Ebbw Vale Notes

This photo is of the Garden Festival that was held in Ebbw Vale in 1992. I had a season ticket for the festival and spent many an afternoon there, usually in the rain.

The Ebbw Vale Garden Festival was one, and the last, of just five such events:

Liverpool (1984)
Stoke-on-Trent (1986)
Glasgow (1988)
Gateshead (1990)
Ebbw Vale (1992)

The concept for the festivals was to reclaim large areas of urban derelict land. The sites have all now been used for other things, just as it was planned. But as Blaenau Gwent MP Dai Davies says on the Garden Festival website, it’s a shame that more of the festival hasn’t been kept.

Many of the photos on the website feature Gryff, the festival’s mascot. I recall an Ebbw Vale rugby game when Gryff went onto the pitch to promote the festival. A ‘wag’ on the terrace shouted: “Ref, now there’s two clowns on the pitch!”

There are more Garden Festival pictures and history on this unofficial website.