Parks and gardens

Enjoy a stroll in the fresh air, let the kids run wild on a play park, or get active on a fitness trail.

From the ancient woodland of Sherwood Forest to wildlife havens created from former industrial landscapes, Newark and Sherwood has a whole variety of green spaces wait for you to enjoy.

We manage the following large parks in the district:

We’re also responsible for the conservation of our parks and green spaces and for designating and caring for our nature reserves. Newark and Sherwood District contains an impressive range of habitats, each supporting its own characteristic species.

Family parks and gardens you can visit locally include:

We manage and maintain a number of smaller parks for Newark Town Council including Sherwood Avenue Park, Riverside Park and Barnby Road Park.

We’re also responsible for the management and maintenance of many public gardens including Fountain Gardens, Beaumond Gardens and Friary Gardens in Newark, as well as a number of small gardens, village play areas, riversides and churchyards.

For more information about Newark Library Garden, see Update on land adjacent to Newark Library.

NGS Open Gardens

Each year the National Garden Scheme encourages people to open up and showcase their private gardens. The NGS National Garden Scheme website lets you search for an open garden near to you. All gardens are open for charity.

Sports facilities

The district has a wealth of sports pitches, tennis courts and bowling greens. Find a local sports ground or facility by visiting our clubs and groups page.

Grass cutting

We’re responsible for cutting grass on over 400 sites across the district. The grass on these sites is cut to varying lengths and at varying frequencies. Some areas are now managed as meadow to help with local biodiversity.

There are a number of other organisations in the district responsible for grass cutting, including parish councilsNottinghamshire County Council and the Environment Agency.

For any enquiries concerning grass cutting please contact us on customerservices@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or call 01636 650000.

Britain in Bloom

Britain in Bloom is a nationwide community gardening campaign run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Its aim is to empower the public to transform cities, towns and villages through planting. It's been helping people to improve their local areas since 1964.

Visit the Newark in Bloom website for more information.

‌Allotments and community gardens

We manage one local allotment. Most allotments are managed by town and parish councils. Find out more on our allotments page.