Victoria Pleasure Gardens were created by public subscription to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. These gardens were popular with the elegant Edwardians and in 1910 Walkers of Tewkesbury installed a band-stand which was in regular use until the 1950s. In 2007 a combination of severe flooding and reduced funding devastated the gardens. What we see now is the result of collaboration between local councils and a volunteer group, ‘The Friends of Victoria Pleasure Gardens’.

The main features of the gardens include the old wall of the Abbey Grounds, The Abbey Malthouse, now used as private dwellings and the The Mill Avon.  The Mill Avon is a spur of the River Avon, cut by medieval monks to power their flour mill. The mill seen today is the 18th century replacement and currently privately-owned flats.

After the flooding in 2007 new flowerbeds were formed in 2008. Brightly coloured annuals are planted in early June and permanent plants are chosen to withstand the annual winter floods and provide food an shelter for insects.

The arches at the entrances were financed from public donations and erected in 2012 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II*

*Information from a signboard in the gardens

The ideal choice for a walk after dropping Mr C off for a lunchtime ‘retirement do’ at the Golden Ball would have been around Ironbridge and Coalport.  The flooding caused by recent storms Franklin, Dudley and Eunice meant those locations were off limits. My choice of walk needed a lunch option…

I briefly considered Attingham Park as an option but the flooding there meant I would have to take a long way round to get back home after my walk. I decided the best option was to pick up lunch from M&S before a walk in Telford Town Park.

My first choice of car park was full, cars were queuing to enter. My Second choice of car park, the one I use on my rare visits the Town Centre was closed. I made my way to the cinema car park which I could see was empty only to find  when I arrived at the barrier there was a note to say ‘we can only accept cash, no credit cards’. I didn’t know how long I would be, so I wasn’t sure I would have enough cash, so I started to reverse as another car pulled up behind me. The lady behind me was puzzled, I could see that in her face, she didn’t reverse so I had to get out of the car and explain what the problem was.

Eventually I was able to park in the adjacent Council car park. WOW, it is cheap! I think that will be my first choice of car park for Telford Town Centre, lunch and Town Park walks in the future.

I purchased my lunch in M&S and made my way to the Town Park, thinking I would have lunch overlooking the pool before entering the park. As I arrived the wind whipped up, I had a perfect ‘Plan B’ that would be sheltered from the wind. I found that the gates to ‘Plan B’, the Maxell Gardens were shut. I walked the short distance to the Chelsea Gardens, through the gardens to the Pagoda in the Maxell gardens. By this time I had worked up an appetite and I was pleased to find my chosen seat was vacant. I enjoyed my lunch with a view of the fish statue. Whilst I was lunching there was a lovely interlude of a child splashing her hand so hard in the bird bath she almost drowned herself in water… she then came back for more

My walk took me along pathways I had not walked before, I got a little lost along the way. I felt slightly uncomfortable but I know all my local pathways lead to familiar ground in the end

During last years Diamond Jubilee celebrations some of our neighbours had organised a joint garden party. Unfortunately rain stopped play!  Instead we stopped inside in the warm and watched the Jubilee Flotilla on the television.

This is one of the photographs that I took from the BBC coverage of the Jubilee Flotilla.

More Red, White, Blue can be found in the gallery.

“Congratulations on your diamond jubilee and long may you reign.”

In celebration of the Diamond Jubilee I had planned to attend the ‘three gardens party’ arranged by my neighbours for Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas… It turned bitterly cold overnight and there was torrential rain all day.

Mum was visiting for an evening meal and we decided that discretion was the better part of valour so the afternoon was spent watching the BBC coverage of the Flotilla along the Thames. I took a few photographs of the BBC coverage and this is one of them.

In celebration of the event (and another upcoming one) we cracked a bottle of bubbly to accompany our evening meal.