Roundhay Park 
 

Dads motorbike was big and black 
The side-car stole the show 
He’d pack it up with six of us 
To Roundhay Park we’d go 

Two kids and dad on the motorbike 
It was quite a hoot 
Three kids and mum in the side-car 
My brother and I in the boot 

To Roundhay Park on a summers day 
Ten of us in tow
To pick the daffodils so gay 
Then home to mum we’d go 

Two years on - to Rounday Park 
Twelve of us would track 
But now we had to walk there 
Little brothers on our backs 

Roundhay Park to go there 
Was a great delight
Leaving early in the morning 
Not reaching home till night

    ©MarieC 1998 

My memories of Roundhay Park in Leeds are somewhat hazy now, I remember it as a special place where we spent many happy hours, with picnics by the lake or visiting there when some fair was on. It amazes me somewhat the times we went there because it was such along way from where we lived it took our little legs so long to get there, When dad got rid of the sidecar it was the only way to get there as there were no buses. We would spend a couple of hours there meandering around the lake watching the boats longing for a cool swim, but never daring as we had always been told it was bottomless and anyone going in was never seen again. there were plenty of 'No Swimming' signs to back the story up, so none of us were game enough to see wether it was true or maybe it was the thought of the long walk home in wet clothes. There was a public swimming pool, which was empty most of the year but on those hot days it was so crowded you'd be lucky to have an inch of water to dip in anyway, so we never bothered. 
Spring time 
was especially beautiful the drive up to the park was shaded with huge trees and thousands of daffodils spread a carpet of yellow beneath them. Visitors  were banned from picking them for a couple of years but the ban was lifted when it was discovered that the daffodils grew much better when picked, so they just placed a limit on how many and that worked well the daffodils thrived and visitors were happy. 
Conkers
In the autumn or winter I can't remember, we would go there to rid the trees of 'horse chestnuts' we would collect as many as possible then make a hole thru the center of each and thread a lace so the 'Conker' would hang at the end then two opponents would take turns trying to break the others conkernut by hitting it with theirs, the game was won by the surviving 'king conker'which was challenged time and time again until it was finally weakened and conkered....

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