I, for one, wouldn't normally associate a visit to London with being outside - and yet this weekend that's exactly what has happened. With my car safely parked for the weekend (a multi-purpose trip, of course) I began my adventures by...going pretty much to the other end of the Piccadilly line. I don't think I ever really understood just how long the Piccadilly line is, but having spent a large portion of this weekend on it I can say with authority: It. Is. Long.
Anyway, the length of tube lines has little to do with parks and open spaces - other than the fact that London's best parks and open spaces seem to be at the extreme ends of these lines. Friday's delight was Grovelands Park in Southgate (which isn't South in the slightest - other than in relation to, say, Morecambe). I'd walked past it on Thursday evening and thought to myself "My, that looks like a rather delightful park" and indeed it was. I was treated to a proper little wood, replete with old but still serviceable bench, daffodils, the vivid green of new tree leaves and a woodland play area just far enough away not to be intrusive but close enough to know there were other young souls enjoying themselves.
After a lovely chunk of time in the woodland shade I moved on to soak up the sunshine on one of the large expanses of grass. Proper, thick, luscious grass which is a delightful mattress to enjoy. I get a real sense of longevity in these parks - not ancient longevity, but having been designed and developed usually at least a hundred or so years ago they are living still and providing such fabulous outside spaces for us mere humans to enjoy. Deeeeeeeeeeelightful.
When the time was right I then found myself meandering through central London, somewhat aiming for St James's Park but actually ending up in a delightful little square (St James's Square, no less) having stumbled across Saville Row quite by accident. St James's Square offered blossom, vivid tulips in reds and purples (it was the purples that really did it) and more marvellous grass to lie on as the heat of the day was beginning to fade. From thence it was on to Trafalgar Square and the noise and crowds of a plethora of street entertainers. But also: more sunshine. Oh, sunshine sunshine sunshine - what a glory you are! A free recital by a London chamber choir took me inside for about an hour and emphasised how much I was yearning to be outside again - so supper was had al fresco on the Southbank.
Saturday's open space was somewhat different - a friend is developing a growing project at a hostel in Peckham and I was able to join him (along with some other friends) for a Day of Doing. Although long term the hope is to get some of the hostel residents involved in the project it's very much in its infancy at the moment and so my friend (and his band of merry volunteers) is getting things growing with a view to enhancing the environment if nothing else. Slow and steady is the name of the game and they've already made a noticeable difference with raised beds and benches - and with the growing season now upon us it's all about getting seeds (and the plants that are being grown on window ledges and rooftops) into the soil and letting them do their stuff.
Saturday was also the only bit of outside time I really didn't enjoy: London has many attributes but for me its South London butcheries are not one - and Peckham has a number! The beautiful sunshine and warmth I've enjoyed this weekend didn't help matters but it was but a moment of meh during a weekend of gentle enjoyment.
This morning saw me dropped off at Alexandra Palace, a place I have heard of often but never before visited. I didn't have a plan for the day, other than to make it back to Heathrow (from whence I'm typing) and yet found myself ensconced in yet another glorious parkland and, by great good fortune I managed to get on a tour of the site, provided by local volunteers. My interest and the fact that one of the tour guides took a shine to me meant I was squeezed on to the 11am tour. Huzzah! My curiosity to learn more about Alexandra Palace and, indeed, many of the other Victorian era buildings and parks in London, has now definitely been piqued, as has a desire to hunt down some guides to walks along disused railway lines. Plenty to keep me busy.
And then it was back to the sunshine and the grass (this time immediately in front of the back of Alexandra Palace (the south side of the building, which now could be considered the front, was originally the back - the original palace train station and main entrance being on the north side) to finish a fascinating biography of Edith Cavell. The daughter of a vicar, Cavell trained as a nurse and founded a nursing training institute in Belgium in the years leading up to the First World War. She stayed in Belgium at the outbreak of the war and was involved in helping Allied soldiers and Belgians of conscription age out of the occupied territories - for which she was executed by the Germans. The story of this remarkable woman who had truly devoted her life to the service of others was compelling reading - and somehow reading it in London added another dimension to the experience (London being much more evocative of the Wars for me, somehow).
It's been a glorious weekend on so many levels but the joy of the outdoors has been a true highlight - and has awakened a new interest in finding more of Outside London to explore on my next visits.
No comments:
Post a Comment