War Memorial Park in Coventry

A walk around the War Memorial park in Coventry on a sunny day.

One of the things I like about this park is the architecture which is all Art Deco. That includes these small buildings which are dotted about - not sure about their function: storage? 

We arrived at the small pond - wonderful reflections

Every single tree in this park is dedicated to a soldier who died during one of the two world wars

This path leads to 

the rose garden

the Memorial, which was inaugurated in 1927,

is Art Deco style, as is the rest of the park

A bronze band circles the memorial: it incorporates the wording of the 'Kohima' named after a village in north eastern India in the Naga Hills. This was the point of the furthest Japanese advance into British India during WWII. The bronze band also includes the words of the poem 'For the Fallen' by Lawrence Binyon, as well as some words from Winston Churchill's famous wartime speech referring to the efforts of the aircew that were fighting on 20th August 1940 to prevent a possible invasion:   'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few'.

We then walked towards the Islands of Peace Japanese Garden

which is the outcome of a three year Cities of Peace project that linked five Coventry schools with the Japan Society and a Japanese Noh Theatre project 'Between the Stones'. The theatre project featured two Japanese dry stone (karensansui) gardens, which the children learned more about. A committee of pupils identified the features they would like to include in a real karensansui garden in Coventry.

Karensansui gardens were first created in the 13th century in Zen Buddhist temples in Japan. These gardens have become known as Zen gardens. Karensansui translates as 'dry mountain and water' indicating how water is represented by the use of gravel or sand.

These gardens represent landscape scenes in an austere way, often with little planting. Scale is left ambiguous allowing the viewer to see a distant landscape or a much more intimate scene, each viewer having a different experience. They are meant for contemplation, to be observed rather than being pleasure gardens with lush vegetation.

Symbolism often seen in gardens in Japan has been added in this garden. There are two main islands which represent the turtle and crame referring to an ancient Chinese myth where the crane carries the souls of the dead to mystical islands resting on the backs of giant turtles. 

After some serious contemplation we left the Japanese garden and continued on our way

past another of the Art Deco buildings

along this tree lined avenue

and reached this building which is part tennis pavilion

and part cafe

it was a cold day but it was sunny so some people were sitting outside

we stopped to have a look at the elephant

past another of the Art Deco buildings

and the only building which is not Art Deco, the bus shelter.

We had now reached the second half of the park which is just meadow, and provides an opportunity for uninterrupted walking

The two large concrete blocks here are thought to be the remains of Barrage Balloon Anchorage Points. These were large balloons tethered to the ground by a web of cables which formed a hazard for attacking aircraft. 

and this is the third one.

We had walked full circle and it was time to get in the car and drive to Kenilworth market to buy fish.