Beat Winter Blues…Bring Back Brass Bands!
With the Beast from the East looming ever closer, maybe it's time to warm ourselves up with memories of far warmer weather and vivid green parks. The Friends committee are geared up to holding an event every month of the year and this years are almost in the bag. Just a few are remaining bits and pieces to firm up on, minor details and final dates. (Check out our our event calendar here https://radipoleparkandgardensfriends.wordpress.com/events-2018-2/) In the past, one thing that many parks were renown for was music. It's where the public went to immerse themselves in the cheerful melodies of the local town band or toe tapping to the...
Not Quite What the Advert Promised!
The problem with organising garden events is that sometimes Mother Nature doesn't play ball. So it was with our fruit pruning in the Community Orchard. The poster promised so much, sunshine and warmth. ...
Forget the Beast from the East…Spring has Sprung in Radipole Gardens
Depressed with all this talk of the Beast from the East...
The Creation; Four Men and a Floating Tin Shack
Four Men and a Floating Tin Shack Now you might well wonder what on earth the grainy old photo of four men and a floating tin shack has to do with our beautiful park and gardens. Let me explain....
A Walk in the Park
So fed up with the grey and gloomy days, it was literally a breath of fresh air to see the sun in the sky once more. Garbed in numerous layers of warm clothing it was time to venture forth and see what's happening down in the gardens. The first things that caught my eye were the little crocus braving the cold winds, though it maybe wasn't quite warm enough to persuade them to open fully. But as anyone knows...
The Ground Beneath your Very Feet…
As a continuation of the history of Radipole park and gardens, here's a couple more photos from the 1930's showing their construction. Pictured below is the partly infilled, swampy land, and the original, very much shorter, Alexander Bridge, with Hanover Road running off into the distance and Lyndhurst Terrace facing the the tracks. Most of the garden's were formed with the dredging of Weymouth's estuary floor, redeposited via pump to infill the ground. Only problem was, it wasn’t filling it quite quick enough. The solution? It also became the town’s tip. Unfortunately, those frequent dumpings of debris brought with them a certain noxious aroma! Definitely not one that local residents...
Prim and Proper or Wild and Woolly?
However, nowadays, many gardens are trending towards more naturalistic beds and borders, planted up with perennials and mulched to keep those infernal weeds at bay. Does this make our gardens any less beautiful?...
Parks Have Many Roles to Play
Have you ever thought about why you use your local park? Is it purely because it's the prettiest route on your way to and from some destination? To let the boisterous children run off some steam maybe, to walk the pooch or just to keep yourself active. Some people view it a hallowed space, where they retreat to when they need quiet time...
Panic When it Comes to Pruning Your Pears? Fear Not. Join us on Tuesday 13th February 10-12 am.
Most people know about the beautiful Radipole gardens with their weeping willows and stunning flower beds...
Radipole Park under Construction…1920’s-1930’s.
Radipole park and gardens is probably one of the 'newer' recreational areas in Weymouth. It was constructed between the two World Wars, at a time when when the country was suffering from economic depression and the accompanying high unemployment. The government of the day had set out loans to those councils that wanted to avail themselves of them to complete public works at very favourable rates. Weymouth grasped this opportunity with both hands and set to expanding it's land. A problem that had thwarted the town for centuries, because Weymouth, or Melcombe Regis of old, was basically built out on a sand spit. Surrounded by the sea on one...