· Country park with a large lake, lawn, woods, grassland and many paths, which is well used for recreation, with a visitor centre, café, caravan park, parking area, play area and playing fields.
· The lake (especially near the new ‘heritage’ railings), café and visitor centre, and nearby play area provide a focal point. This is also the location of the former 19th-century Hartsholme Hall, traces of which can still be seen in the landscape.
· Former wetlands, drained by a network of drains in the early nineteenth century
· Surviving landscape elements from earlier periods also include:
o Lake, stables, boathouse, statues, and gardens, including the yew trees of the Ladies’ Walk and many imported and native trees and shrubs, from the Hartsholme Hall grounds
o Reservoir (now the lake) and drainage channels from 19th century water supply system for Lincoln
o Drainage channels from the drainage of wetlands in the early 19th-century
o The line of the medieval road between Boultham and Skellingthorpe, now Skellingthorpe Road
· The dense woodland around the lake includes a number of exotic tree and shrub species from when the area was part of the formal gardens for Hartsholme Hall.
· There are also other areas of woodland, including birch, oak and willow
· To the south of the Character Area there are areas of acidic grassland, in ‘The Meadow’ for example
· Along the edge of the lake, and along dykes and other damp areas, there is a variety of wetland species
· Key green space and recreational facility for the city
· Provides an important recreational amenity for residents in the neighbouring housing estates, particularly Hartsholme to the east and Birchwood to the west
· Good pedestrian access is provided to residential housing estates to the east and west, and vehicle access to the rest of the city is via Skellingthorpe Road
· Together with Swanholme Lakes to the south and the Skewbridge Character Area to the north, Hartsholme Park forms part of an important continuous area of green space stretching from the southern city boundary to the northern boundary. It also includes Burton Fields, Boultham Mere and West Common and extends to just south west of the city centre.
· There are important views across the lake and along the lakesides. The nearby high-rise apartment block, Jarvis House, can be seen in many places in the Character Area.