Sunday, April 19, 2009

A Stroll through the Park

Yesterday we stopped at Matlock on our way over to Chesterfield to visit family. We parked at the back of the shops on Dale Road and walked over the footbridge into Hall Leys Park. From this footbridge you can see along the river Derwent to the old stone road bridge which has recently been relieved of most of its heavy traffic by the building of a new bypass.



The park itself was looking very well kept and pretty, and although I'm not a huge fan of municipal planting schemes I had to admit that the flower beds had been well thought out and the colours were stunning in the morning light.



Here is a close up of the pink bedding flowers around the fountain, I'm not sure what they are but they looked very pretty, almost like little pom poms.



The colours of the tulips had been mixed to good effect, all contrasting nicely with each other.



I thought this bed of blue pansies was particularly colourful. I'm very fond of blue flowers, as well as white ones.



We walked up by the clock tower and crossed over the road where we went into the newsagents - the last building on the terrace you can see.



We bought a newspaper and wandered into the back of the shop where the owners have a little cafe overlooking the river. We sat in the bow window and sipped coffee and generally let the world pass us by for a little while. The photo below was taken from the window of the cafe/newsagents and you can see the other side of the old road bridge.



Then it was back across the park which benefits from superb views of the hills around the town. You can't have a town park without a band stand, can you?


As we walked back through the park we could see Riber Castle up on the hill. We headed back to the car by the river and through the sensory garden over the footbridge.



On a cool April morning early in the day what could be nicer than a stroll through an attractive park, a good cup of coffee in pleasant surroundings and Saturday's newspaper full of interesting supplements to read?

14 comments:

  1. The park looks very well maintained. Unfortunately many of the parks I used visit no longer have a bandstand probably due to vandelism (setting fire to) and maintenance of them. I am not a big fan of formal planting schemes but I think it works well in public parks/places. I bet it was lovely having your early morning walk. I must do it myself sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful flower beds.I also love the old bridge.
    Thanks for the tour..it's always nice to join you !
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The view along the river is lovely and the bandstand brings back lovely memories of a band playing in our local park on Sunday afternoons when I was a child. I think the flowers may be Bellis perennis flore plene or double daisy. I can't see it all that clearly so could be wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the park in Matlock. Does it still have the boating lake too?
    We camped just up the road from the park on our first ever camping trip. Me and hubby always think Matlock looks nice to live in.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know Matlock but it made me think of Buxton which also has a very well kept park in a magnificent setting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The river, and the bed with blue pansies are my favorite sights. but then, blue is one of my favorite colors. Thank you for sharing this walk with us!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It sounds like the perfect way to spend a Saturday. I don't know this park, but it does remind me of one that I used to visit often.

    Marie x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Simone, it is very sad about the band stands; I've known one or two old ones that have been vandalised or burnt down - this one is all metal and fairly new so hopefully it will survive:)

    Sal, it is a lovely bridge, glad you enjoyed the tour:)

    Rowan, thanks for identifying the little pink flowers, I googled Bellis and found them - Bellis Pomponette - sorry I can't work out how to make the photos larger if you click on them:)

    Diane - yes I think the lake is still there at the top end, there is a little train, skate board area and tennis courts, too:)

    Valerie, it is very like the park at Buxton - the one around the old Spa rooms and the theatre - I think the band stand is very similar:)

    Jeannette - I love blue too, there is something magical about blue flowers I think:)

    Wild Rose, it was a lovely Saturday morning, glad the park reminded you of the one you used to visit:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful photographs, so many gorgeous colours
    I love the bluebells at the top of your page too.
    Hope the sunshine continues
    x
    sumea

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a wonderful place to take a pleasent walk. Thanks for the journey, Rosie.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such lovely photos, thanks for posting them for us garden-deprived Canadians. In my part of the world spring blooms are only wee leafy points breaking the soil at the moment. Sigh...
    D. (Creative-by-nature)

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's a mass planting of blue pansies for me now that I've seen this. I intend to do this to celebrate the breaking of the drought-yipee!! Lovely post Rosie, thank-you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a perfectly wonderful walk. Those flower beds! So lush. I am besotted with that bed of blue pansies!! Thanks for taking me along again. I love coming along on your walks!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sumea, thankyou - glad you like the bluebells as well:)

    Pam, glad you enjoyed the walk:)

    Welcome, Creative by Nature, glad you enjoyed the photos:)

    Pam and Pamela - the blue pansies are stunning aren't they?

    ReplyDelete