Brighton park is '˜best in the country'

The Rockery, opposite Preston Park, competed in the Fields in Trust UK’s Best Park of 2016 competition.

Despite just missing out on the title to Rouken Glen Park, Scotland, it was crowned the Best Park in England 2016.

Garden manager Andy Jeavons, 50, said: “We were totally shocked and absolutely elated.

“The park has just gone from strength to strength.”

The rock garden is the largest in the UK and is currently celebrating 80 years of gardening.

Mr Jeavons said: “I think the public love the mix of colour and we have a fantastic fantastic bunch of volunteers.”

The winner of the UK’s Best Park 2016 was announced at the Fields in Trust Awards on November 30 at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The result was all down to a public vote from more than 10,000 people, and no judges were present.

Visitors said they were ‘absolutely thrilled’ about the rock garden’s nomination in the national competition.

They love the garden’s ‘colour and scents’, and said the ambience ‘made them happy’.

The rock garden was designed and built during the Great Depression, between 1934 and 1936.

Park superintendent Captain Bertie MacLaren decided the overgrown railway bank would make a perfect rock garden.

He then began a two-year building process with the garden finally opening on May 30, 1936.

It now has seven volunteers who come in every Wednesday between 10am and 1pm and a big Community Payback team.

Mr Jeavons said: “People who are paying back their sentences come and work for me. They are usually here all week.”

The next steps for England’s Best Park 2016 is to possibly enter in a City in Bloom or a Green Flag Award competition.

For more information on the Rockery garden, visit @PrestonRockGarden on Facebook.