# Bark Park – Wishaw
**Type:** Misadventure | **Location:** Wishaw, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom
## About
🌳 A secure dog park with some brilliant new adventure equipment... but unfortunately, our latest visit turned into a bit of a misadventure. As regular users of secure dog fields, we always try to give places a fair chance, but this visit left us feeling that there are better-value options out there.

Bark Park is part of the same company as The Bark Bistro, aka Poppy's favourite puppuchino stop! ☕🐶 We first visited here a few years ago, before our Cockapoo era – back when we hadn't discovered quite so many secure dog parks and weren't quite the regular dog park users we are now! 😂🐾 These days, secure fields have become a bit of a staple for us, partly because having a reactive dog has made us very aware of how important space and a bit of breathing room can be. We'd seen on Facebook that Bark Park had added some new adventure equipment, so we decided it was time to come back and see what we thought.

Our misadventure started before we even got through the gate. 😂 The people in the park before us left dead on 10am, which was technically the end of their booking, but as our booking started at 10am too, they still needed to close the gate, get their dogs back into the car and drive away. By the time they had done all that, it was gone 10:05.

Unfortunately, the car park isn't really big enough for you to pull in while leaving enough space for the previous visitors to get out. Normally, we'd happily wait, but it did make things a little awkward because we know first-hand how important it is to give other dogs space. ❤️🐾 Having a reactive dog ourselves, we know that arriving at or leaving a secure field can be one of the most stressful parts of the visit if another dog is suddenly right next to you.

We'd never want to put another owner in that position, so we always try to hang back and give people plenty of room to get their dogs safely into the car and leave before we approach the gate. For this reason, we much prefer fields where bookings are staggered by 10 minutes or so – for example, 25 or 50-minute sessions – so there's a natural bit of breathing space between bookings. It just makes the whole experience much less stressful for everyone. 🐶❤️

Then came problem number two... our entry code didn't work. 🔐

One thing we actually really like about Bark Park is that you receive a unique code which nobody else can use, and it isn't activated until your booking time. It's a great system in principle. Unfortunately, ours wouldn't work at all and instead kept setting off an alarm every time we entered it! 🚨😂

We rang the number provided and the lady answered straight away. She was incredibly helpful and gave us a new code, so thankfully we weren't left standing around for long. 👍

By the time we finally got into the park, it was around 10:15, leaving us only 45 minutes of our hour. We'd come specifically to try the new equipment though, so we decided to put the teething problems behind us and make the most of the time we had. 🐾

Unfortunately, once inside, we were disappointed with the general condition of the park. The bins were overflowing, there was rubbish left around and there was quite a lot of dog mess. 🗑️💩 There was also a lot of rabbit poo around the field. 🐇💩 Now, the rabbit poo definitely isn't the park's fault, but if you've read any of our previous reviews, you'll know that Rufus considers rabbit poo to be a delicacy. 😂 So when he wasn't busy showing off on the new equipment, we spent quite a lot of time following him around making sure he wasn't overindulging!

It may be because we've made trying out new dog parks a bit of a hobby, but having visited quite a few over the last 12 months, this one just didn't feel as well looked after as many of the others we've been to.

There were also pieces of the previous wooden equipment lying around the field. 🪵 This was particularly frustrating with Evie because we absolutely love that she wants to investigate everything – she's our little Miss Investigative! 🔎🐶 She wants to sniff everything, explore everything and stick her nose into anything remotely interesting. Of course, she can stumble across things on any normal walk, but when we're paying for a secure field specifically for her to explore freely, it felt like we were having to watch where she was putting her paws much more than we'd expected.

And honestly, that was probably the biggest disappointment of the visit. It just felt harder than it needed to be. We wanted to let the dogs into a secure space, relax and enjoy watching them have fun. Instead, we found ourselves keeping an eye on Rufus for rabbit poo, watching where Evie was sniffing and avoiding parts of the old equipment, while also keeping an eye on the general state of the field.

