Category Archives: albert park

Albert Park Through the Year: January 2025


This year, I plan to visit Albert Park each month.

Albert Park is home to the Abingdon Bowls Club, whose neat lawn and clubhouse sit on one side of the park. Early this month, snow briefly settled on both the roof and the lawn. The clubhouse remains active, with members gathering on some days to enjoy indoor bowls.

A highlight of the park is the collection of trees. Among them is a Holm Oak, with bifurcating trunks and an enormous, rounded crown. The park hosts a great variety of evergreens, including cedars, cypresses, firs, yews, hollies, and monkey puzzle trees.

There are also towering Wellingtonia trees, which stand at approximately 30 meters tall.

The park is encircled by a wide, well-maintained path, lined with occasional benches and bins. This path provides a route for walkers and joggers, although many opt to cut across the grass at the centre with their dogs.

A striking feature of the park over the past year — and continuing into this one – is the abundance of squirrels.  I’ve managed to capture six in this picture.

Daffodils are beginning to emerge near the bowls club entrance, although strong winds often leave them battered. The flower of the month is the snowdrop, adding whiteness and brightness under the trees.

Flowers are generally scarce in the park since the flower beds were removed years ago to reduce maintenance costs, and the grass is kept trim. Although some area of grass may well be left wild. We will see.

Albert Park is managed by the Christ’s Hospital of Abingdon charity. Notices at the entrances have recently advised caution due to strong winds. Rain has left its mark, with puddles reflecting the statue of Prince Albert and little streams running down the paths — a reminder of the springs that once bubbled up before this was a park. The springs were channelled along Conduit Road as a water supply to the houses on Ock Street.

Puddles, Sodden Leaves and Rotting Roots in Albert Park

Walk in Park
Rain continues to fall in Abingdon. There were puddles at the sides of roads, including Park Road.
Walk in Park
The persistent rainfall had created a larger puddle inside one park entrance.
Walk in Park
There was a deeper soakaway outside the other entrance.
Walk in Park
Sodden leaves hung from trees.
Walk in Park
Although I could not see rotting tree roots underground, something has given food to the toadstools that have recently risen in clumps. Somebody saw me taking this picture and asked me if they were edible.

I said, ‘I wouldn’t risk it.’

Fairly Major Tree Felling

Abingdon
Ben has just sent in another tree story. He reports a fairly major tree felling going on in the Albert Park yesterday afternoon. This affected trees near the park depot.
Abingdon
Today was the 1st of October. I visited the park at about 8:30 am, and I could not see much sign of the previous day’s tree felling as the logs had been removed.
Abingdon
There was some sawdust, and the tree with the kinky horizontal branch had lost some kinks.
Abingdon
Otherwise things were as to be expected at this time of year. Leaves are turning from green to brown. If money grew on trees, we’d soon be raking it in.

New interpretation board in Albert Park

New interpretation board
There is a new interpretation board highlighting the main features of the Albert Park in Abingdon, and some of the park’s history. The board has been donated by the Albert Park Residents’ Association. The park is looked after by Christ’s Hospital of Abingdon, and was created as a recreation ground for all the people of Abingdon.