A London Wilderness, Greenwich Park Deer Enclosure

London is such a big city. Building everywhere, that is why it's parks are so important. I say this because a couple of Saturdays ago. I took the bus to Greenwich with my wife. It was hot and a couple of days later London would experience it's hottest ever days. We enjoyed a walk up the hill in Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory and like the hundreds of tourists took in the great views of London you get from that viewing area around the statue of General Woolfe.

View from Royal Observatory Greenwich

Having taken all our photos of the London skyline we walked up through the park to the Flower Garden. An enclosed area with nice laid out lawns and mature trees with its duck pond with a couple of rare Black Swans. It was by now early evening and the days heat starting to fade just a little. Although near a busy road the main A2 London to Dover road a major road out of London, Greenwich Park and the flower Garden are always peaceful.

Fox hides In Greenwich Park London

We sat in one of the viewing areas for the wilderness. A deer park after all Greenwich Park is one of the Royal Park. The deer however were nowhere to be seen so after a while we went to look for them. A sly but brazen fox ran right out of some bushes across the main path and back into the trees.

Monarch of the Glen In Greenwich Park

There is a woodland path that runs a long side the wilderness enclosure and we followed the path through the woods to another much better viewing area with views of the whole deer enclosure.

Deer Feeding In Greenwich Park

Then we saw them a herd of deer lead my the Big Male looking like Monarch of the Glen. They seemed to be playing to the the large group of people that had now arrived and posed for our cameras. The hum of the busy A2 and the speeding Police Cars did not disturb. They walked slowly through stopping to drink and eat from the troughs. They seemed to be making sure everybody got a good look at them and got that perfect photo before they moved on and back into the undergrowth.

A really nice end to the afternoon and a counterpoint to our busy lives. It sort of made us feel relaxed and that can't be a bad thing.

The Sun is Out. Have a Picnic

So on Easter Sunday a special day as Tesco's dose not open. We take the bus of to Greenwich with our bag of curly sandwiches, some salad (well you have to have some green. Don't you?), oh not forgetting the quiche. Now here's the thing, there are sandwiches and picnic treats for three people in the bag for life but one set is wrapped like it is some kind of bio hazard and it's escape could end life as we know it. The set is of course the food for me and my daughter. Our food is in cling film,foil and of course the airtight container. Wait a minute though ours is the bigger one, Ours is a feast and has almost a complete set of the off the self picnic. The Gluten Free one how ever is a bit more basic some home made sandwiches and that bleeding quiche again. Well a moan about the lack of interesting Gluten Free food is not what this is about.

Photograph Copyright Mr Chops Photography

No; It's about where we went not really what we had to eat. We got the bus to Greenwich as I have said but instead of making our way into Greenwich Park and enjoying the views from the top of the hill by the Royal Observatory or a look at the Deer park and the duck ponds or even the rose garden. We stayed in the area around the Cutty Sark and the Old Royal Navel College. We skillfully avoided the mini fun fair and street food stall and set up camp on the grass in the Old college grounds. Like many others who had the same idea. We set up on the grass and enjoyed the sun and the view of the river busy with sightseeing boats from Westminster and Tower Bridge and the regular fast river bus or Thames clipper.

Photograph Copyright Mr Chops Photography

you might think this could all be a bit boring after a while and we visited the Painted Hall or went on board the Cutty Sark but no. It was far to warm for going inside and the grass made for a nice place to just relax. The daughter wanted to try out a new camera so of she went to join the people around the fun fair or waiting for the boats while we just let the world go by. We found a great cheap way to relax and enjoy the rare event of a sunny British public holiday.

Two Temple Place A Hidden Gem

Ok it's in that time between Christmas and Easter and there isn't much to do. Lets find one of those hidden gems that London is so good at. A suprise really a city the size of london and it is full of hidden places that only a select few seem to know about. Two Temple place is just one such place.

Two temple Place is an old Gothic house that sits tucked away between Temple Tube station and Middle Temple just off the Embankment with a view of the river. In the winter it holds an exhibition on a theme or subject and the works are rarely seen works from public collections from al over the UK. I found out about these exhibitions and so Two temple Place from the magazine that comes with the Art Pass called Art Quarterly and so this year I kept a look out to see what exhibition was on this season.

So now you know I have visited two exhibitions here. This years JohnRuskin: The Power of Seeing and back n 2018, the one that really caught my eye Rhythm& Reaction: The Age of Jazz. I knew this one is one my wife would like.

The atmosphere is unique with small rooms and floorboards that creak and for the feeling of both an old grand house of London and an art gallery. It was like stepping into another world, A different age.

The cafe was great small but friendly with a separate area when the cafe bit was full. It had the feeling of an old Oxbridge college refectory but very much in the modern age with its menu even though we only had coffee.

I'm glad I found this hidden gem of London and look forward to visiting again. With its quirky atmosphere and friendly staff and most of all it's interesting exhibitions and architecture.

Prove that looking for those hidden gems is sometimes worth it.