I went to visit the new deserted 19-acre park in Chadderton

Opened last month, the park runs alongside Foxdenton Lane and follows a winding loop around formerly overgrown land.

It's part of a redevelopment of the area, which has also seen the opening of a new Aldi supermarket on Lydia Becker Way and the ongoing construction of 500 new homes and 6,000 square feet of “employment space” set to bring 2,000 new jobs to the area.

Broadway Green park, Chadderton (Image: The Oldham Times)

I went to check out the new park to see where it fits into the redevelopment of Broadway Green.

My first task when arriving at Foxdenton Lane was to look for the entrance. As it is very new, it does not appear on Google Maps so I had to start at the existing park and figure it out from there.

Luckily, it did not take that long as I spotted some of the new picnic benches and the new playground from across the road. There are also entrances from Lydia Becker Way and Broadway, as I found out further into the walk.

Some areas of the park are more wooded (Image: The Oldham Times)

The first thing that struck me about the park was the fact I was the only one there. Perhaps I came at the wrong time of day – a late Tuesday morning – but when I tried talking to passersby outside the park, they had either not heard about it or had only seen it for the first time that day.

Nevertheless, embracing the peace and quiet, I started along the gravel path that lines the park, which is almost valley-shaped with a small stream running through the centre of it.

On one side of the park, you can see and hear the rumble of construction equipment, working on the early stages of the new housing development and on the other side there is a recently completed estate on land that was formerly occupied by the Matthew Fold Farm.

Residents living there have easy access to the new park as there are steps connecting it to the estate.

While the path does follow a circle around back to the Foxdenton Lane entrance, there are different paths that branch off. The first leads to the top of a hill, which gives you a panoramic view of the park and surrounding area.

The view from the platform at the top of the hill (Image: The Oldham Times)

The second path branch I explored led towards the Broadway entrance and through a wooded area.

It appears as though the park will only get greener over time as there are fledgling trees planted all over.

The area is quite hilly, and some of the paths that branch off are quite steep, which may be difficult for some people.

Walking at a leisurely pace, while also stopping to take some photos, it took me around 40 minutes to complete the full circle around the park.

There are some open grass areas, as well as around 10 picnic benches dotted around the park, which will be perfect for relaxing during warmer weather.

The children's play area at Broadway Green park in Chadderton (Image: The Oldham Times)

Although there aren’t any other facilities at the park, its proximity to the historic Foxdenton Park and Lydia’s Tearoom means you can easily find somewhere to rest, grab a brew and make an afternoon of it.

Towards the end of my wander around the park, I did come across some fellow walkers who were more than happy to have this new park on their doorstep.

If I were to live closer to the park, I would definitely be there on my lunch break, boosting my daily step count and I have no doubt it will be a lot busier as we move towards more sunny, summer days.