Things to Do at Croxteth Hall and Country Park

Croxteth Hall and Country Park covers around 500 acres of east Liverpool woodland, pasture and trails, with a working farm, a Victorian Walled Garden, a children's playground and a miniature railway surrounding the historic hall.

The useful thing to know before going is that these do not all operate to the same opening times. The country park is open throughout the year, while Croxteth Hall generally opens for specific tours and events. The farm and miniature railway are separately operated and have their own prices and timetables.

For anyone living around Croxteth, West Derby, Norris Green, Gillmoss and the wider north-east of Liverpool, the park works just as well for an ordinary walk or run as it does for a planned family day out.

Croxteth prices and opening hours

Walk through the 500-acre country park

You could come to Croxteth without entering a single paid attraction and still have plenty of ground to cover.

Liverpool City Council describes the estate as a 500-acre country park with woodland, pastures, ponds and streams, connected by a network of paths and trails. The council also publishes a Croxteth Park 5km walking and running route for anyone who wants a defined circuit rather than making it up as they go.

The scale is easy to underestimate if you normally stay around the hall, farm and main car park.

Head further into the estate and it feels very different from a normal urban park. Historic England's record of the registered park describes the River Alt, Hall Brook, woodland belts, parkland and the historic drives that formed part of the Croxteth estate.

For local runners, dog walkers and people who simply want some space, this is probably the most useful part of Croxteth.

Paths vary. Some of the main routes are straightforward, while woodland and less formal sections can become muddy after prolonged rain, so footwear matters if you intend to explore beyond the main buildings. Our guide to Liverpool's parks covers how Croxteth compares with the rest of the city's green space.

See inside Croxteth Hall, but check the date first

The biggest mistake is assuming the hall operates like a museum that opens every morning.

It does not.

Liverpool City Halls currently states that guided tours are available on selected dates, with visitors directed to the venue's current What's On listings for actual opening days. The country park can therefore be open while the inside of Croxteth Hall is closed to ordinary visitors.

If you have booked a tour, it meets at the West Entrance, the black doors directly opposite The Garden Bench. Liverpool City Halls asks people to arrive ten minutes before the scheduled start.

It is worth making the effort when the doors are open.

Croxteth Hall is a Grade II* listed country house. Grade II* is the heritage category used for particularly important listed buildings considered to be of more than special interest. Historic England dates the oldest surviving section to around 1575. Other parts were added around 1702, between 1874 and 1877, and again in 1902.

That explains why the building does not belong neatly to one architectural period.

Croxteth was the ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton, and the estate developed over centuries rather than being designed as one finished country house. Our history of Croxteth Hall covers the family, the 1952 fire and how the estate came to the city.

Inside, rooms including the Drawing Room, main staircase and servants' areas can be opened as part of tours and heritage days.

Croxteth Hall tours and open days

As of 30 September 2026, the next advertised Croxteth Hall tours are on Friday 9 October and Wednesday 14 October, with sessions at 11am and 2pm. Tickets are advertised at £10 to £15.

Liverpool City Halls also runs Heritage Market and Open Day dates through the year. Those have been self-led rather than guided, at £5 adults and £2 children aged two and over, card only, with last entry at 3.15pm. The September Heritage Open Days free tours have now finished.

Dates change, so check the Liverpool City Halls event listings before travelling and do not assume the hall is open just because the park is.

Visit Croxteth Park Farm

For younger children, the farm is probably the part of Croxteth most likely to turn a walk around the park into a half-day visit.

Croxteth Park Farm operates separately from the hall and keeps traditional and rare breeds, including a herd of Irish Moiled cattle. Its site also advertises small-animal petting from 10am at no additional charge beyond farm admission. Dogs are not allowed inside the farm.

The farm setting also makes more sense once you remember that Croxteth was a working estate. Farming was part of the place long before the grounds became a public country park. Historic England records Home Farmhouse, south of the hall, as an early 19th-century building with an extension from the 1860s. The surrounding farm complex also includes the former dairy, stable buildings and other surviving estate structures.

There is one practical problem at the moment: the farm's admission price is stated inconsistently. Its main page currently says £6 per person, children under one free, with opening 10am to 5pm and last entry at 4pm. Other pages on the site and several listings still show £5.

