27/05/2026
Reminiscing about Clough Hall Park.
I had a free hour today, while Mum had her hair done, so I bought myself a Tuna Salad sandwich from @ Hamiltons Bake Shop Kidsgrove (it was really good) and decided to sit and eat it at Clough Hall Park.
As a child I spent nearly all the school holidays at the Park. I was born in Buttlane so it was just up the road from us.
We'd set off early morning with nothing but an Embrey's greaseproof breadwrapper to come down the slide on. There were 2 slides and one was really high, we were always warned to be careful as my Uncle Eric fell from the top of the very same slide when he was a kid and got carried off in an Ambulance.
We'd play with who ever came along, sharing bikes and skates and stay all day till we were tired and dusty and made our way home only when our tummies started rummbling. I can't ever remember taking a sandwich or a drink or any money for that matter๐
The park was beautiful and full of flowers, my Grandad worked for the council, he did the gardening there. If ever you so much as touched a rose the "Parkie" would come out and chase you off with his stick.
We'd spend hrs playing tennis pretending to be Billie Jean King .
When we were older and at Clough Hall Comprehensive we'd get half a pie and chips from Kennedy's chippy and sit around the park to eat our dinner.
My sisters friends family ran The Park Stores where you could buy all sorts of sweets and cakes and the lady would split open a packet of Parkdrive Tips and sell them separately so we'd sneak off and have a little puff before going back to school ( sorry Mum ๐ซฃ).
At weekends the pavilion would be open and you'd here the c***k of china as the wives served sandwiches and cakes as the men played cricket ๐ Uncle Eric, fully recovered played for kidsgrove.
Well, on a glorious day like today I think I saw about 11 people in the park. A couple walking a dog, 5 kids sitting on the grass acting daft ๐, a couple of young men playing tennis and a young girl practising her netball. No mums with toddlers on the play area, the pavillion is covered in graffiti and behind bars and there was not a flower in sight. So sad to see it looking like this โน๏ธ
Did you go to Clough Hall Comprehensive or have any memories of the park?