Personal

Lancaster

I've been staying near Lancaster this week. It's a town I don't know at all. I've taken the chance to pop in a couple of times to do some of the tourist trail.

I've been on a guided tour of the castle (now a working court) and can tell you that jurors get to hone their general knowledge with a quick game of Trivial Pursuit when waiting for a trial to commence. I've walked by the river. I've strolled through Williamson park.

In the centre of the park is the Ashton Memorial. You can see it from the M6: a grand domed white building on top of a hill. It was "Erected by Lord Ashton to commemorate his family" and subsequently "donated to the people of Lancaster" in 1907 according to a plaque inside.

Outside the park an old wooden gate hints at some other families' legacies. "Dedicated as an open space, 1951" said the simple notice. The Quaker burial ground is easy to miss; it's not marked on the map and there's not much of a marker on the ground.

The contrast between these two spaces couldn't have been greater. No prizes for guessing which appealed to me the most.