Friends of CHaT Parks

13/09/2026

This afternoon is the Friends of CHaT Parks guided walk in Thornes Park as part of Heritage Open Days 2026. Meet at the car park opposite the athletic stadium at 2.30pm for a walk on the paths around the park and hear about the history of the park and the people in it .

10/09/2026

The second Heritage Open Days event will be
on Sunday 13th September when Chris Welch will lead the second of two walks with a stroll through Thornes Park unwrapping the history of some of features of this park and the lives of the people within it. Meet in the car park opposite the Athletics Stadium in Thornes Park. The walk will be on paths and is suitable for mobility scooters.
Meet at 2.30pm in the car park opposite the Athletics Stadium in Thornes Park, Horbury Road, Wakefield, WF2 8TY.
The walk will last about one and a half hours. Pre-booking is not necessary.

More information:

10/09/2026

Heritage Open Days comes to the Park with two events run by the Friends of CHaT Parks this weekend.

On Saturday 12th September there will be a short guided walk and talk with Chairman Ian Deighton about the Forgotten Castle of Wakefield at Lowe Hill.

Booking is required for this event which is not suitable for mobility scooters, wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Please meet at 2.30pm in the car park opposite the Athletics Stadium in Thornes Park, Horbury Road, Wakefield, WF2 8TY.

For more information and booking details:

The Friends of CHaT Parks will be holding two walks in Wakefield Park. On Saturday 12th September and Sunday 13th September there will be two walks through the history of the three parks and the people who lived and worked in them.

08/09/2026

Wakefield Music Collective present an afternoon of brass band music at the Bandstand on September 20th.

Wakefield music collective presents

The Big Easy Duo are coming to Clarence park September 20th to bring you an afternoon of swing music!

Get yourselves down 2 - 4 pm!

08/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who supported the car boot sale on Sunday. This was the last one this year and we will begin again in 2027.

08/09/2026

The ticket office in Thornes Park is now closed while building work will be carried out to build toilets.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvCdwt9i7/

🚧New accessible toilets are coming to Thornes Park!

Work starts today to deliver new accessible public toilets, baby changing facilities, a new access ramp and other upgrades at Holmfield Park Pavilion.

We expect the works to be finished by December 2026. In the meantime, you can still use the toilet facilities available outside Thornes Park Stadium during the works.

We also wanted to thank the Friends of CHaT Parks for their support.

Find out more: https://www.wakefield.gov.uk/your-district/work-begins-on-new-accessible-public-toilets-at-thornes-park

Wakefield Council

02/09/2026

The RSPCA Fun Day and Dog Show in Thornes Park will be on Saturday September 5th from 11am to 4pm, with the dog show starting at 12 noon. This is a rearranged date from June 27th when the RSPCA local branch decided that the ongoing heatwave was too severe for the show to go ahead.

02/09/2026

This Sunday - September 6th - is the final car boot sale for the Friends of CHaT Parks. Sellers can arrive from 7am and buyers from 8 am to 12 noon. The entrance to the car boot sale is on the Denby Dale Road ( the same side as the Bandstand) where there is a banner, the postcode is WF2 8DY. The stewards will guide sellers to a space. No booking is necessary for sellers. The cost per vehicle is £10 car; £2 for a trailer and £15 for a van/car sideways. Exit onto Park Avenue. Items for sale should be second-hand. No knives or weapons.We look forward to seeing you then.

26/08/2026

It's a busy week in the park this week. The pay and play games are open every day and equipment can be hired at the ticket office by the tennis courts.

On Monday evening there's a free session of Tag Rugby at the athletic stadium at 6pm.

On Tuesday morning the Walking Fit Group meet by the tennis courts at 9.30am.

If it's Wednesday it must be Weeding Wednesdays with the Friends of CHaT Parks and the Park gardener. Meeting from 1-3pm in the Flower Garden in Thornes Park just bring a trowel and gardening gloves and help keep our park beautiful.

At the weekend, the Wakefield Thornes parkrun meet on Saturday morning at 9am and the Wakefield Thornes junior parkrun meet on Sunday morning at 9.00am. Both groups meet at the car park near the children's playground.

Of course, Sunday afternoon wouldn't be the same without the wonderful Thornes Park Miniature Railway, Wakefield which runs from 1-4pm near the children's playground.

There's plenty to do in the park, or you could just stroll around and enjoy the flowers!