That said... the dogs absolutely loved the new adventure equipment! 🤩🐶

Rufus can struggle a little with this sort of thing because, let's face it, he doesn't quite have Evie's athletic build! 😂 But he was actually the first one up, proudly waiting at the top as though he'd just completed an Olympic event and fully expecting a treat for his achievement. 🏆🐾

Poppy was second up, which surprised me a little because we always keep a close eye on her when it comes to agility-style equipment following previous surgery on her cruciate ligament. ❤️‍🩹 She managed it without any trouble, which was lovely to see.

And then there was Evie... 🐶💨 I don't think her paws even touched the wood. She practically launched herself over the whole thing! 😂

The new equipment itself was great fun and definitely gave the dogs something different to do. However, we did notice that the original tractor climbing equipment had a wooden panel missing from the ramp. 🚜 This made it feel less secure going up, so we weren't prepared to risk Poppy's leg on it, and with Evie's enthusiasm, we didn't fancy risking an injury for her either.

So, while we had fun and the dogs definitely enjoyed themselves, we just couldn't justify the price for what was available on this visit. It's £15 for an hour, plus £2.50 for each additional dog, making it £20 for our three. 💷 Our usual secure fields tend to cost around £10–£12.50 for 50 minutes for all three dogs, and in comparison, we felt Bark Park didn't offer the same value for money.

After our visit, I emailed Bark to explain what had happened, and I have to say I can't fault their response. ❤️ They got back to me quickly, offered us an extra 15 minutes free on our next booking to make up for the problems we experienced, and explained that there had been a large party of 10 dogs two bookings before us, which had contributed to the amount of mess we found. They also explained that the team had been in afterwards and tidied up following the weekend.

I really appreciated them taking the time to explain what had happened and offering to make things right. It's always nice when a business listens to feedback and responds so quickly. 👍

That said, even with that explanation, I think it's important to be honest about our experience. With three dogs and the price of the booking, Bark Park just isn't really for us. We have visited other secure fields where we feel the space, equipment and overall experience meet the needs of our three much better for less money. 🐾

It's a shame because there are some genuinely good ideas here. The unique entry codes are a great concept, the new adventure equipment was brilliant fun and the customer service when we had a problem was excellent. ❤️

Would we come back? Never say never – especially as we know the owners are responsive to feedback and clearly care about the park. But for now, there are plenty of other secure fields where we feel we're getting better value for money and a better experience for all three of the Tamworth Trio. 🐾💚

🐶 The Tamworth Trio's Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆

"The new climbing thing was BRILLIANT! Rufus was very proud of himself, Poppy showed off her careful climbing skills and Evie basically flew over it. Mum says there were a few too many things to watch out for... Rufus says the rabbit poo was excellent. 🐇💩😂🐾"

## Highlights
- Entry code system is unique per booking but ours didn't work — alarm went off until we rang for a replacement
- Bins overflowing, rubbish left around and quite a bit of dog and rabbit mess on our visit
- New adventure equipment was a big hit — all three dogs tackled the climbing frame with ease
- Original tractor equipment had a wooden panel missing from the ramp, so felt less secure to use
- £15/hour plus £2.50 per extra dog (£20 for three) — pricier than the £10–£12.50 for 50 minutes they usually pay elsewhere
## Dog-Friendly Features
Free-Parking, Off-Lead, Poo Bins
## About This Review
Bark Park – Wishaw was personally visited by Murphy & Me — The Dog Edit, a trusted dog-friendly recommendation network covering Staffordshire and beyond. Every review is based on a genuine visit. No paid placements. Murphy approved where earned.
**Source:** [Bark Park – Wishaw on Murphy & Me](https://murphyandme.co.uk/misadventures/bark-park-wishaw)
**Publisher:** Murphy & Me — The Dog Edit | murphyandme.co.uk
**Published:** 2026-08-13