In this article I’m going to talk about one of my favourite places to skate in the UK -Abbey Gardens. I will share what I love about this park and things to watch out for as a skater – especially for beginner skaters.
Places to skate in the UK – Abbey Gardens – Bury St Edmunds
This is a lovely park nestled in the centre of Bury St Edmunds on Angel Hill. In my opinion, it’s one of the nicer places to skate in the UK. It has been formed from the grounds of the cathedral and old ruins in the town. Here’s a map if you are visiting and trying to find it:
Let’s get the slight negatives out of the way first in terms of places to skate in the UK… if you are travelling to Abbey Gardens from the shops in or near the Corn Exchange square (See H&M area on the map), there is a steep descent down a hill towards Abbey Gardens and it’s not for a beginner skater to tackle. Although there are no cars permitted on the relevant road, the road is extremely busy with pedestrians and it would be a job for even an experienced skater to tackle. The road I am mentioning is the one which can be seen above with Pizza Express on it. It goes all the way down to the entrance of Abbey Gardens.
A suggested way around this would be to park just across the road from Abbey Gardens and put skates on once you get into the park. There is also a long stay carpark at the bottom of Angel Hill on the left as you go past Abbey Gardens on your right and carry on down the hill.
Another one to watch out for is that in the park itself, the smooth pathways go on for miles in particular directions – they go all around Bury St Edmunds in some cases. However, they do not continue in a smooth way – they turn into dirt tracks once you leave the greenery in the centre of town. Also, as you go across the bridge near the kids’ playground, the pathways are very narrow and very steep so something to be avoided for beginners – picture below:
Although it looks shallow, the pathway coming out over the bridge which then goes off up the hill past the yellow daffodils pictured here, becomes very steep and it goes off into the dirt track mentioned above, which leads off into a trek around Bury St Edmunds. Suggestion: beginner skaters do not cross the bridge!
However, notwithstanding what is mentioned above, the park is a great option for beginners in terms of places to skate in the UK. There are some hills for more advanced skaters which can also be avoided by the beginner skaters if they wish.
Here are some other aspects of the park – it’s great for skating but also beautiful with flowers all throughout the Spring and Summer:
You can see pictured below, that the different pathways go off in multiple directions around the flowerbeds. They are wide, smooth and flat – great for beginner skaters.
Pictured above is another aspect which is near the back of the park. These pathways lead out towards the Church and the main road through another exit/entrance.
If you are taking children with you, there are other activities in the park to enjoy aswell such a rope bridge/tree house structure, a sand pit, swings, slides etc:
The Park’s opening times
The park opens every day from Monday to Saturday between the hours of 7.30am and 8pm and on Sunday between the hours of 9am and 8pm. It’s therefore great for nighttime skating too! I tested out my Chaya Melrose light up wheels in this park and really enjoyed trying them out there.
The town of Bury St Edmunds is steeped in history. If you would like to swat up on this prior to your visit, please see the wiki link below.
I hope you found this article helpful. Please comment below if you have been to Abbey Gardens and please do share other great places to skate in the UK, in the comments below.
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