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family · Wednesday 1 July 2026 · Various 
Park Life Family Events - Lisburn and Castlereagh Parks 2026
At Various parks - Wallace Park, Moira Demesne, Moat Park · Various parks, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Co. Antrim
At Various parks - Wallace Park, Moira Demesne, Moat Park · Various parks, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Co. Antrim
Every summer, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council turns the borough’s parks into free family days out through the Park Life programme. Running from early July to the end of August 2026, it cycles through four parks - Wallace Park in Lisburn city centre, Moira Demesne in Moira village, Moat Park in Dundonald, and Lough Moss Community Garden in Carryduff - bringing a different flavour of event to each location week by week. If you have children between roughly two and twelve, this is one of the easiest summers-in-the-park experiences in the north: no ticket, no queue to buy a wristband, just show up.
The programme mixes themed character days with hands-on activities and live music. Past and confirmed events include Jurassic Adventure shows (live performers and giant inflatable dinosaurs), Heroes and Princesses Days, Messy Bug Ball sessions, Teddy Bears Picnic mornings, and Plant and Play gardening activities for smaller children. On weekends, local bands perform in the afternoons. Saturday morning slots typically run 11am to 1pm; Sunday performances tend to start around 2pm. The first confirmed event for 2026 is Heroes and Princesses at Moira Demesne on Tuesday 1 July, 11:00am to 1:00pm.
The parks themselves are worth the trip outside event hours. Wallace Park is a 26-acre Victorian park gifted to Lisburn by Sir Richard Wallace in 1884, with a duck pond (the old town reservoir), cricket ground, tennis courts, and a children’s adventure play area rebuilt in 2012. Moira Demesne is a 40-acre demesne with origins in the 17th century, when Sir Arthur Rawdon planted exotic specimens from Jamaica - it is one of the oldest botanical park landscapes in Ireland, with long walkways, picnic sites, and open amenity grassland.
Lisburn city centre - and Wallace Park - is straightforward to reach. From Belfast, take the A1 dual carriageway south-west; the journey takes around 20 minutes by car. Translink operates regular bus and rail services from Belfast Great Victoria Street and Belfast Lanyon Place to Lisburn, with the train journey taking roughly 15 minutes. Moira village is a further 10 minutes west by car, with Moira train station (on the same Belfast - Dublin Enterprise line) a short walk from Moira Demesne. Street parking is available near all the parks; Wallace Park itself has car parking off Warren Gardens.
The Lisburn and Castlereagh area sits in the southern part of Co. Antrim, close to the Lagan Valley Regional Park and within easy reach of the Causeway Coast. There is more to see in Antrim and across Co. Antrim.
Heading to Various parks - Wallace Park, Moira Demesne, Moat Park in Antrim? Antrim has plenty more to see. Read the Antrim area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.