Bucks parks reopen following PM's coronavirus lockdown modifications

Changes to the government's coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions this week mean that people can now sunbathe or picnic in a park with members of their own household – or one individual from two separate households can meet if they maintain social distancing.

As a result, from Wednesday 13 May, Langley Park, Black Park, Denham Country Park and Thorney Park are all back open for business allowing visitors to exercise more, take a walk, or simply enjoy a picnic in some of the most beautiful surroundings in Buckinghamshire.

Reopening the country parks has however meant introducing a number of restrictions to meet current social distancing requirements. All toilets, cafes, playgrounds and play areas in the parks have to remain closed. As such, it is important to note that there are no hand washing facilities at the parks.

Some other areas will also remain closed until new arrangements have been made to enable social distancing, including the Go Ape facility at Black Park, Temple Gardens in Langley Park, and the visitor centres.

The dedicated car parks remain in force, meaning that a ticket needs to be purchased from one of the machines or making sure existing parking season tickets are clearly displayed.

Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Sports and Leisure, Clive Harriss said this was another important measure to help residents as the country takes its first tentative steps to sensibly and safely emerge from the lockdown.

"In addition to our municipal parks, footpaths and rights of way which have all remained open during the pandemic, I'm delighted that, as the government has now relaxed restrictions on exercise and travel, we can now reopen around 800 acres of beautiful county park land to the public.

"Of course, we do need visitors to play their part by maintaining a two metre gap from anyone not in their household, keeping dogs on leads at all times and taking all litter home. With the toilets not currently open, there are no hand washing facilities, so we'd also ask visitors to bring their own hand gel or sanitiser as they would do when out and about anyway. We are looking at how we can resolve this issue in the longer term."

Clive added, "To help us and to maintain the safety of others, please ensure you read all the relevant signage in the parks and leave extra gaps between cars when parking in the car parks. Height barriers are also in place at the car park entrances so please check the height of your vehicle, particularly if you have a roof mounted bike rack and bike attached."

For further details on the reopening of country parks and all other service area changes, please click here.