The likes and dislikes of Pitville park

 These were my boxes and circles from Jamie’s lecture. 

I really loved the way that he got us to right down these things about what we liked and disliked about the pitville park walk as it  made us understand on a deeper level what we really liked/ disliked about it. For me the main thing I loved was the nature. Growing up in the Forest Of Dean I’ve been used to this all my life, often taking it for granted, so being able to see pitville park so close to an urban bustle and having the dramatic split between busy in the city, and the calm in the park, really put in perspective how lucky I am. 

Where I live it’s just mainly wood, and land, and having not much of a community and never really see anyone out it made me appreciate the cluster and the background noise. Walking past the playing field in Pitville and hearing the cry’s of laughter, the sound of children in the park and the mid day catch ups on the benches all added to this hum. It’s easy to dismiss into background noise, that’s what I love about it. 

I also loves that it was a circle, how you could do a full loop and end up in the same position you started, I liked this because it made a main path for people to take  but still with little paths leading to different areas and stopping points so even if you do the same walk you will always have a different experience and the option to take a different path. There was also always activities to do, not so much with the corona virus, but the boat rides, cafes, pitville pump room, there’s always different things to get involved in. 

What I didn’t write down but I think is a major advantage to this park is the fact it’s fit for everyone, wealthy or not, you don’t have to pay to get in and you aren’t expected to buy food, you can bring your own and takes seats wherever. 

What I didn’t like so much about the park is that there were often unkept paths. Weather it was breaking down at the edges or the Boggs around the sides of the paths where people had taken shortcuts. The paths round the outside also had the most neglect, where it was hidden people were smoking, it was dark and gloomy and just made you feel so much more unsafe than if you were up by the pump room. I feel like the edges have maybe been forgotten about, like the entrance closest to pitville is just a playing field in view  with a thin path, which you wouldn’t think would be there if you had only known the park because of the Pump room. It’s also a shame that there is only one building, I think the park would have benefitted tremendously if there were more historical architecture sites to visit.