Mote Park. Our Backyard.

A Memory of Maidstone.

From the age of seven Mote Park was almost our backyard.  We lived in Plains Avenue, just a few houses from the park keeper's lodge. We could also get to Mote Park by climbing over the fence at the bottom of our garden which led across allotments to Mote Park. I spent weeks wandering there and playing by the lake and later when I was working and had the time I would walk from my house to work at John Collier's menswear and back again in the evening. My partner and I have returned to Maidstone a lot recently and spent a great deal of time in Mote Park. So much has changed now though. The road in Plains Avenue used to be beautiful, lined with cherry blossom trees and with each front garden lovingly tended but now Car is King and most of the front gardens have been concreted over for car parking. It's the same all through Shepway Estate.

Mote Park seems to have improved in many ways with large areas being left to nature to attract butterflies and other wildlife. We recently took my mother, who is 92, to sit by the lake and noticed that it now contains terrapin, placed there no doubt by somebody who no longer wanted them as pets.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who remembers the same period as I do. I can be reached at kim.hatton@mac.com

Mr K N Hatton
Nottingham