The Reina Sofia Park is just five minutes away from the Parador, and absolutely delightful.
A brief history
Apparently this area was once a monastery garden, which is suggested by the name1, Huerta de los Frailes.2 Sadly I couldn’t find more information on the internet.
The Wallace Fountain
The Wallace Fountain was “donated to the city by the industrialist and merchant D. Juan Romero Rodríguez, who bought it at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1889 for an amount of one thousand reals.”3 The fountain is surrounded by busts of eight illustrious Ferrol Residents. “Wallace fountains are public drinking fountains named after, financed by and roughly designed by Sir Richard Wallace and sculpted by Charles-Auguste Lebourg. They are large cast-iron sculptures scattered throughout the city of Paris, France, mainly along the most-frequented sidewalks.”4
Flora
There are lots of old trees in the park and many look very interesting. Unfortunately the tree labels are in poor condition and I couldn’t recognise them without some help.
In a corner of the park I found an abundant collection of fungi, but I have no idea what they are!
The swamp cypress originates in the south eastern United States – so how did it get to a park in eastern Spain? I am reminded of a fascinating book by Andrea Wulf, The Brother Gardeners, which I found while researching Peter Collinson for the new book, Green Southwark. This tells the story, amongst others, of the fascinating plant exchange conducted between Peter Collinson of Peckham, London, and John Bartram, a farmer in the south eastern United States. I wonder if this is one of the trees which travelled to Europe as a result of their friendship?
The peacocks
The peacocks have apparently lived here since 1887! We saw several in the park, and several more in gardens n surrounding streets – extraordinary! It is not entirely clear that the birds are well-cared for, as there seem to be many stories of vandalism…
The Dance Floor
This s an open space in the middle of the park which is used for a variety of purposes which need flat spaces!
Aquacienca Garden
The Water Science Park, next to the Reina Sofía Park was closed for renovation when we visited: ‘It is an educational space to learn and play with the main element of the planet and of vital importance for Ferrol…”
We visited the Reina Sofía Park twice during our short stay in Ferrol and it was delightful on both occasions.
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