fish, and the occasional kingfisher. For animal lovers, the legendary Pets’ Corner—open since 1966—is a must-visit, housing everything from traditional farm breeds like Oxford Sandy and Black pigs to exotic llamas and reindeer. Whether you are exploring the Newfoundland Garden (a tribute to Harlow’s twin city), watching a performance at the 1970s bandstand, or walking through the wildflower marshes, the park provides a rich, multi-layered experience that feels both historic and full of life. Tips for your visit: • Pets’ Corner: This community favorite is free to enter! You can buy special animal feed from vending machines for just 20p to get a close-up encounter with the friendly residents. • The Water Garden: Look for the "Pisces" sculpture by Jesse Watkins at the heart of the cascading ponds; it’s a perfect spot for quiet reflection and wildlife photography. • Spurriers House Café: Located in a restored Victorian villa, this café is the ideal place to grab a coffee or a light lunch after a long walk through the meadows. • Active Fun: The park features a state-of-the-art skate park, an adventure playground, and an outdoor gym, ensuring there’s plenty of energy for visitors of all ages. Harlow Town Park is a sophisticated and sprawling landscape that captures the optimistic spirit of post-war design while offering a lush, natural escape for today’s explorers. 🌳🦙⛲

· via Google

Harlow Town Park – Perfect family day out Harlow Town Park is a fantastic place for families and one of our favourite parks to visit. The park is spacious, clean, and beautifully maintained with plenty of green areas for walking, relaxing, and children to play. There’s so much to do in one visit — from peaceful lakes and gardens to the adventure playground and Pets’ Corner, which makes it ideal for a full family day out. The wide paths are great for prams and little walkers, and there’s always plenty of space for kids to run around safely. A lovely park for fresh air, nature, and quality family time. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Harlow, especially with children.

· via Google

Was a really lovely park :) easily spent 2 hrs here (free parking in the school lane car park) and could have stayed longer. We just went to the bit with the pets corner; there's a lovely little wooden throne & stalls when you first enter the park, and a little stream by the path. Good signage to the loos, and there were quite a few animals in the outside enclosures. Play area next to the toilet block/pet corner entrance & everything is free to access including the other pet corner bit with more animals including meerkats and chickens (this bit didn't open until 11am, but we could access the outdoor paddocks before 11). The kids loved it - especially because there was an ice cream truck too! (There's also a cafe & lots more parts of the gardens we didn't have time to explore).

· via Google

Lovely little gem of a place defiantly worth a visit small but enough littles love it with mercats and chickens goats and small section of fish and amphibians The park is one of the bigger better parcs we've been to my 2.5 loved it so much

· via Google