People often forget how many lovely parks and open spaces London has, even away from the centre.
Wanstead Park happens to be down the road from me and it has lovely bluebell woods.
Its also pretty clear on the bluebell code to protect the species.
Which I think is a good thing.
A little haven between the roar of the North Circular and the A102M.
I went for a stroll in Wanstead Park earlier to look at the bluebells. The wood was carpeted with them but the light meant that the photographs weren’t as good as I had hoped.
Wanstead Park has several artificial lakes and ponds from the days when it was the gardens of a large and imposing Palladian house. The house if long gone, demolished to pay off the creditors amassed by the errant husband of the final owner in 1822. As we walked around the Ornamental Water with its twists, turns and islands we turned a corner to find a hawthorn standing on its own at the lake edge in full blossom.
Wanstead Park is managed by the City of London as part of Epping Forest. It’s a lovely place to stroll or picnic and you can find out more here:
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_plan… and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanstead_Park