That means it would be misleading to present one figure as certain. Budget for £6 per paying visitor and check the Croxteth Park Farm website before setting out.

The farm also has an indoor play barn. Its news page advertises sessions for children aged eight and under at £3, with different session lengths at weekends, in school holidays and in quieter term-time periods.

Farm rules require children under 16 to be accompanied by an adult. Visitors are asked to wash their hands after animal contact, eat only in designated café or picnic areas and feed animals only with food supplied by the farm.

Larkin's Café without paying for the farm

The café is useful even if you have no intention of visiting the animals.

Croxteth Park Farm says Larkin's Café and Farm Shop is open to the public from 8am, seven days a week, and you do not need to pay farm admission to use it. It also sells farm produce, including rare-breed pork and beef, eggs and local honey.

That makes it particularly useful for morning walkers, runners and people meeting in the park.

Dogs are not allowed inside the café building, although the farm has a separate outdoor seating area where they are welcome.

There is also Café 1575 connected with Croxteth Hall, but Liverpool City Halls describes both the hall and Café 1575 as seasonal and dependent on events, so do not assume it will be operating whenever the park is open.

Explore the Victorian Walled Garden

The Walled Garden deserves more attention than it normally gets.

This was originally the productive kitchen garden for the Croxteth estate. Historic England records the brick-walled garden as dating from the mid-18th century, immediately north of the hall.

It is also connected to a much bigger piece of Liverpool history.

Liverpool's botanical collection dates back to 1803 and was founded by William Roscoe. The collection has held National Plant Collection status since 1985, covering Fuchsia, Codiaeum, Dracaena and Solenostemon, and the council cares for hundreds of plant species across it.

Liverpool City Council secured £245,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for work intended to give the collection a more permanent home, including restoration of the historic Peach House.

A council update in July 2025 said the Peach House project was progressing and that work was hoped to begin later that year, with an ambition to display botanical plants there by spring 2026. I could not find a newer official announcement confirming that the full project has been completed, so that earlier target should not be treated as confirmation that every planned part is now open.

The official Walled Garden opening information currently conflicts

There is another detail worth knowing before travelling.

Liverpool City Halls' Plan Your Visit page currently says the Walled Garden opens every day from 10am to 3pm, with last admission at 2.30pm.

However, the same organisation's visitor FAQ says it opens April to October from 11am to 3pm, again with last admission at 2.30pm.

Those two official pages cannot both be completely correct.

A third one is simply out of date. Liverpool City Council's parks page for Croxteth still says the garden is not open to the public. It is open. Take the City Halls hours over the parks page.

The likeliest explanation is the restoration work. The Peach House project was still under way at the last official update, and hours can shift around that sort of work, so 10am to 3pm with last entry at 2.30pm is the safe assumption rather than a guarantee for every day of the year.

If the Walled Garden is the main reason for your trip, and particularly if you are planning to arrive right on 10am, it is worth checking the Plan Your Visit page on the morning you travel.

Ride the miniature railway

Croxteth has its own miniature railway running through part of the park.

The Croxteth Park Miniature Railway is operated separately from Liverpool City Council's main attractions.

According to its current 2026 timetable, trains run:

• Weekends from February to the end of October
• 11am to 4pm
• Bank Holidays
• School holidays, excluding Mondays

The railway says running two trains on a Sunday depends on volunteer availability.

A normal train ride currently costs £2.50 per person.

The railway's route leaves Croxteth Halt, passes the locomotive shed, runs through its tunnel and themed sections, crosses the level crossing and returns to the station.

A small drive-your-own tram attraction at £1 per ride is listed on the railway's site as coming in spring 2026, but that date has passed without confirmation that it is running, so do not travel specifically for it.

Because the railway is volunteer-run, check its website or current social updates before promising younger children that the train will definitely be running.

Take younger children to the playground

There is no need to pay for the farm every time you bring children to Croxteth.

Liverpool City Council lists Croxteth Country Park among its parks with an outdoor children's play area.

That makes a simple low-cost visit possible: playground, walk through the grounds and a picnic, with the farm or railway added only when you want them.

Council play areas are fenced and inspected weekly, according to Liverpool's current parks information.

