Park and pride

t may be the end of summer, and the blooms may be fading - but if you take the trouble to wander down to your local park today, you may have a pleasant surprise.

Throughout the city, there is a host of parks and gardens maintained by the city council.

They range from major parks like Rowntree and Holgate's West Bank, to wildlife areas such as Rawcliffe Lake, common land like Hob Moor and Walmgate Stray and postage stamp-sized little gems which brighten up residential areas of the city like Clifton Green.

If your head is buzzing from the hectic pace of modern life they could be just the places to unwind.

Hull Road Park off Melrosegate combines formal gardens, a small 'lake' fed by Tang Hall Beck and extensive walkways with bowling greens, grassy areas and tennis courts.

What makes the park distinctive, however, are the touches of humour introduced by park staff.

There's the false pigeon perched on top of the flagpole - "we haven't got a flag," explains park gardener Mick Towey. There's the Tang Hall Conifer planted behind a park bench (it's a hawthorn tree pruned into the shape of a conifer, and quite vandal-proof, Mick says) and, coming soon, a plastic Excalibur on an arm reaching out of the lake. "We like to have a bit of a sense of humour in our gardening," says park keeper Dave Young.

That doesn't mean they're not gardeners to the core. The park is immaculately turned out: no mean feat when you have 28,000 plants to plant every year - not to mention trimming, pruning, digging, mowing and generally maintaining.

Parks, says Mick, are essential to the life of local communities. "They're places where you can get away from the urban environment: where you can bring your children, come in your old age. They're the hub of the community."

Over in Holgate, West Bank Park is a veritable oasis of peace. There's a woodland walk, a wildflower meadow, a formal rose garden and two immaculate bowling greens.

Step into the small woodland and you could be a million miles away from the grime and noise of Acomb Road rushing past just outside. Guarding the entrance to the wood are two tall Dawn Redwoods - beautiful, red-barked trees with delicate green leaves that were thought to be extinct, says chairman of the Friends of West Bank Park John Coulson, until rediscovered in China in the 1940s. There are 30 nesting boxes scattered throughout the park, and even a tree trail - a specially-designed walk with accompanying guide which introduces you to ten different types of tree you can find there.

John is clearly proud of the park he's done so much to help preserve. "Everybody says it is marvellous," he says. "It's like a little oasis right in the middle of a built-up area."

The city's newest park - it hasn't even been opened yet - goes by the grand name of the Rawcliffe Bar Country Park.

It is 25 acres of newly laid-out land next to the Rawcliffe Park and Ride. It's still raw and unsettled: a wood that is little more than seedlings, some meadowland, a central reed-bed pond thick with dragonflies. There is, too, when the wind is in the wrong direction, a distinct whiff from the sewage works nearby. But when it's matured - in 25 years, say - it's possible to imagine this could be a real addition to York's treasury of parks and gardens.

Let's just hope something's been done about the pong by then.

The Friends of West Bank Park are always on the lookout for new members. If you're interested, contact John Coulson on 01904 783631.

Matthew Woodcock recalls his work experience days at West Bank Park.

GARDENING was as alien to me as Zen Buddhism. I couldn't tell a pansy from a primrose. But as a 15-year-old pupil ordered to do a bout of work experience I somehow found myself temporarily employed as a gardening assistant at West Bank Park in Holgate.

The place has always been very familiar to me.

I scored my first goal on its grass, kissed girls behind its large oaks and enjoyed my first taste of cheap cider on its swings.

Admittedly the prospect of potting my first plant in its nursery did not send my pulse racing.

But a few hours in the animated company of park boss Mick and a whole new world was opened up to me.

It was clear that the park's beautiful flowers and immaculate bowling greens did not appear by magic but were lovingly cared for over countless hours.

I was guided through the whole bedding process, planting marigolds and geraniums for the summer season and setting up floral displays.

I even helped create the pretty window boxes which were put in the York Mansion House.

Mick's commentary on the life of the park's wildlife, plants and trees was a constant fascination.

Removing graffiti - much of which I'll admit was written by my friends in the park posse - was another big task.

Unfortunately vandalism was a major headache for the park staff and I myself felt the full force of it.

After a whole afternoon bedding pansies I arrived the next morning to find them trampled to pieces.

Nevertheless, my main memories are of the colour, smell and tranquillity of the park - some of which I helped to create.

It was a great experience, never mind the work.

PICTURE: Rowntree Park, full of colour; a resident enjoys a quiet moment at Clifton Green; park keeper Dave Young at Hull Road Park