Description
It’s easy to take Central Park for granted, but think about it for a moment. How many inner city parks do you know that undulate like Central Park? Plymouth is a hilly city it’s true, but whereas most large parks are flat, or sloping at best, and are negotiated by means of formal pathways punctuated by the occasional flower bed and a statue of a man on a horse, Central Park is a unique combination of fields, country lanes, hedgerows … and public sports hubs like Home Park, the Life Centre, golf, bowls, tennis and children’s play areas. It has something for everyone and it’s soon to celebrate its centenary.
Leaf through the pages of Andrew Young’s impressive account of how it came to be and how changes have all too often happened without a clear notion of ‘the bigger picture’ and I guarantee that you will see the park in a new light and join that growing band of people who have come to care about its future.
Central Park is indeed a special place with a truly stellar list of athletes and entertainers who have appeared here, among them Pele, Gary Sobers, Ian Botham, Tom Daley, Rebecca Adlington, Trevor Francis, George Best, Elton John, Rod Stewart and George Michael. And then there are the circuses, the fairgrounds, the ballets, the Fun Runs, rides, railways … and The Zoo. There can barely be a Plymothian whose life this wonderful facility hasn’t touched in the last century or so, and Andrew Young’s book is the perfect way to relive it all.
