After a lovely morning stroll in Cassiobury Park it was nice to be able to enjoy another walk on lovely Sunday Afternoon. It was quite nice to be able to be able to return to Mayesbrook Park where we had finished a walk quite a while ago… However this time we were starting out from a different part of the park.
This small park derives it’s name from the brook that runs alongside it. “Mayes Brook” as it is known is more than likely taken from a family name from approximately 1300. As soon as we entered the park, we were faced with Mechanical diggers and metal fencing. Not exactly the most enchanting sight in the world for a park, but Mayesbrook is part of a project to the UK’s first Climate change Park!
Taking a path away from the JCB’s it took us down to one of the park’s lakes. It seems to have a huge amount of Bird life, particularly Canada Geese, alongside swans and moorhens. The lake is surrounded by a trees, I particularly willow trees, which I am rather partial to and I felt it gave the lake a rather relaxed feel. As we walked, I was able to capture how the grasses that surround the lake make it feel really lush.
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| From 2011 – 24.07.2011 – Mayesbrook Park Walk |
As we took a route which parted from the lake, we were faced with concrete steps to take us up into an area which looked very strange to me. There is a main path that goes through the park, but I found it odd that was a stairwell which didn’t seem to lead anywhere. It had beautiful wrought ironwork which sadly seemed to be neglected. I cannot see any details as to what it was all for? Can anyone enlighten me? The only view that from the stairwell that you have now is earthworks for the climate change project!
The major path cuts straight through the park and this was the route we decided to explore. It was strange to find in the middle of the pathway a statue of some sort. I am not sure if it was meant to be a fountain or for a flower bed. It seemed to be related to the stairwell, part of something that used to be along the path? The stone monument does not look like a large flower bed, possibly for a small flower arrangement…!?!
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| From 2011 – 24.07.2011 – Mayesbrook Park Walk |
As it was sunny Sunday afternoon, the park was quite packed. It was good to see that the new play area was really be utilised! In fact there was a new play area. As we carried on the park takes on a whole new identity, specifically as the Barking Football Club has a stadium right in the middle of it! The reason I mention this is because a brand new grandstand is being built for a 2012 Olympics Training Ground. It seems a very exciting project. The park is serving a dual purpose one for the climate change and the other for athletics, both very different.
Leaving the building works behind, the park turns into what seems like a small field. Whilst it is nice to have a stadium in the middle of Mayesbrook, it does make the park feel like a park of “two halves”. The park seems to just end here, in fact someone has quite handily painted the word “finish” at the end of the path! If anyone has been following my blog they should remember that we finished a walk way back at this very spot where the word “start” is painted a bit further on! With the word “finish” in mind, so did we…
Mayesbrook Park For the afternoon photos please feel free to click here –
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| 2011 – 24.07.2011 – Mayesbrook Park Walk |
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The concrete stairs you mention once led down to a large ornamental pond going almost as far as the houses that back onto the park.This was filled in in the 1980’s.
Thank you for enlightening me! The stairs did seem a little odd not to go anywhere. The pond makes sense, particularly if I recall correctly is a large dip just beyond the stairs. Sounds like it would have been quite beautiful at one point.