Granby Park
To start off, the place looks really, really cool! You walk in and are greeted by a wonderland of installations, structures, plants and art works! The first to catch my eye was the Dream Garden, an amazing structure made from old windows, spoons, bottles and a bicycle wheel to name but a few of the components! It goes to prove that window box gardening is possible regardless of the size of your space so long as you have a bit of imagination.
Dream Garden
The most dominant structure in the park is the Amphitheatre. It's made almost entirely of pallets and it looks absolutely amazing. If someone had explained the idea to me I would not have been able to visualise something so brilliant. It will be used for talks, concerts and music sessions during the lifetime of the park.
The impressive exterior of the amphitheatre
Inside the amphitheater the stage is set.
Next to the Amphitheatre is The Granby Grazer, a pop-up cafe in a pop-up park! It was packed the day I was there and one look at the menu will tell you why, some really tasty grub being served here! There was soup, sandwiches and hot pots but what stood out to me was the roast lamb with red cabbage and mint. At €4.50 it was a steal!
The Granby Grazer.
One of the areas of the park that I found really interesting was the Trade School. It works on the principle of barter. You can sign up to teach a class and instead of asking for money you can specify something that you would like your students to bring along to barter with. There are lots of different classes already on offer from yoga to art. The Spanish lessons, in particular, caught my eye. I'll have to investigate this further, I wonder what the teacher would like as barter?
The trade school under the poly tunnel.
On the way out the Shoe Wall caught my eye. What a really cleaver idea this is. Initially it looks like a wall in a shoe shop with all the shoes displayed neatly but when you get closer you see that there's a plant rooted in each shoe! What better way to recycle old worn out shoes?
Shoe wall.
What saddens me about the park is that it will only be with us until the 22nd of September. Such hard work and dedication has gone into this park that I wish it could stay open for longer. The Dominic Street area has a rich history and culture and this project has brought some much needed life back to the area. I'd really urge everyone to visit the park while it's here, it'll open your eyes as to what can be achieved by a group of people with drive and determination. On top of that I think it's a wonderful place to go and chill out, have a cup of tea or read a book. It's a must see.
Some of the installations in the park.
For more information check out the park's website.
