Stanley Park

Every now and then I start work a little later than usual. For those of you who don't know I'm currently working at Blackpool Hospital, which I enjoy....but which is a fair commute away from where I live. Not ideal. We usually all start our shift at 8am, which means that I tend to set my alarm for around 5:45, snooze for 10 minutes or so until just before 6am, then drag myself out of bed ready to hit the road at 6:20. 

Today however, I started work at 9am. Now, I can hear you thinking...hey Steph, that means an extra hour in bed, score. Wrong. It actually means only an extra half hour in bed. Why?! Well, today was a great example of why. Blackpool hospital doesn't really have a staff parking (...well, it kind of does, but I don't want to pay for a permit, and you don't really gain that much having one in my opinion) so I have to park on one of the streets around the hospital. When I start at the usual time of 8 I'll usually have around a 15-20 minute walk to work after I've found a park. When I start at 9 however, all the good parks are long gone. Long gone.

Today I had to park the furthest away form work I've ever had to park. Thankfully, I'd set off in good time, and kind of had a heavy foot as I was driving, so I knew I wasn't going to be late; I was just kind of annoyed I had so far to walk.

I figured the fastest way to get to the hospital would be walking through Stanley Park. I'd never been in the park, I usually park along one of the adjacent roads, so I wasn't entirely sure where I was going, but my sense of direction told me it was defiantly the best move to go through the park rather than right around it.

And it was the best walk to work ever. Sure, it's maybe not the most glamorous of parks I've ever seen, but it is kind of pretty. And after a long and tiring day at work, walking back through the park in the spring sunshine, with daffodils popping up through the grass, and blossom trees coming into bloom, was just what I needed.