With beautiful summer weather in full swing, the hot days and warm evenings offer a chance to get outside and do some reading in a place other than your backyard or balcony.
Following the Cloverdale Reporter’s first article on “5 places to read a book outside in downtown Cloverdale this summer,” here is our top 5 places to read a book outside excluding downtown. Some of these sites will offer the reader a quieter option than the downtown spots and with less external traffic. Secluded and somewhat intimate, these spots offer an oasis of tranquility amidst the traffic, noise, and bustle of Surrey.
Here are the Cloverdale Reporter’s top five (in no particular order):
1. Surrey Centre Cemetery
Though not a setting for everyone, Surrey Centre Cemetery, the city’s oldest, offers a relaxed space to read. The only place with a bench in the cemetery is the Butterfly Garden. As the garden is perched on the crest of the cemetery, it also offers great views over southern Surrey. Washroom: Yes, there is one close to the 60th Avenue entrance.
2. Clayton Community Centre
Clayton Community Centre has a nice green space to the south of the building. The small park offers some privacy as there is a winding knoll in the middle of the park. The space also has public art and a stand of trees wraps its west and south edges. Washroom: Yes, it’s in the centre.
3. Hillcrest Park
Tucked away in a neighbourhood in North Cloverdale, Hillcrest Park is a great place to flip some pages. The park has benches, walking paths, and a baseball diamond. Bonus if there’s actually a ballgame on as the joyous, slow-paced nature of baseball complements the pace of turning pages. The pairing of the two can offer the reader the chance to refresh both heart and mind. Better than therapy. Washroom: no, but the school may have washrooms open during ball games.
4. Cloverdale Athletic Park
There are too many different places to pull up a spot to read in Cloverdale Athletic Park to list them all. The park is massive and you are guaranteed to always find a spot to sit and devour a novel. The park has amazing views of Golden Ears, Edge Peak, and Blanshard Peak to the north, too. Washroom: Yes, washrooms are located on both sides of the change-room building in the centre of the park by the main football field.
5. Duck Pond
The Duck Pond on the northern side of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds has a solitary bench to sit and peruse a book. On the quieter side, waterfowl abound in the pond creating a bucolic setting. At times, one can hear noise from Cloverdale Youth Park, which is a stone’s throw away, but it isn’t distracting. Washroom: Yes, in the Cloverdale Rec. Centre across from Cloverdale Youth Park.
Bonus Spot
The trees lining the perimeter of the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre grounds are a perfect spot to stop for some shady respite from the sun. They also offer a place to catch up on some reading. You’ll need to sit on the ground or bring a chair, but the space is quiet and rarely used. Washroom: Yes, in the Cloverdale Rec. Centre across from Cloverdale Youth Park.
Have a favourite spot to read a book outside in the summer that you’d like to share? If so, please send info and a pic to editor@cloverdalereporter.com.