Name: Grand opening of Plantation Gates and Lodges
Start: 2026-07-04
End: 2026-07-04
Location: Haigh Woodland Park

Contents

Restored lodges reopen with a new visitor experience
What visitors can see on opening weekend
Booking, cost and opening details

The restored Plantation Gates and Lodges at Haigh Woodland Park will open to visitors on Saturday 4 July, giving the public a first look inside one of the park’s best-known historic features after a multi-million pound renovation.

The grand opening is free to attend, but booking is required for the opening weekend. Wigan Council says visitors can reserve a slot through Eventbrite, with the booking link available on the Haigh Woodland Park website and social channels.

For anyone planning a visit, the core details are clear: the event is at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan, entry is free, the date is Saturday 4 July, and the published source has not listed a specific start time. The Lodges usually open Friday to Sunday from 10am to 2pm, with longer hours planned for the opening weekend.

Restored lodges reopen with a new visitor experience

The opening marks the public return of the Grade II* Listed Plantation Gates and Lodges, which have been renovated and reworked as an art installation and visitors’ centre.

Inside the North Lodge, visitors will be able to see an immersive visual experience called ‘What the Walls Remember’. The eight-minute work has been designed and produced by regional artists Leo Mercer and James Hooton with a team of illustrators.

The experience uses music, light and storytelling to explore the lodges, Haigh’s history, the surrounding woodland and the park’s continuing transformation. Workshop participants were invited to draw their favourite areas of Haigh, and those ideas have been incorporated into the finished piece.

Councillor Chris Ready, Wigan Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for communities and neighbourhoods, said residents had long wanted to get inside the Gates and Lodges. He said the artwork had been developed with former lodge residents, visitors, staff and volunteers at Haigh Woodland Park, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary and young people from Wigan Youth Zone.

What visitors can see on opening weekend

The headline attraction is the North Lodge installation, but the reopening also puts the restored buildings themselves back in view.

Since work began last year, the roofs on each lodge have been fully restored using Burlington Blue slates, matching the material used on the Hall and Bothy Cottages restoration. The original chimneys have been reinstated, and a roof light has been added to the North Lodge to bring natural light into the building.

Stone repairs have also been completed, along with mortar raking out and repointing. Bespoke window frames and traditional sash windows have been installed in a style intended to reflect how the lodges would historically have looked, with the colour matching the windows on the Hall.

The exteriors of the lodges and archway have had a gentle stone clean, while the gates and railings were sent off site to be shot blasted, repaired and redecorated.

Booking, cost and opening details

The Lodges will be free to access. For the opening weekend, however, visitors need to book a slot in advance through the Eventbrite link shared by Haigh Woodland Park.

Wigan Council has said the normal opening pattern is Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm, with longer hours planned for the opening weekend. A precise opening time for Saturday 4 July has not been included in the source notice.

The event is aimed at the general public, including residents who know the Gates and Lodges from visits to Haigh Woodland Park and want to see the restored interiors for the first time.

Readers looking for another free local event over the same weekend can also see details of Wigan Borough’s free Memory Walk in Leigh, which takes place at Pennington Flash on 5 July.

For the Plantation Gates and Lodges opening, the next step is to check the Haigh Woodland Park website or @Haigh.Hall on Instagram for the Eventbrite booking link.

Source: Wigan Council