Urban Oases of Victoria - Cridge Park
The south end of downtown Victoria is absolutely overrun with parks. So much so, that there are maybe some that people don't even notice. I know there has been a lot of discussion about how downtown Victoria is in need of more park space, one of the issues is that we have too much of it on one side of the city. Within just a few hundred metres of each other, there are: Pioneer Square, Courthouse Park, St. Ann's Academy Grounds, Beacon Hill Park, Thunderbird Park and Cridge Park. Of those on the list I will bet that Cridge Park would have the largest number scratching their heads as to where it is.
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Cridge Park is nestled in-between St. Ann's Academy and the Victoria Lawn Bowling Grounds. The park is just over an acre in size which for most of the public spaces in Victoria is tiny, but I would say that it is the small size that makes it a great place to sit. The park’s most notable neighbour apart from the lawn bowling green, is the Church of Our Lord, which sits just to the north. This church is one of the oldest on the Island, if not the oldest. When it was built, James Bay (the real watery one, not the neighbourhood) still existed and came right up to the western edge of the church and also to what is now Cridge Park. This is pretty amazing when you stand there and look to the west and imagine all of that space being fill on top of mud flats.
Cridge Park is named after Edward Cridge, who was one the first clergy in the settlement of Victoria and he held services at the Church of Our Lord. Cridge also has his name on the BC Protestant Orphanage building in the Oaklands neighbourhood, though it is now the Cridge Centre for the family. He was also one half of an epic historical religious split in Victoria which is actually the reason for the existence of the Church of Our Lord, which sits just a few hundred metres from Christ Church Cathedral.
Cridge Park, while small, has a lot to look at. In the centre of the park there is a small stone obelisk surrounded by historical interpretive signs and ringing this space are benches that are a wonderful spot to stop and watch as people make there way between downtown, James Bay and Fairfield. Just next to the circle of benches is an odd collection of cut wood pieces and stumps surrounded by trees. This area used to be in a bit better shape and is meant to be used as a kind of adventure play space. I remember when it was first put in, it was fun to jump from stump to stump but I am not sure it would be the best idea given the deterioration of the wood.
One of the best ways to get into, or leave the park, is by a pathway that goes to the west towards the Empress Hotel and snakes in between the Lawn Bowling Club and the Aria building. Eventually, this will lead to the square at the south end of the new Telus Ocean building.
Have you been to Cridge Park? If so, let me know your favourite parts of it and if not, make your way down there soon to enjoy a little quiet solitude.
