This is a small but beautiful garden, set in a old quarry just by the Catholic cathedral.

As it is a sunken garden in a former quarry, the gardens are sheltered from the cold North Sea winds that are often a feature of the Norwich climate. On a sunny, breezy Norfolk day, the Plantation Gardens can be an oasis of stillness and calm.

It is the British equivalent of a Japanese Garden, perfect for taking a date, reading, or engaging in a contemplative series of sit and stare moments. It is not a children's playground, or a picnic area. You can do all that 250 yards away in Chapelfield Gardens.

And that is the problem. The Plantation Gardens are too small to be too successful. As there are plenty of open spaces in the vicinity for children to play and picnicers to picnic, perhaps they need to build on its strengths and encourage quietude.

The city is noisy and narcissistic; it would be nice for nature and those of us looking for respite, to have a small place where silence and stillness is respected and encouraged.