london parks

Now it's Westow, which is basically a bloody great hill and a short- cut to the recycling bins and garden centre round the back of Safeway. It's lovely and I try and walk through it at least once a day. Warning: one exit leads NOWHERE.

Five minutes' walk away is Crystal Palace Park, which, now that Bromley council have given up on the Insanely Huge Multiplex idea and decided to re-develop in other less severe ways, is never fully open and seems to have vast swathes of churned-up earth everywhere, with neither a JCB nor a hard-hatted workman in sight. Much of it is glorious though; I still get the shivers walking around the Concert Bowl, where I saw the Pixies back before I ever knew what London *was*.

My wanderings in the summer took me to a couple of terrific open spaces: Hilly Fields (split equally between SE4 and SE13), and the achingly silent and elevated Oxleas Wood (out past Eltham). Less pleasant was South Norwood Country Park - the 'country' bit presumably referring to the fact that it's overgrown - where I was nearly attacked by a big dog. Not going back there.

In summer it's a wonderful place to be, although you do find yourself wishing that there wasn't a road within 20 yards of wherever you end up. It's full of tall grasses, gorse and narrow, secret passageways.

In autumn, you can pick mushrooms there. We found huge numbers of Amethyst Deceivers, small, slender violet mushrooms with a delicate flavour. Very pretty in risotto.

There's also a stream - Beverley Brook - that runs through the common. There are some wonderful tableaux of gently bubbling water, weeping willows and lush pasture. Not bad for a big city.

I am vetoing any further votes for Clissold Park until such they sort out the drainage. It's getting beyond a joke. Also, when are they going to plumb in that new water bubbler?

I've never been to Brockwell park. This makes me sad. Clissold is good - GOATS!

Going on the bat trails has become essential.

My nearest park is Epping Forest, it's very big and very muddy in winter, also it makes a good place for launching rockets.

I also live a few minutes' walk from Wimbledon Common/Putney Heath, which is bigger, more exciting, but I don't think it quite has the wistful charm of Barnes. I was also walking on Wimbledon Common the morning Rachel Nickell's mutilated body was found, which left bad associations for me which I think still linger.

My friend also claims she saw a bunyip on Wimbledon Common, but I thought they were only indigenous to Australia.

I also (I reall am spoiled) live very close to London's biggest open space, Richmond Park, which was a royal hunting ground for Henry 8th and his cronies. It's astonishing that it supports such a large population of deer considering its location, but it'a wonderful place to go for a long walk - it would take at least 2 hours to walk around it, though it's absolutely magical to cycle around on a summer's evening (though try not to fall off and scrape all the skin off your leg, ouch).

I'm very lucky, really.

"Park! Park! Swings! Swings! Swings!"

Until the early eighties there was an Elizabethan house in the middle which had a museum in it with lots of stuffed animals and one of those beehives with the glass side so you could see all the bees indutriously doiung what bees do inside. But then it BURNT DOWN, leaving a shell with scaffolding and plastic sheeting which has remained there ever since whilst they decide to demolish or re-build. Whitbreads wanted to turn it into a pub-restaurant, but the locals complained, so it is destined to *continue* being a burnt out shell covered in scaffolding.

I think my parents might have got engaged in Priory Park. Or it might have been Friary Park. I can't remember.

How about dog's mess?

It's got a nice Walled Garden and a nice clocktower. Apart from that I don't know much about it.

However, better views of London can be obtained from the top of Norwood Park, which is roughly equidistant from my house but in the opposite direction.

there's a gig at the ivy house pub tonight - 9pm - just wondering whether you could go?

if there's another gig at that place I'll mail you (they're closed for a break in july).

victoria park has violent squirrels. a couple of summers ago i went there a lot and often encountered fluffy urban warriors, bounding along looking all squirrely then getting to the middle of the path and squaring up opposite me, jumping and weaving to stay in my way every time i tried to get past, li'l squirrely fists in the air and everything! at the time i thought it was sort of sweet, if slightly worrying (wot the hell has someone been doing to these poor squirrels to make them act like this?), but the other week in time out there was a thing about wild animals in london (we have loads of foxes round us which are aces obv) and a story about this woman who was terrorised by a squirrel hammering on her window. eventually she somehow pushed it off the windowsill i think but it reappeared 5 minutes later and carried on menacing her! she was like 10 floors up or something! and next week there was a letter by a squirrel expert saying hey, if a squirrel squares up to you like that, they aren't afraid, they're looking for the best way to attack - "and make no mistake, they *will* attack"! aaargh! i can never leave the house again! they could gouge eyes out very handy with their squirrel hands.

perhaps southwark park has that 07 flavour?

I have never been to Finsbury Park. Is it any good?

nice to walk through but not so nice to sit in maybe

i still haven't been to Wanstead Park.

my Dad used to have his lunch in Waterlow Park as it was a stone's throw from where he worked. There was an aviary with a swearing mynah bird.

a fave from childhood was Arnos Park which was notable for the big viaduct carrying the Piccadilly Line north from Arnos Grove to Southgate.

Finsbury Park - it's nicer to sit round the back, on the slopes looking down towards the Harringay Ladder.

(accidentally lost half my post)....than sitting near the entrance nearest the tube station mixing it with tramps and games of football.

i still haven't been to Wanstead Park

I used to live in Wanstead and the park is pretty nice!

I have never been to Finsbury Park. Is it any good?

-- Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 September 2007 16:01

its wonderful*

*it actually punches some distance below its weight, but, how i'd love to see its green/brown shores again

i forget you live SOTR now

In Regents Park, have seen a woman taking a ferret for a walk on a lead.

I just saw a man walking a ferret near covent garden. Perhaps we need a london ferrets thread.

I've seen a man walking one loads of times on Essex Road.

Osterley Park (NT)
2 Reviews from everyone and 6 scores without reviews

jahlani brathwaite reviewed 5 months ago
Quality Excellent
Come here summer good vibes trust meh

Andrew Davidson reviewed 9 months ago
Quality Excellent
Robust English food in rustic stables.

I had no idea the ferret population of London was so large (that's at least three already).

(Unless the bloke from Essex Road was paying a visit to Covent Garden)

Large amounts of Finsbury Park fenced off at the moment in preparation for Ian Brown's tuneless caterwauling next weekend, I can't wait.

Coincidentally, I spotted a man walking a ferret in Waltham Cross last night.

I've seen man-with-ferret many times in Trafalgar Square. Usually leaded, but occasionally pouring it through his hands like mercury.

On those occasions would you describe it as an unleaded ferret?