Glen Howe Park

The valley of the Tinker Brook first became colonised by trees after the last ice age and has remained wooded ever since. The Tinker Brook and Howe Wood were first mentioned on OS maps in 1855. Glen Howe Park was set up in the valley in 1881 through the patronage of a local businessman, Joseph Dixon, and a landowner and stonemason, John Mills. Dixon was the owner of the nearby Spring Grove paper mill at Oughtibridge and was known as a local benefactor who also provided funds towards the school and workers' housing at Wharncliffe Side. Mills had previously purchased the land on which the park now stands for £1,000. In 1881, he built Glen Howe Tower at the main (western) entrance to the park…

The woodlands of Glen Howe Park are partly natural and partly replanted with exotic species such as rhododendron and azalea. The main native varieties are oak, sycamore, beech and holly. In recent years, the woodland has been managed by the local "Fuelling A Revolution" programme which has thinned out invasive species such as sycamore, Japanese knotweed and rhododendron. A children’s play area and car park stand just outside the main entrance while another area of grassland known as the Top Field lies in the southern part of the park. The recent restoration project has upgraded and repaired many of the paths and the dry stone boundary wall.