Dogs are not allowed inside enclosed playgrounds, which is part of the city's wider Public Spaces Protection Order covering dogs in parks.

Run or walk Croxteth Hall parkrun

Every Saturday morning, Croxteth becomes one of Liverpool's regular parkrun venues.

Croxteth Hall parkrun is a free weekly 5km event at 9am on Saturdays. People can run, jog or walk rather than having to race.

The course uses a mixture of tarmac and trail paths through Croxteth Hall Country Park.

If you have never done a parkrun before, registration is completed once through parkrun before taking part.

There is also a practical knock-on effect for anyone not running: expect more activity around the park and café on Saturday mornings around 9am.

Events at Croxteth Hall in October 2026

Croxteth is also used regularly for markets and events rather than relying only on the permanent attractions.

Guided Hall tours are listed for 9 and 14 October. The next Croxteth Hall Makers Market is on Sunday 25 October 2026, 10am to 3pm, with free entry. Liverpool City Halls says the market normally brings together more than 60 stalls selling food, drink, art, crafts and vintage items.

Hansel & Gretel is scheduled at Croxteth Hall on Wednesday 28 October, with performances at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. Liverpool City Halls currently lists tickets at £8 to £32, depending on the ticket option. The show runs for around 45 minutes and features music, puppetry, storytelling and audience participation.

The market organiser also lists Croxteth dates on 29 November and 20 December 2026.

Events change the feel of the area around the hall, and the car park is likely to be under more pressure than on an ordinary Sunday. Check the listings before travelling.

Croxteth Country Park's £2 million investment: what is planned

In September 2026, Liverpool City Council and the Queen Elizabeth Trust announced that Croxteth Country Park will be the first project the Trust supports. The initial phase brings together almost £2 million from the Queen Elizabeth Trust and the Lady Sefton Trust, with further support from the council. The Lady Sefton Trust was bequeathed for the benefit of the city and is held by the council.

The announcement names three pieces of work:

• Further restoration of the Community Garden, with a focus on wellbeing, volunteering, skills development and inclusive access.
• A natural amphitheatre.
• A pump track for children and young people.

The partnership will also help pay for a masterplan for the park's future. The council says the park already gets around 600,000 visits a year, although parts of the site are underused. The masterplan will assess the scale and order of future work and the mix of investment needed.

Council leader Liam Robinson said the aim is for the park to play “just as important a role for generations to come”. The council owns and manages Croxteth Park and stays responsible for its long-term management.

The Queen Elizabeth Trust is one of three memorial projects the Government announced in April to honour the late Queen. The King is its Royal Patron. It is in a pilot phase and launches formally in Spring 2027, with Croxteth as its first project. Details of its UK-wide funding programme are due then.

What it means for a visit now

The announcement gives no start dates, no locations within the park and no closures. The amphitheatre and the pump track are plans, not attractions, so do not travel for them yet. The masterplan is meant to set the order of work, and we will update this guide when the council publishes dates. Our history of Croxteth Hall covers how the estate came to the city.

What is no longer running at Croxteth

Older visitor guides still mention Jungle Parc, the high-wire course that used to run in the park. It has gone. The company's current sites are Warrington, Northampton and Swindon, so do not travel to Croxteth expecting the aerial course to be open.

The Croxteth Park Riding Centre is also closed. Its own website says it is not taking lessons, trail rides, Pony Club or other bookings, and no reopening date has been given. Some listings sites still show it as active.

Bringing a dog to Croxteth

Croxteth's wider park is well suited to dog walking, but it is not a case of dogs being allowed everywhere.

Liverpool City Council requires dogs to remain under control in public spaces and requires owners to clean up after them.

Dogs are prohibited from several areas including:

• enclosed playgrounds
• the Croxteth Walled Garden
• sports pitches
• multi-use games areas
• park ponds and lakes

The farm also states that dogs are not permitted inside.

So Croxteth works well for walking a dog, but a dog limits which of the attractions you can enter once you reach the hall.

Accessibility

For people visiting Croxteth Hall itself, Liverpool City Halls says the front entrance is wheelchair accessible.

Inside there are wide corridors, ramps, a lift and accessible toilets. Accessible parking is available in the Conference Car Park using the Flint Drive entrance.

