Not West Bridgford No. 4

Bridgford Park is a small green gem, under constant threat of encroachment from unlovely shops and unlovelier car parks, close to the commercial centre of West Bridgford. Just a minute or two’s walk from Central Avenue it contains all the features one would expect of a suburban park, plus a couple of unexpected ones. Lawns, trees, flowers, flower baskets, places to sit, obviously; the usual amenities including tennis courts and a playground for children; but then less usual features like Bridgford Hall (a Georgian pile currently undergoing transformation into a hotel – expect more parking requirements), a set of stone steps from which one can mount one’s horse (although if one wants to mount it somewhere else I’m not sure what one is supposed to do), and – slightly less amusingly – a ha-ha.

The area between the central gardens and Albert Road used to be a treeless grassy expanse upon which several games of football or cricket could be played simultaneously. Several years ago trees were planted, transforming the appearance, and making the playing of games hazardously collision-prone. Such is progress. I’ll resist commenting on what “they” have done to the library.

 
The photograph is, of course, Not Bridgford Park, but the recreation ground adjacent to Wanstead High Street in East London. However, the view simulates the effect of looking into Bridgford Park from the Albert Road direction, with a vista under the large trees with their surrounding hexagonal benches, towards the Hall.