Chingford Park
Suzanne Middleton, Wild Dunedin – Feb 7, 2024
Chingford Park, with arguably the best collection of mature exotic trees in urban Dunedin, is very easy to find at 411 North Rd in the North East Valley.
The entrance is dramatic and enticing with large iron gates and an avenue of oak and beech trees leading to a bridge over Lindsays Creek and historic Chingford Stables. This is a park for everyone, with a playground, vast sports fields, spectacular exotic trees, a creek to discover freshwater crayfish, galaxias and mayflies, tui, bellbirds and shining cuckoos, disc golf, picnic tables, and toilets at the rear of the cricket pavilion.
Gorgeous gum tree beside Lindsays Creek in the playground. Image by: Suzanne Middleton
Tree lovers will be captivated by the variety and age of the introduced trees here, the legacy of merchant P C Neill, who took the property over from Dr Andrew Buchanan, who had named it after his home in England, in the 1870s. A stand of redwoods at the end of the cricket field, an umbrella elm on one of the wedding lawns and a very old bulging eucalypt in the playground are highlights.
For the more adventurous there’s a bush walk on the hill behind the stables, through native and exotic species, that takes about 15 minutes.
A giant macrocarpa leads the way to the Stables. Image by: Suzanne Middleton
A highlight of the 2024 Wild Dunedin Festival will be held in Chingford Park. Art Play in Nature, where everyone can participate in creating a collage on the lawn using autumn leaves and other materials from nature will also feature displays and activities for all ages from local conservation organisations, coffee, food and music.
SUMMARY:
Chingford Park is a very large urban park with towering exotic trees, wide open spaces and peace and quiet close to the centre of the city.
To get there: The park is easily accessible at 411 North Rd, with parking on North Rd or Ainslie Place where there’s another entrance. Or you can catch the No 8 Normanby bus.
