A Day In Preston: Revisiting My Past Part Three - Avenham Park

Introduction

This was my second visit back to Preston (the last was in May). I discovered that I am able to get there quite cheaply by train (£30 this time, £20 last time) so with my extra holidays this can be a monthly visit and I will, of course, share some of the photographs of the places I find.

As I came out of the station I got these shots, one of St Walburges and one of the Station Hotel Mural.

Outside of 1842 I took more pictures of the 1842 Preston Riot Memorial Sculpture which I covered in this poem:

It is an opportunity to see friends and family face to face, and get something to eat although as yet Yvonne and I have just done 1842 and Brucianni's which I covered her from last time.

Yesterday I had Arancini which tasted amazing.

Meeting Family

I met my dad after the train and went for a coffee with him, then met my sister and we had something to eat at 1842 then went to Brucianni's for coffee and cake. Then we met my niece Gemma and my grand-nephews James David And Henry Peter who I wrote a poem for here:

Avenham Park

One of the places I wanted to revisit was Avenham Park which is situated on the river Ribble and runs to where the Railway heads south towards London Road in the east (I think).

There is a page on it here

With a backcloth provided by the River Ribble, Avenham Park ranks amongst the finest examples of traditional Victorian parkland in the North West. Designed and created by Edward Milner during the 1860s. Avenham Park, together with Miller Park, is probably one of the best surviving examples of his work today.

It is far bigger than I remembered and spent nearly an hour and a half having a wander round and taking pictures. It is a bit disconcerting in that it is a steep walk down when you enter from Winkley Square (as I did yesterday), but this creates a natural amphitheatre which is used for concerts and performances.

There were lots of groups of people enjoying picnics and being together in the sun and on the grass.

I was quite lucky the weather was good, though it was hot at times so I kept trying to find shade. I remember when I did cross-country running (actually for me and many others it was walking) but we sometimes came back to school through Avenham Park across this bridge which is now either derelict or waiting for refurbishment.

I was impressed by this sign in front of the cafe and thought the ropework behind it was quite impressive, although I am sometimes easily pleased.

This fountain is a great sight, and there was an old guy (probably younger than me), practising acoustic guitar on a bench. It is really strange being the same age as old people.

I couldn't see any fish in the pool, but then headed towards the river but liked this pagoda/bench construction.

Along the river there were a couple of tents, I'm not sure if they were homeless people or just fishing, but I also caught pictures of some swans.

As I wandered I found many constructions which looked interesting, almost like wandering through a fairytale kingdom, like this dolphin fountain.

Conclusion

I have not shared everything I have seen in Avenham Park, and I need to have another visit, but I loved the feeling of wonder and peace that I got.

As I finally left I saw this amazing residence, this is somewhere that I think that I could happily live.

Thank you for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have.