Falls Park


View larger map Address: Falls Road, BT12 6AN

Entrance to the park is via Falls Road. If you are travelling by bus, take Metro no.10 A-F or 81, 81A, 82 and 82A from Belfast city centre and get off opposite the park, beside Milltown Cemetery.

Falls Park is located in west Belfast and is popular with families, children and sports teams. It contains many fine mature trees, beautiful flowers and grassland areas. The park is supported by the Friends of Falls Park group who meet regularly to support the area's management team and organise park events.

The park is home to the popular Falls Park Playing Fields, horticultural displays, a bottle bank and a children's playground.

In July 2011, Falls Park was awarded the Green Flag Award 2011, which recognises the best open spaces in the UK. It is one of seven of our parks, cemeteries and open spaces to receive this award.

Opening hours

All our parks open at 7.30am daily. Closing times vary according to the time of year - check full opening hours for parks

Events

Falls Park runs a Saturday Club as part of our Watch This Space scheme on alternate Saturdays in the park's bowling pavilion.

The park also hosts regular events, including band performances and family fun days. Details of these are listed in our park events section. Visitors to Falls Park

Contact details

For information about the park, call 07917 543626 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm only) or email culbertm@belfastcity.gov.uk

Sports facilities

Falls Park Playing Fields, located within the park, contain soccer pitches, a bowling green and Gaelic football, hurling and camogie pitches.

The pitches are open from dawn to dusk. The bowling green is open from 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday (winter) and 11am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday (summer).

To book or cancel an activity or facility, call 028 9027 0611 (Monday to Thursday, 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm, and Friday, 9am to 12pm). You can also call the bowling pavilion directly on 028 9061 3715. You can also email outdoorleisure@belfastcity.gov.uk

If you have booked a pitch and want to check whether it is still playable, call us on 028 9027 0611 (Monday to Thursday, 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm and Friday, 9am to 12pm) or on 028 9027 0677 outside these hours.

Walking routes

Located in the heart of west Belfast, Falls Park is popular with both walkers and joggers. Unmasked by Owen Crawford

History

In June 1866, Belfast Corporation (now the council) purchased 101 acres of land on Falls Road from the Sinclair family. Some of the land was set aside for the building of Belfast City Cemetery but the rest was earmarked for a new park.

However, because the land initially fell outside the Belfast city boundary, the area was not considered a public park until the Public Parks (Ireland) Act was passed in 1869.

The area now known as Falls Park was eventually established in 1873.

In 1924, an outdoor swimming pool, known locally as the Cooler, was added to the park. It cost £3,000 to build and was fed by the Ballymurphy Stream which still flows through the area today. The pool closed in 1979 for public health reasons.