Rushcliffe Country Park receives 19th consecutive Green Flag Award!
Last updated: 24/7/2025
Rushcliffe Country Park has received its 19th consecutive Green Flag Award, celebrating its status as one of the country’s best parks.
The popular park in Ruddington has been named again among 2,250 other UK places that have received the prestigious award, which sets the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the UK and around the world.
The green space has been recognised for its diverse range of habitats for wildlife including woodlands, grasslands, a lake with a reed bed, wildflower meadows and more. It’s also home to a variety of birds and at quieter times of the day badgers, foxes, hares and muntjac deer have occasionally been spotted.
The park also boasts a network of over eight kilometres of footpaths and a dog agility course and is home to the Rushcliffe parkrun and Rushcliffe junior parkrun attracting hundreds of friends and families each weekend.
Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) owns and manages the park with the support of its park rangers, Streetwise, the Council’s grounds maintenance team, and the Friends of Rushcliffe Country Park (FoRCP) volunteer group who help protect habitats, focus on conservation work and improve the park and its facilities.
RBC investments in the park include a play area, café, outdoor shelter, visitor centre, bookable meeting room, electric vehicle charging points, pathway restoration work, refurbished toilets, shade sails, skatepark and BMX track.
RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Wellbeing, ICT and Member Development Cllr Jonathan Wheeler said: “We’re absolutely delighted to raise the Green Flag at Rushcliffe Country Park for the 19th year! It’s a fantastic achievement to be recognised as one of the best parks in the country.
“It’s a testament to the excellent work and dedication that takes place here week in and week out from our park rangers, FoRCP volunteer group and our Streetwise team who help to maintain the green space so that everyone can enjoy it.
“The park attracts over 300,000 visitors a year and there is so much to do with a large children’s play area, BMX track and skatepark, outdoor gym, sensory trails and more!
“There are also picnic benches across the site so friends and families can enjoy a lovely day out and have a bite to eat in a beautiful setting.
“Our excellent facilities also include the café Coffee and Cake by the Lake, visitor centre, bookable meeting venue and Changing Places toilets.
“Thank you to all our staff and the FoRCP who go above and beyond every year to build on its continued success and improve the park and facilities for everyone to enjoy.
“The local volunteers have greatly contributed to the park over 20 years, as well as conservation work such as hedge laying and tree planting, they have created a number of educational trails and recreational activities around the park.”
FoRCP Chairperson Rosemary Dove added: “We’re proud to be awarded with Green Flag status again. It’s recognition of the hard work from the park rangers and Friends’ group that goes into looking after the park.
“We enjoy creating a fantastic space for the residents of Rushcliffe and the community who enjoy coming here.
“Our members do a lot of conservation work, help the rangers with the park management and do a lot of surveying and biological recording. We’ve recorded over 2,000 species of flora and fauna here at the park.
“We’re hosting our annual wildlife day on Wednesday August 27 so come down and visit us!”
Every Wednesday morning, FoRCP welcome park goers to the visitor centre, where they sell a selection of items including books, homemade jams and honey made from the park’s bees to raise funds for the park. The Friends are always delighted to see and chat to visitors there.
Their door is always open to new volunteers, and anyone interested in joining the group can email countrypark@rushcliffe.gov.uk, phone 0115 921 5865 or search ‘Friends of Rushcliffe Country Park’ on Facebook.
The Green Flag Award is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.
Parks are a vitally important part of this country’s green infrastructure, providing opportunities to improve physical and mental health even in the most built-up urban environments. It is estimated that active visits to parks in England result in £2billion of avoided costs of ill-health every year.
For more information about Rushcliffe Country Park and details on how to plan your next visit, or book the meeting room, please go to www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/rushcliffecountrypark