Winter Wonderland attraction proving as popular as ever

30 January 2023

The popularity of Chorley town centre's Christmas attraction, Winter Wonderland, showed no sign of slowing during the recent festive season.

The Winter Wonderland, organised by Chorley Council, saw over 8700 visits to its real ice rink alone, with town centre footfall for December seeing an increase on the previous year.

Deputy Leader of Chorley Council, Councillor Peter Wilson said: "It is great to see that so many people enjoyed the Winter Wonderland again. We deliver this attraction and other activities not only to provide entertaining things for people to do but also to attract footfall to Chorley to support local businesses who have had a really challenging time over recent years."

Chorley town centre on the whole saw an increase in footfall of almost 13% for December 2022 compared to the same month in 2021. It was also good news for the whole of 2022 with footfall increasing by 23% on 2021.

The ice rink, which ran between 9 December and 2 January and has kept its skating prices the same since 2018, saw visitor numbers of over 8700 for both 2021/22 and 2022/23, not including those who just visited Betty's Tipis or children's rides which were also part of the Winter Wonderland attraction.

Chorley Council delivered several other events and activities to attract visitors over the festive season, such as visits to Santa, the Santa Express land train, ice sculptures and entertainment creating a fantastic atmosphere.

Cllr Wilson continued "The footfall figures are really encouraging, and we'll do what we can to ensure this continues. We're are already busy planning a packed schedule of events for 2023 to help generate footfall and showcase Chorley, so watch out for further details.

Events for 2023 include 'What's Your Story, Chorley?' on 25 March, Chorley 10K, A Taste of Chorley, Picnic in the Park and of course the ever popular Chorley Flower Show. Further details will be available on the Check Out Chorley website.