Liverpool is a place with a lot of history, and its Festival Gardens are no exception. A former household ‘tip’ that is located ajacent to the Mersey was transformed into the UK’s first ever garden festival in 1984. The International Garden Festival was a concept deisgned to regenerate Liverpool and drive tourism following the huge industrial decline and Toxteth riots.
During a 5-month pageant, the Festival Gardens attracted about 3.4M visitors, with its huge mix of ornamental gardens from all over the world and the grand centerpiece, Festival Hall. When the festival was over, a large part of the gardens were re-developed to form residential housing. The remaining gardens were left derelict and it fell into disrepair in 1997.
Redevelopment work was done in 2010 which means that the garden has once again been transformed into a beautiful space. The gardens are ideal for picnic, bike ride or a relaxing walk through the woodland trails. Look out in the gardens for 2 restored pagodas, the restored Moon Wall, new lakes, waterways and waterfalls and a new pedestrianised area linking to the promenade.