Trained guide, hearing and assistance animals are also accepted inside Croxteth Hall.

The wider country park is different from the building.

With 500 acres containing surfaced paths, trails, woodland and grassland, conditions are not uniform across the estate. Anyone who relies on a wheelchair, mobility scooter or firm step-free surface should check their intended route rather than assuming every woodland trail will be suitable.

Toilets are grouped around the hall, farm and café courtyard rather than spread through the park. The official pages do not set out clearly what is open to general park visitors on days when the hall is closed, so if you need toilets or baby-changing during a walk, or a Changing Places facility, contact Liverpool City Halls before travelling.

Parking at Croxteth Hall and Country Park

For the main vehicle entrance, Liverpool City Halls advises using L11 1EH for the Muirhead Avenue entrance.

Parking is limited, cannot be reserved and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. It is free, and overnight parking is not permitted.

Current parking access hours are:

• April to October: 7am to 8pm
• November to March: 7am to 6pm

These are car park access times. They should not be confused with opening hours for the hall, farm, Walled Garden or railway.

Leave before 6.30pm to be safe. The council's own parks page for Croxteth gives different times from the ones above, stating that the gates are locked from 6.30pm to 7am between 1 March and 30 September, and from 5.30pm to 7am between 1 October and 28 February. Both pages are run by Liverpool City Council and both were live when we checked on 15 August 2026. Until they agree, plan your day around the earlier closing time rather than the later one.

On Makers Market days and other large events, arriving earlier is sensible because the same parking area is serving considerably more people.

Getting there by bus, bike or on foot

There are several pedestrian entrances, so no single stop serves every part of the park. Liverpool City Halls lists Crompton Drive as its nearest bus stop, around a one-minute walk through the park.

Croxteth Park Farm names the 18 bus as stopping outside the main park entrance, and the Merseytravel route 18 timetable shows stops on Muirhead Avenue East, including Kerman Close and Meadow Lane. Routes and times can change, so check the Merseytravel journey planner before travelling. Our guide to getting around Liverpool without a car covers tickets and the wider network.

Croxteth is particularly accessible on foot and by bike from the surrounding neighbourhoods because the estate is not dependent on one pedestrian entrance.

Liverpool City Halls says there are more than ten entrances for walkers and cyclists, with cycle racks located behind Croxteth Hall.

That matters if you are coming from West Derby or the residential areas surrounding the park. The Muirhead Avenue car entrance is not necessarily the most convenient way in on foot. If you are weighing up the area itself, our Liverpool areas guide compares Croxteth and West Derby with the rest of the city.

What can you do at Croxteth for free?

You can spend several hours at Croxteth without buying a ticket.

The country park, its network of walking routes and the children's playground can all form part of a free visit. The Makers Market is also advertised as free to enter.

The things most likely to add a cost are the farm, miniature railway, entry inside Croxteth Hall and individual ticketed events.

That makes Croxteth useful for different budgets. You can treat it as a free local park one week and come back for the farm, railway or an open day another time.

How long do you need at Croxteth?

It depends entirely on which parts you intend to use.

For a straightforward walk around the park, one to two hours is easy to fill.

A family visit including the playground, farm and miniature railway can stretch comfortably into half a day, particularly if you stop for food.

If Croxteth Hall is open and you want to combine the house, Walled Garden, farm and a proper walk through the estate, you could spend much of the day here.

The size of the park is the reason it works better than trying to rush between every attraction.

You do not need to do everything on one visit.

The important thing to check before travelling

Croxteth Hall and Country Park is not one attraction with one ticket and one set of opening hours.

The country park is open all year, but the hall opens around tours and events. The farm has its own admission system. The miniature railway follows a volunteer-run timetable. Even Liverpool City Halls' own pages currently disagree slightly about the Walled Garden's opening hours.

So decide what you actually want to do before leaving home.

If it is just a walk, run, playground visit or picnic, there is very little planning involved.

If your main reason for going is Croxteth Hall, the farm, Walled Garden or miniature railway, check that specific attraction on the day.

That small bit of checking makes the difference between getting the full Croxteth experience and standing outside a locked door wondering why the rest of the park is open.