Crawley’s green spaces: Tilgate, Goffs Park and the Memorial Gardens

About Crawley’s green spaces: Tilgate, Goffs Park and the Memorial Gardens

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

For a new town, Crawley is remarkably green. Tilgate Park has lakes, gardens and miles of woodland paths; Goffs Park, the oldest park in the town, has a lake, a pitch-and-putt course and a Victorian house; and the Memorial Gardens bring trees and a bandstand into the town centre.

The planners of 1947 wanted every Crawley neighbourhood to feel like a village, and the town kept its woods and parks. Three of them make a good day out on their own.

Tilgate Park

Tilgate Park has been owned by Crawley Borough Council since 1966 and open to the public since 1978: lakes, lawns, gardens and miles of woodland paths, with rowing boats, pedalos, canoes and paddleboards on the lake.

Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.

Goffs Park

Goffs Park, on Horsham Road in Southgate, is the oldest park in Crawley: more than twenty hectares of woodland, lawns and conservation habitats, with a Green Flag award. Goffs Park House, first called Goffs Hillhouse, was built in 1882 for the Sussex banker and landowner Edwin Henty. There is a lake, a tree trail, an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course, a model railway and the Goffs Manor pub and restaurant.

The Memorial Gardens

In the town centre, on College Road, the Memorial Gardens have mature trees, shrubs, a Victorian bandstand and a play area. Look for the autumn colour of the sweet gum and dawn redwood, and in spring for the white bracts of the handkerchief tree.

Practical notes

Goffs Park is a short walk west of Crawley station over the level crossing and up Springfield Road; the Memorial Gardens are about five minutes north of the station.

Our advice: spend the morning in the Memorial Gardens and on the High Street, then take a picnic to Goffs Park or Tilgate for the afternoon.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Crawley’s green spaces: Tilgate, Goffs Park and the Memorial Gardens before you go.