Three Pretty Parks (Kearsney Abbey Gardens (Dover))

Member Name: MagdaDH

Product:	Kearsney Abbey Gardens (Dover)
Date:	11/06/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: nice park, great trees, that cedar!

Disadvantages: not very big or particularly exceptional

Kearsney Abbey Gardens is a fairly large park, technically speaking located in the village of River, which is now really a suburb of Dover (and arguably the nicest area of town altogether). It's not exactly a "proper" attraction, but it's a very pleasant park with quite a bit of variety and if for some reason you are stuck in Dover for a day or two with nothing to do, it's a nice place to visit.

There is a car park adjacent to the park, this is where the public toilets are located too. It's walkable from Dover, and the best way to reach it is to try to follow the course of River Dour (after which the village is named). It's quite a shlep, though,about three miles, and not all of it that nice.

If you use public transport, take a bus to River and get off at the end, then walk along Chilton Way and enter the park through a back gate, or go down Minnis Lane straight down from the last bust stop and take a shady path along the river.

The park itself is quite varied, with the river and a couple of ponds separating it into two parts: one more woody and less cultivated (dogs are allowed off the leash here) and the other more cultivated, with large expanses of lawn, reasonable children's playground and some interesting trees (a guide to those is available from the cafe for 10p). There are ducks, geese, swans and other waterfowl on the ponds.

The best tree is an amazing cedar of Lebanon, in the middle of the park - it's old, huge and truly impressive. It's been fenced off as branches fall off it every so often causing a safety hazard, but it's still a major feature of the park.

There is a little cafe near the car park which sells basic snacks, cakes, ice cream, tea and coffee. It's not particularly impressive, but at least it's there for those that have not brought provisions.

The park can get very busy on sunny weekends, with families picnicking on the grass and children playing ball, but most of the time it's bearable.

Just across the road from Kearsney Abbey there is another park, Russel Gardens with tennis courts, another playpark and Chinese-style covered bridges over the stream. Upstream from Russel Gardens is Bushy Ruff, perhaps my favourite of the three, a not very big but slightly wild area of trees and bushes around a nice big pond with ducks.

Summary: nice park (and two more very nearby) in a posh suburb of Dover