Play area

The play area, located to the far west of the park, can be accessed via Ridlins End (adjacent to the garages) or through the park. The play area has a limited range of equipment for juniors.

The site has a pavilion, an athletics stadium and two 7-a-side football pitches.

Managing play areas

Play areas are managed closely and inspected daily; litter bins are emptied and litter or broken glass is removed. Play equipment is inspected once a week to ensure safety for continued use.

If you have visited any of our parks recently and found a problem with the equipment or with general cleanliness, please let us know.

Getting to the park

The park lies in the south west of the Shephall area between Woodcock Road, Gresley Way and Shephall Way.

Ridlins Park
Woodcock Road
Stevenage
Herts
SG2 9QZ

By Car

The park can be accessed from Woodcock Road, off Gresley Way. The car park is at the main entrance and has disabled parking.

On foot

Pedestrians can access the park from points around the edge of the park through the surrounding residential areas of Ridlins End, Gonville Crescent, Gresley Way, Kestrel Close and Ridlins Wood.

Cycle Access

A shared use cycle track and footpath runs adjacent to the eastern and southern boundaries of the park.

Public Transport

Residential areas bordering the park and Gresley Way benefit from a bus service providing excellent access to those who rely on public transport.

Ridlins Wood

This 7 hectare wood is situated on Shephall Way between Shephall and the Poplars.

Ridlins Wood is an ancient woodland site. This is defined as an area of land which has been continuously wooded since at least 1600AD. This type of woodland, which is now very rare, provides a habitat which, due to the undisturbed nature of the soil, can never again be reproduced. It is home to species of plant and animal which cannot easily adapt to changing conditions. Probably the best loved and well known of which is the Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), whose spectacular spring display often gives such woodlands the local name of the ‘Bluebell woods’.

Ridlins Wood is divided up into several compartments. Entering from Shephall Way, you will find yourself amongst old, large, Hornbeam and Ash coppice with Oak standards. This area has not been managed since before World War 2, so the individual stems of the coppice are at least 80 years of age while the coppice stools themselves are probably several hundred years old.

Walking through the wood on your left, alongside Ridlins Park, you will see rows of mixed conifer trees consisting of Larch, Pine and Spruce. The similar sized Oaks and Ash are reputed to have been planted by Italian prisoners of war during World War 2.

Further on, on your right, you will enter an area consisting of mainly broadleaved trees of a variety of species established in the early 1980s. These are now being managed for the benefit of local wildlife as well as a recreational amenity for local residents.