I visited Preston for the first time and couldn't believe the green oasis in the middle of the city

Transcript

00:00My name is Emily with the Lancashire Post and I went to check out Avonlea Park.

00:05It's right in the heart of Preston, only five minutes from the train station and

00:10even though it wasn't the best season to go for a walk, I still decided to go look

00:15around and see what it'd be like and I found that it was still a nice escape

00:21from the city. First thing I noticed was how quiet it was. There was hardly anyone

00:26there, just a few people walking dogs and some older couples, so I mostly had it

00:32all to myself. And even with the bare winter trees and the grey skies, I

00:40thought there was still something very peaceful about it. The river runs right

00:45alongside the park, so there's something really calming about just walking along

00:50the water, watching it move, listening to it.

00:57I'm also watching the animals that are in the park. I saw lots of birds, squirrels,

01:03and I really enjoyed, you know, watching them go about their day. One of the more

01:11tucked away spots in the park is the rock garden. It would probably be more

01:17striking in spring, but I thought even now it had its own sort of charm.

01:27There's a little stream that runs through it with a wooden bridge over it,

01:33and there's different benches with the, like, memorial plaques on them that were

01:37interesting to stop and read.

01:41It's also a pathway made of big stones that you walk along. You kind of have to

01:56really pay attention while you're walking around them so you don't fall

01:59over, but it kind of changes it up from just walking along a normal paved path.

02:04I feel like we tend to forget how nice it is to just be out in nature during the

02:09winter when it's cold. It's more of a pain to get out. It's gonna be darker

02:14outside, but I think it is still nice to go out and see green spaces like this,

02:18get the fresh air even if it's a bit colder. It's really easy to just stay

02:23inside and wait for spring, but I think getting outside, breathing in the fresh

02:26air, not looking at your phone for a bit can do a lot to reset your mind.

02:30The park wasn't huge or flashy, but I still thought it was a perfect space for

02:35anyone looking for somewhere to just slow down in the middle of the city.