Salisbury Woodland Gardens

Salisbury Woodland Gardens is an open space located in the east of Blackpool, flanked by East Park Drive and Woodside Drive and linking Blackpool Zoo with Stanley Park. Known simply as the 'Woodland Gardens' to local people, the site was acquired in 1924 by Blackpool Corporation and was originally developed as a shelter belt for the adjacent Stanley Park Golf Course. The gardens were later developed in the 1940s as an arboretum and public open space for all to enjoy. It was renovated in 1967 by Peter Perry and his 'Flying Squad (see below). Popular once as a wedding photograph location, the site went into decline during the 1990s. The council's Ranger Service manage and protect the gardens which they took over in September 2006 and have been funding and undertaking the restoration of the woodland. In 1967, Parks Director Norman Leach appointed gardener Pete Perry and his Flying Squad of gardeners to plant up the gardens. All plants, (primulas, meconopsis, etc.) were grown from seed in the greenhouses at Stanley Park, and planted en masse. Extra shrubs, including azalea were also planted.