2:14am Sunday 21st June 2009
By ivor
It has been a few weeks since my visit to Marlow. Whilst in the town I made a point of visiting Higginson Park.
The park covers an area of 23 acres and has been opened to the public since 1926 although there has been a garden on the site since 1758. Situated at the end of Marlow High Street it is easily accessible and over the course of a year attracts around 1 million visitors.
Upon entering the park I was very impressed. Whoever looks after the park has obviously done a very good job. There was not a piece of litter to be seen or blade of grass out of place.
A series of tarmac paths guide visitors between the large expanses of grass and fine trees. At the High Street end is a large playground which happened to be full of children who seemed to be having a good time.
Ambling slowly along I soon came to the river where I stood for a few moments to watch the boats and swans sailing along. To my left was a most wonderful view of Marlow Bridge.
It was surprising just how large the park was. The fact that the park was broken up into small areas only served to make it seem even bigger.
With plenty of proper wooden benches the weary traveller has plenty of places to rest. People were walking their dogs in the park although there were red bins for the owners to put the mess.
Continuing my walk through I came to a cricket pitch which is home to Marlow CC. Close by was a skate park although unlike the skate park in Wycombe there were no children in attendance. This was not surprising as the skate park was right at the far end of the park so the youngsters would have to be very determined to find it.
There were lots of people in the park. All ages were present from older people to mothers with their children. Whatever their age everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in the warm sunshine.
As it was around lunchtime it seemed like a good idea to eat my picnic there. I proceeded to unpack my refreshments which included sandwiches, cakes, chocolate biscuits and fizzy drinks. After eating all that lot I was feeling quite sleepy so I nodded off for a while.
Despite being such a large area there was a feeling of safety in the park. The people were all respectable and I would imagine there are very few crimes committed there.
How lucky the people of Marlow are to have such a lovely park so central in their town. Leaving the tranquillity of the park I soon found myself back amongst the hustle and bustle of the High Street.
Have you been to Higginson Park? What do you think to it?
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