Victoria Park is a public park in the

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

district of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in south

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Cowbridge Road East Cowbridge Road East () is a major road in western-central Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It is the principal road which passes through the busy district of Riverside, Cardiff, Riverside and Canton, Cardiff, Canton and connects Cowbridge Road W ...

. As its name suggests, it is a traditional

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

park named after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and has retained much of its original charm. The park was created as a municipal recreation ground by

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the Cardiff County Borough Council, pre-1974 county borough council. ...

through a city charter between 1897 and 1898 to celebrate the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

, marking her record sixty years on the throne. The park occupies part of the former Llandaff Common. The park covers nearly and still contains the original model boating and paddling pool which remains a very popular attraction in summer, plus a playpark for younger children. At the very north of the park there are tennis courts and a

synthetic turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

field for 5-a-side football. The original 1898 bandstand had fallen into disrepair and had been demolished but, in 1998, a replica of the original bandstand was erected on the original site to mark the park's centennial celebrations. There are many mature trees and blossom trees in spring, together with

crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennial plant, perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stem ...

es and

daffodils ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', ''I ...

and flowerbeds that burst with colour during summer. There are wide paths and a refreshment shop by the pool. Public music events, markets and fairs take place throughout the summer months. There is also a whimsical monument to Billy the Seal who lived from 1912 to 1939 in what is now the paddling pool. The park is one of the few remaining UK parks where the park keeper still lives in an on-site lodge. A splashpad has now replaced the paddling pool due to maintenance costs. Victoria Park is recognised as one of the best maintained in the Cardiff area and has received a

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

; it has been used for location filming for

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

episodes, namely ''

Forest of the Dead "Forest of the Dead" is the ninth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast by BBC One on 7 June 2008. It is the second of a two-part story; the first part, "Silence in ...

'' and ''

The Lodger The Lodger may refer to: * ''The Lodger'' (novel), a 1913 horror novel about a Jack the Ripper-like serial killer by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes ** '' The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog'', a 1927 British silent film by Alfred Hitchcock *** "Th ...

'', as well as '' Mark of the Berserker'' for the related Sarah-Jane Adventures.

References

External links

*
Cardiff Council's Victoria Park Page

The bandstand’ programme of events and shows

Photo of the paddling pool in the 1950s
{{Authority control 1897 establishments in Wales Buildings and structures completed in 1897 Parks established in the 1890s Protected areas established in 1897 Parks in Cardiff Canton, Cardiff Registered historic parks and gardens in Cardiff Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria