The park
Ballymena’s People’s Park has four floodlit astroturf tennis courts that cost nothing and need no booking. Bring a racket and a couple of balls and play until the lights go off. That, more than the heritage, is what keeps the 45-acre park busy. It’s a working local amenity rather than a tourist stop: Green Flag-rated, a short walk from the town centre, and used across the day by dog walkers, schoolchildren and families.
A Victorian park, given to the town
The park opened in 1870, gifted to Ballymena by Sir Robert Alexander Shafto Adair on land that had been part of the Ballymena Castle demesne. It has kept the bones of a Victorian public park while picking up modern additions. The most photographed of those is Five Apples, a stainless-steel sculpture by the Japanese artist Shiro Masuyama, installed in 1999, its mirrored surfaces catching the light against the greenery.
The lake, walking and play
The heart of the park is the People’s Park Dam, a lake busy with ducks and geese. Regulars turn up teal, greylag goose, mute swan and the occasional tree creeper. If you want to feed the birds, use the ‘Ducks Choice’ feeding stations rather than bread; they stock food that won’t upset the water. A flat, well-surfaced path circles the lake, with plenty of benches for a rest.
The play areas are split into junior and senior zones, with slides, swings, climbing frames and a big tube slide, and open lawns alongside for kicking a ball about or flying a kite.
Sport and the community garden
- Tennis and bowls – four floodlit astroturf courts (free, no booking) and a traditional outdoor bowling green.
- Outdoor gym – a circuit of weatherproof exercise stations for a quick session.
- Community garden – run by the local charity Base, which uses the allotment as a therapeutic horticulture space for adults with learning difficulties.
Getting there and practicalities
The park is on Doury Road, an easy walk from Ballymena town centre and reachable by the town service bus. There’s on-site parking; note that Mid and East Antrim charges for parking in parts of the borough, so check the signage on arrival.
Opening hours follow daylight and change with the season: the park is open 8am to 8pm in summer (1 May to 31 August) and 8am to 6pm in winter (1 September to 30 April). The toilets, play areas and tennis courts all close earlier than the gates, so don’t leave the courts to the last hour of a winter afternoon. Toilets include baby-changing and a Changing Places facility, and dogs are welcome by arrangement.
For opening queries or to report a problem, the council parks team is on 0300 124 5000 or Parks@midandeastantrim.gov.uk.
It’s a five-minute walk back into Ballymena for lunch, and the park is at its best on a bright spring or early-summer day, when the beds around the bowling green are in flower and the tennis courts are yours for the taking.