Andrews Park – I Walk Alone

Research Rabbit Hole – Southampton Parks 1926

The town of Southampton was once surrounded by ancient fields where townspeople grew crops in summer and grazed animals in winter. By law, all crops had to be harvested by 1 August, Lammas Day, so the fields were called Lammas Lands. In 1844, the Marsh Improvement Act allowed the council to drain the Saltmarsh around the new Terminus Station. To compensate the townspeople for losing this common grazing land, the council agreed to turn the other Lammas Lands into parks. The Central Parks were laid out in the late 1850s, and old OS maps of the time show the layout has changed very little since. Southampton’s wonderful parks are still a prominent feature to this day, and they also feature in many of my books. Making sure I got things right required a good deal of research.

Stepping back in time ~ 1926

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This may be true, but when it comes to writing historic fiction, a picture can conjure a thousand words, at least for me. My stories might be inspired by family and odd things I’ve read here and there. The details might be sharpened by research using resources like JSTOR, old newspapers, Radio times archives, old OS maps, archived weather reports and local history pages on Facebook. The old photographs and postcards give me a feel for the era I’m writing about, though. They capture the essence of the time and place like words never can.

Giant deckchairs and a beach in the city

31 July 2018

There is a giant deckchair trail going on in the city centre, part of an event called Seaside in the Square, centred around Guildhall Square where GO! Southampton have set up a beach, including imported golden sand. The event, planned to coincide with the school summer holidays, includes live music, beach yoga and an outdoor cinema in the evenings. The trail looked like a lot of fun so, today, CJ and I thought we’d go and check it out ourselves. We certainly had the weather for it. Continue reading Giant deckchairs and a beach in the city

A snowy walk of the walls

1 March 2018

In the battle between parks and walls the walls won. The snow seemed to be getting harder so staying close to nice warm shops and cafes seemed the sensible thing to do. The precinct was almost deserted. All the really sensible people were probably in WestQuay enjoying the warm and dry. We walked past and headed straight for Bargate. There was less snow than I’d hoped but the medieval gateway stood on an island of white with flurries of fat flakes fluttering all around it. Continue reading A snowy walk of the walls

Postcards from Andrews Park

7 March 2017

Today I had an errand to run. It involved a walk to the top end of town and, while I was there, I thought I’d have a wander round the parks. After my recent search for signs of spring at Millers Pond I was fairly sure they weren’t going to be exactly bursting with flowers but a walk in the parks is always a welcome thing, flowers or not. Besides, there were a few F.G.O. Stuart postcards from the area to recreate. Continue reading Postcards from Andrews Park

A walk in the park – first published 21 April 2014

Late April 2014, and, after a windy rainy day the weather brightened up leaving the pavements everywhere littered with fallen blossom. I laid the blame for the bad weather firmly at Commando’s door for getting the sun loungers out from under the decking. Now the sun was out but there was precious little time for lounging. First we had to go up the Big Hill to Sainsbury’s for supplies. Strangely we thought we saw Hetty from NCIS Los Angeles wandering round with a basket on her arm and I swear she was following us. Maybe an NCIS Southampton is on the cards at some point? Continue reading A walk in the park – first published 21 April 2014

A disappointing walk in the parks

17 August 2016

We’d purposely saved our zebra hunting in the parks for a sunny day and today had more than enough sun. In fact there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There were six zebras to find, or there should have been. We already knew Skittles, near the bandstand in Palmerston Park, was likely to be absent. He was stolen on the same night as Ticket to Ride, ripped from his plinth. Unlike the poor First Bus zebra he was found, damaged and dumped in some bushes in Hoglands Park. Why anyone should want to damage these lovely beasts and spoil everyone’s fun is beyond me. Continue reading A disappointing walk in the parks

The final park rhinos – first published 10 August 2013

There was one park left and three more rhinos to find before I went home. These were the Andrews Park rhinos. Also known as East Park, this park has the highest concentration of trees, shrubs and plants of all the city parks and, when I worked at Dream Factory, I used to love walking through the wonderful wisteria pergola every morning, wondering at the beauty and the way the under planting changed with the seasons. Continue reading The final park rhinos – first published 10 August 2013

A walk in the park, Andrews Park

10 May 2015

Seeing the wisteria in bloom on my Saturday walk to work made me think of the wisteria arch in Andrews Park and there and then I decided to visit it on my Sunday walk. Back when I worked in the centre of Southampton and had an hour for lunch every day I used to walk in the parks all the time. These days I don’t get as many chances to watch the seasons change in them and I miss that. Continue reading A walk in the park, Andrews Park