Out & About August 2017

OA feature

Prams in the park

Brian Antony Purton visits the park, 1940

Me in Victoria Park in 1977. As a small child I lived in Thatcham, but was taken to Victoria Park quite a lot to feed the swans on the canal. Steve Burrow Left:Tony Mosson with his sister, in the late 1940s, playing in the stream, which ran from the towpath to the Queen Victoria statue

Left: Having been born in Albert Road, in 1945, the proximity of the park meant almost daily visits in my pram and an ideal spot to walk the dog. Top two photos show me at 15 months (1946) with dog, Mick, in the right one, and below is a group photo, c1955, of me sitting with grandfather and an aunt and uncle, who were visiting from Durham. I had been floating the boat you can see in front of me.You can just see the anti-tank blocks behind the slide Peter Jopling

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VICTORIA PARK

Victoria Park has undergone an extensive refurbishment recently of the tennis courts, bowling green, football pitch and the pathways have all been repaired and resurfaced to a high standard. The Park Way wall and railings have been extensively repaired and rebuilt. BOWLS CLUB The removal of the fir trees surrounding the bowls club has enabled visitors to the park to enjoy watching matches and the bowls club are happy to welcome new members. TENNIS COURTS The Council has created a partnership with the Community Tennis Association who provide classes for children and adults of all abilities.

You can book courts online and a whole family can join as members of the Tennis Courts for just £36 a year and can play as much as they like! Later this year we will be installing court lighting to help maximise the use of the courts. SPLASH PARK Opened last year and is one of the most popular areas within the park for young children and The Skatepark continues to be very popular, offering great challenges for skateboarders and BMXers. You can also try out our impressive range of outdoor gym equipment to help to improve your fitness and wellbeing. toddlers to play. THE SKATEPARK

FUTURE PLANS Plans are in place to build a new café to replace the old kiosk, offering full catering facilities, indoor and outdoor seating and tables, toilets and Wifi throughout the year. In addition to this we propose to build a new sports changing room facility adjacent to the tennis courts with terrace seating for spectators to watch tennis games and competitions. Victoria Park remains the jewel in Newbury’s crown and following the extensive repairs and improvements will continue to be a popular place to visit and enjoy the facilities way into the future. For more information: www.newbury.gov.uk or 01635 35486 towncouncil@newbury.gov.uk

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