Hazlehead Park

Hazlehead Park
Snow covering the woods of Hazlehead Park
Type	Public Park
Location	Aberdeen, Scotland
Coordinates	57°8′19″N 2°10′43″W / 57.13861°N 2.17861°W / 57.13861; -2.17861
Area	180 hectares (1,800,000 m²)
Created	(bought by the city for the public) 1920
Operated by	Aberdeen City Council
Status	Open all year

Hazlehead Park is a large public park in the Hazlehead area of Aberdeen, Scotland. 180 hectares in size, it was opened to the public in 1920, having formerly been the estate of Hazlehead House, home of William Rose, shipbuilder.

A large, heavily wooded park on the outskirts of the city, it is popular with walkers on the many tracks through forests; sports enthusiasts (particularly mountain bikers); naturalists; and picnickers. Horse riders from the nearby Hayfield horse centre ride on the tracks that snake through it.

There are football pitches, two golf courses, a pitch and putt course and a horse-riding school. The park has a significant collection of sculpture by a range of artists, including the memorial to those who lost their lives in the Piper Alpha disaster. It also has heritage items which have been rescued from various places within the city, and it features Scotland's oldest maze, first planted in 1935. There is a cafe which will be reopening in summer 2012.

In September 2007, Hazlehead Park was host to the Northsound Radio concert, Free 2007. It took place on Sunday 2 September 2007, and claims to be the biggest free outdoor event in Scotland.

The park is most famous for its two 18 hole and its pitch and putt golf courses. The courses are public owned and there are no handicap or other restrictions for those who play on them.

The "Number 1 course" was designed by Alistair MacKenzie, better known for designing the Augusta National.