A Walk in the Park

 

 

 

Today, finally, it seems Spring arrived in Cardiff. This is a good thing because it means my visits to the nearby park will become more frequent. I love the park being nearby – it’s been the reason we haven’t moved house for so long.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the park in the Winter. When it’s cold and the plants are reduced to less splendid attire it can feel like wandering around my hometown of Cambridge when the tourists are away. The plants are humbled by the cold and they have an honest, almost naked quality. Living so close by in Winter makes it feel like I own a share in the park, like those little green patches of London guarded by railings only owners of surrounding houses can go into.

But now the life-cycle of the park is moving forward. In spring the park fills with expectant mothers whilst the toddlers who were ‘in utero’ last year enjoy the run of the park before the new arrivals get here.

I’ve been around the park hundreds of times now, I’ve spent long summer afternoons reading by the lake, but today I noticed something quite striking. Roath Park is a man-made park, with a man-made lake, and it’s full of symmetrical, geometric shapes. It’s rose gardens have carefully placed square beds, the boats are neatly lined in precise positions in the boathouse, the buildings have regimented posts and windows, and there’s the longest row of identical benches I’ve ever seen. It’s strange, but somehow this makes the park seem a little bit contrived.

I loved the ‘nature’ side of park, now its design seems so hard, cold and precise. I also noticed the long list of rules for the lake. My lovely, friendly park seems suddenly so foreign…