Abbey Park has been awarded the prestigious Green Flag award, which recognises its high standards.
Issued to Abbey Park every year since 1997 for its well-managed grounds and inviting atmosphere, the Green Flag award is given to parks and green areas that represent the ideal space for the public to visit: clean, welcoming and environmentally sustainable. This year, the park was ‘mystery shopped’ for the award, which means that it was assessed without informing Abbey Park staff.
Each potential Green Flag park is assessed on factors such as its safety, cleanliness and sustainability, as well as how they encourage wildlife and how they get volunteers and the wider community involved in the park. Abbey Park impressed the judges in each of these criteria, with its sensory garden (pictured) offering a quiet space for mindfulness and relaxation, and its Friendship Garden and lavender maze providing areas bursting with nature, which can be enjoyed by all.
A huge effort has been made to encourage wildlife, in the use of peat-free bark mulch, planting for pollinators and many areas of longer grass.
Visitors have a wide array of opportunities for a free day out, especially those with children; the park offers a kids’ play area, tennis courts and table tennis, and a Pets’ Corner with birds, rabbits and goats. There are wooden sculptures throughout the park, with a new sculpture recently carved from a tree trunk, in the shape of a seat.
For more information about Abbey Park, visit leicester.gov.uk/parks
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