Victoria Park, Leamington Spa

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Victoria Park is a public park in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It is situated about half a mile east of the town centre and is on the south bank of the River Leam. The total area of the park as it stands today is eighteen and a half acres.^[1]

Up until the 1830s the park was just part of farmland on the edge of the growing spa town. It was at that time that one of the local land owning families, the Willes, began to hold archery competitions on the land. In the middle of the nineteenth century Leamington Cricket club made their first home there and in the 1860s the New Riverside Walk was opened. The park was extensively landscaped and redesigned in 1899 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.^[2] Before the Royal Show moved to its current venue in Stoneleigh one of its venues was Victoria Park.

The park today is still popular. The bowling greens are amongst the best in England hosting the English Women's Bowling Championships annually as well as Women's World Bowling Championships in 1996 and 2004. Most of Leamington's public tennis courts are in the park as well as extensive children's play areas, a skate park and a cafe. Even in the 21st century walking remains a popular pastime in the park as it was chosen to host the 2006 European Race Walking Championships.^[3]