By Hannah Corcoran, Features Subeditor
It's a sunny day in early March, and the first day of the year over fifteen degrees Celsius in Bristol. I regret wearing a woolly cardigan as I march up Lower Clifton Road, somehow thinking lower means downhill, and my turtleneck has created an unwanted radiator around my torso. I reach Constitution Hill (the walk here having clearly disagreed with my constitution) and the entrance to Goldney Garden where Kasha, Bristol's External Estates Officer, warmly greets me at the door.
The walled garden is an immediate sanctuary: sunshine and shadows, a Japanese maple, a carpet of crocuses, ladybirds, and laurel. Kasha shows me the blackcurrant bushes that point to the university's pioneering past. In 1938 Bristol's Dr Vernon Charley invented a vitamin-boosting drink- and distributed it for free to children and expectant mothers during World War Two- Ribena! Kasha tells me Apple Day- where members of the community come together to pick apples for pressing- was a success in the autumn and cider is now being made.
We follow the path down past the tennis court, where we pass a sleepy bee on the path: Kasha picks it up with a leaf and places it on a flower.
We walk along the terrace: students sunbathe with bottles of beer and wine in-hand as Goldney seems to (almost) double as Gran Canaria after a wet and cold start to the year.
Beyond a magnolia tree that's just beginning to flower, Kasha points out a young orchard. Just beyond are bee hives used for research and honey-making, which is very sweet of Kasha to mention.
Although an idyllic setting, Kasha tells me of the garden’s dark past, including how profits from slavery allowed the Goldney family to expand their house and build a dazzling grotto made from local stone but also using shells and minerals from the Caribbean.
Across the road from Goldney, history is also apparent in the entrances to the Second World War bomb shelter in front of Clifton Hill House. The concrete tunnel is a little longer than a shipping container. Kasha tells me it’s become an annual event for local teachers and schoolchildren to gather in the tunnels and recite war poetry.
But no one is sheltering in the tunnel on this bright warm day. We walk to Manor Hall Garden where students sun themselves, but so do Bristol’s feline residents. A cat saunters over to me but rightly glances with suspicion at the student journalist who has imposed on his favourite sunbathing spot.
Corin Hadley
Josie Horneff
Kasha introduces me to Simone, Horticultural Supervisor, and Marcus, Horticultural Technician, who tell me Manor Hall is known to be a favourite hangout spot for neighbourhood cats, including a late resident who had a social media page dedicated to him.
Kasha speaks very highly of her colleagues, many of whom have backgrounds in research and biodiversity, and encourages students to strike up conversation with the university’s hard-working gardeners.
Featured image: Goldney Garden | Epigram / Hannah Corcoran
As the weather warms, why not take a break from tapping away on your laptop and stroll around the university’s gardens? Or, even better, use your green fingers and keep an eye out for opportunities on the SU Volunteering Hub.
