Boules Court

[My login is Henrietta]

Not being a resident in Marple any more but a frequent visitor (most Saturdays shopping) I think I have donated on  many occasions to events going on in Marple including fund raising for the boules court.

After seeing the opening match on the court and seeing less than 30 people there (walking past twice about 1 hour apart) I think this sand pit will very quickly be turned into Marple's biggest cat litter tray to date.

I do hope this boules court is a success and I am proved wrong.

A "crowd" of 30 compares well with the numbers of players and spectators on most French campsites and parks.

Looking at the photograph and guessing - is it behind the bowling green where the old putting green used to be?

[admin]

Hard to tell exactly how much it gets used as people can just turn up with their own boules and play whenever they want. I wouldn't say that it's heavily used at all but I received 4 or 5 calls during the summer months this year about borrowing the Friends Group's boules and the last time I used it was with a group of young people on the NCS Challenge in August:



It's a few years since we held a community tournament, the last one was in 2010: (http://visitmarple.co.uk/photos/thumbnails.php?album=97)



We also had a challenge event during the 2011 Locks Festival:

[Tricky]

I've never seen anyone using it on any of my visits to the park.. is there a certain time or date that people play ?

[admin]

Wow, really encouraging comments there Neil, thanks 

I thought it was a pretty good crowd, between 20 and 30 participants sustained by people coming and going over a period of four hours between 1pm and 5pm. Youngest player was 3 years old and the eldest in their 80s. Whether that means the court will be a success in the long term remains to be seen but I was very encouraged by how many people turned up, how long they stayed and how much they enjoyed playing.

Anybody wishing to give the game a try can borrow a set of boules from Bob Wilson, the Community Parks Officer who is usually in the park during normal hours. You will need to pay a £10 deposit, which is fully refundable providing that the set is returned to Bob complete and intact. Alternatively, you can buy an extremely good value set from ALDI in Romiley for only £5 while their stocks last.

There are pictures in the Virtual Tour at  http://visitmarple.co.uk/photos/thumbnails.php?album=63

Be interested to know if everyone else's views are as negative as Neil's 

[Neil Smith]

Not being a resident in Marple any more but a frequent visitor (most Saturdays shopping) I think I have donated on  many occasions to events going on in Marple including fund raising for the boules court.

After seeing the opening match on the court and seeing less than 30 people there (walking past twice about 1 hour apart) I think this sand pit will very quickly be turned into Marple's biggest cat litter tray to date.

I do hope this boules court is a success and I am proved wrong.