Exhibition Park

About Exhibition Park

Exhibition Park sits at the southern tip of the Town Moor, a ten-minute walk up from Haymarket, and it takes its name from the great exhibitions once staged here, above all the 1929 North East Coast Exhibition that drew millions of visitors to the site. The park is arranged around an ornamental boating lake, with a restored bandstand, mature trees and broad lawns, and it doubles as one of the city's main outdoor events grounds, hosting festivals and gigs through the summer. The domed pavilion that survives from 1929 now houses Wylam Brewery, so the park has a rare combination of formal Victorian greenery and a working brewery taproom on the same lawns.

For families the draw is the play provision, which was rebuilt as part of a £3.2 million restoration completed in 2015. The fenced children's playground sits on a soft safety surface with swings, slides, climbing frames and spring toys for younger children, and the centrepiece is a tall rustic wooden climbing structure with a metal tube slide that older children make a beeline for. Alongside the play area there is outdoor gym equipment, a skate park added in the same scheme, resurfaced tennis courts and a café, so a visit can easily fill an afternoon. It is free, open at all times, pram and wheelchair friendly on made paths, and Haymarket Metro is the nearest station.

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