Recreation and Play

Irnham Recreation Ground

Irnham Road Recreation Ground is one of Minehead’s key community spaces, offering a wide range of facilities for sport, play, and leisure. 
The site is best known as the home of Minehead AFC, a long-established football club with teams for all ages, from youth squads to adult sides, providing opportunities for grassroots football and competitive matches throughout the year.
The recreation ground features a full-sized, floodlit grass football pitch. For those who enjoy racquet sports, there are two outdoor tennis courts with hard surfaces, open to the public and bookable online. Families will appreciate the children’s play area, equipped with swings, slides, climbing frames and other play equipment designed for safe and active fun.
Users can also make use of the multi-use games area (MUGA), suitable for activities such as basketball and five-a-side football, alongside an outdoor gym that provides free-to-use fitness equipment for all ages. 
Parking is convenient, with ample pay-and-display spaces available at Alexandra Road car park, adjacent to the recreation ground. Whether you’re looking to join a football team, enjoy a game of tennis, keep fit outdoors, or simply relax while the children play, Irnham Road Recreation Ground is a vibrant hub for sport and recreation in Minehead.

King George V Playing Field

King George’s Playing Field, Alcombe is a spacious green area that serves as a popular community hub. It features a large open field that doubles as the football pitch for Alcombe Rovers Football Club, with a pavilion providing facilities for the team and visitors.
The site also includes an enclosed children’s play area, making it a safe and enjoyable spot for families. A pedestrian footbridge links this part of Alcombe with the Brunel Way Trading Estate and the seafront, offering easy access for walkers and cyclists. 
The field is well-loved by dog walkers but please remember to keep dogs on a lead and clean up after them to maintain the space for everyone.

Cross Farm Park

Cross Farm Park, Alcombe is a generous open green space primarily accessed from Staunton Road, with additional entry points from Quarry Close and Cross Farm Lane.
The park is characterised by its selection of mature trees and features an enclosed junior play area alongside a separate section equipped for older children. In recent years, parts of the park have been intentionally rewilded to encourage natural vegetation and enhance biodiversity.
The park is well-loved by dog walkers but please remember to keep dogs on a lead and clean up after them to maintain the space for everyone. The enclosed junior play area is a dog exclusion zone, meaning dogs are not allowed in that space at any time. 

Culvercliffe Open Space

Culvercliffe Open Space sits at the very end of Minehead’s Quay, nestled between the cobbled beach and the wooded slopes of Culvercliffe. This large, open space area forms part of the South West Coast Path, offering stunning views across the Bristol Channel before the trail winds into the Exmoor National Park woodland and onward to Greenaleigh.
Once the town’s landfill site, Culvercliffe has been transformed into a much loved open space, popular with dog walkers who enjoy the freedom to roam. Visitors can explore the sweeping grassland or follow the curving network of paths through areas of rewilding, where nature is reclaiming the land. Wildlife is abundant here, from soaring buzzards to rabbits darting through the undergrowth, making it a haven for those who appreciate the outdoors.
The site features The Queen’s Green Canopy, planted in 2022 and a number of benches installed by the Town Council in 2023, perfectly positioned to take in the breath taking coastal views. Two storm shelters provide welcome cover if the weather turns. Culvercliffe devolved to the Town Council in May 2025 and remains delightfully informal in character.
An enclosed children’s play area once stood at the entrance, but due to its poor condition, the fencing and unsafe equipment have been removed. Future plans for this area are under consideration. For now, Culvercliffe offers a tranquil, natural setting for walking, wildlife spotting and enjoying the fresh sea air.

The Esplanade

The Esplanade is one of Minehead’s most iconic features, a vibrant link between the town and the beach, sitting under the watchful eye of North Hill. Whether you’re walking to or from Butlins, heading onto the sand, exercising, or simply enjoying a stroll, the Esplanade is a space for everyone. The section maintained by Minehead Town Council runs from the entrance of Warren Road Car Park to Jubilee Gardens.
This area underwent a major transformation in 2019, introducing attractive coastal planting in waving borders and two children’s play areas, complemented by plenty of seating and shelters. It’s the perfect spot to relax, take in the views, or enjoy fish and chips by the sea. Every Saturday morning, the Esplanade hosts the popular Minehead Parkrun, drawing locals and visitors alike. For convenience, the Warren Road toilets, located near Butlins, are managed and maintained by the Town Council.
Being right on the seafront brings challenges. Wind and tides often blow sand onto the pedestrianised area and walkways, which can block drains and cause standing water. These are inherited issues, but we work pragmatically to manage them. Our team collaborates with the Environment Agency during their beach reprofiling works, allowing us to return sand to the beach and keep costs down. This usually happens twice a year, in early December and again in spring, but extra clearances may be needed depending on conditions. Drainage remains a significant infrastructure challenge, and we are exploring long-term solutions.
The Esplanade was devolved to the Town Council in 2025 to bring local ownership closer to the community. While this has largely been successful, we were unable to secure Warren Road Car Park, which limits the funding available for maintenance and means some areas remain under Somerset Council’s control. The beach itself is not owned or maintained by the Town Council, but we work closely with partners and local groups to keep it looking its best.
Minehead’s Esplanade is a space to enjoy, relax, and connect with the coast, a true focal point of our town and one we continue to care for and improve wherever possible.

Trinity Way Walk

Just off the Esplanade, this attractive walkway provides a convenient link between the seafront and the railway crossing on Seaward Way. Running behind the Trinity Way housing estate, an area that once hosted a model village, model railway, and the Minehead Lido, the path is now a popular route connecting the beach with Mart Road and the industrial estate.
The wide, surfaced path is suitable for both walkers and cyclists and it offers a great vantage point to watch trains along the West Somerset Railway. A small, enclosed children’s play area adds to its appeal, making it a pleasant spot for families or those looking for a scenic shortcut. This area was devolved to Minehead Town Council in May 2025 and continues to serve as a practical and enjoyable link within the town.

Periton Park

Hidden just off Periton Way lies a large, grassed open space that offers a peaceful retreat for residents and visitors alike. In recent years, Minehead Town Council has introduced rewilding to the site, creating a network of natural, winding paths that encourage exploration and support local biodiversity.
This area is especially popular with dog walkers, as its open layout provides plenty of room for dogs to roam freely. At the same time, sections of cut grass are maintained for ball games and general recreation, ensuring the space caters to a variety of activities. A fenced children’s play area provides a safe and secure spot for younger visitors to enjoy.
Please note: while dogs are welcome in the main park, they are not permitted inside the children’s play area.

Whitworth Road and Sycamore road Play Areas

Located at the top of Minehead within the Cuckoo Meadow estate, there are two play areas that provide valuable recreational space for local families. Both sites were devolved to Minehead Town Council in May 2025.
Whitworth Road Play Area - The larger of the two, can be accessed from Whitworth Road or Ash Grove. With new equipment installed around 2017, it offers a good range of play features for children, along with open space for informal recreation and ball games.
Sycamore Road Play Area - Situated at the end of Sycamore Road, alongside the pedestrian pathway into Woodcombe Walk, this play area provides a small, local space for families. While the site has remained largely unchanged since its original development in the early 1990s, the Town Council will continue to monitor its condition and consider future possibilities as part of ongoing reviews of our open spaces.