Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
The first public park in Oldham, Alexandra Park opened in 1865 — built partly as a job-creation scheme for cotton workers left idle by the American Civil War’s blockade on raw cotton. William Henderson laid out the grounds around a boating lake and a Victorian conservatory, both restored with Heritage Lottery money and reopened in 2004, alongside a scatter of statues, a bandstand and free tennis courts. It’s free to walk round any day, with the Rochdale Canal a couple of miles west if you fancy extending the walk.
