With a total of 23 parks and 55 open spaces, Norwich is a wonderful City in which to take a leisurely spring stroll on a Sunday afternoon. Most of the parks are already bursting with colourful blooms. Along with the tulips and pansies, you can admire sunflowers in Heigham Park.

Heigham Park opened in 1924, the first of a wave of new purpose built public parks to be constructed in Norwich after WW1 with the intention of providing work for the unemployed. Today the park remains largely faithful to the original plans, which were drawn up by then Parks-Superintendent, Captain A. Sandys-Winsch. It is included in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

In addition to the welcoming statement that you are entering ‘A place of charm and quiet beauty’, Heigham Park now features The Sunflower Gates at its entrance. The Sunflower Gates once formed part of an ornamental iron pagoda that was constructed by Norwich Iron Founders, Barnard, Bishop and Barnard. The two-story pagoda was first shown at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, and then in Paris, after which it was sold to the Norwich Corporation (now Norwich City Council) for £500 and erected in the newly completed Chapelfield Gardens. The pagoda existed until 1949 when it was dismantled after falling into disrepair during WW2 (although Glenn Miller and his band gave a performance there in 1942). Only the sunflower gates survived and for many years these served as the entrance to the Heigham Park tennis courts.

During the 1990s the gates were removed for restoration, which was undertaken following a provision of funds by the local community. They were restored to become the gates at the park entrance in 2004.

Ideal for a walk on a summer's day, Heigham Park can be found between Recreation Road and The Avenues in Norwich. It contains the Royal National Roses Society’s trial gardens, bowling green and pavilion, lawn tennis courts, pergola, and a fantastic children’s play area. The park is open daily until around 8.30pm (May) and around 9.30pm (June & July), when the beautiful sunflower gates are locked.

Please click here for a Norwich City Council document detailing the location and facilities of all of Norwich's parks (PDF 380KB).