A year in Greenwich Park: November and new routes

My month in Greenwich Park this month has been one full of colour and one full of new routes. Partly that's been because I've been leaving work later and because it's darker now the clocks have changed, but my new route home rarely includes a walk through the park. Initially I missed the amount of time I had in the park, but that was short lived as I've taken many different routes through the park this month, and so I've probably seen more of it than usual.

It does mean this is a photo heavy post. I've taken so many, and these are just a few of those.  At the start of the month you can see how green the trees still were, with the yellowing of the leaves just starting to take place.

But as the month went on the yellow started to take over - no bad ting if you ask me! And the tree that I've taken a shine too looked just as good with yellow leaves as it did with green. As it dropped its leaves I started to notice a birds nest towards the top of the tree.

And while there's been lots of colour, the line of trees below against the skyline looked so much more dramatic in black and white.

Leaves. Well if they're not on the trees, they have to go somewhere don't they? I've walked through piles of them both in the park and in the surrounding streets. No wonder they sell leaf mulch. We have our own supply in the garden, which we need to capture this weekend. We've had our sycamores pollarded again, but of course not before the majority of the leaves came down...

There was heavy rain this month too and I had a squelchy walk to work one day in my trainers. So much rain that puddles formed on the grass, and of course I took a photo or two, I was captivated by the reflection in the puddles.

Going through the photos for this post it's easy to see how the colours have changed, but day to day it's been more gradual.  The shot below is the same avenue of trees as the first photo above. Quite a change isn't there?

And the majority of leaves have gone from my favourite tree. There's just a few remaining at the bottom, and the birds nest is much more exposed now and I can't help but think it's become just a little more draughty up there.

The new routes started around the middle of the month, I've walked many of the paths now and even walked around the edge. One morning I thought I'd walk the reverse of my non-park route home, to see what it was like in the light. But in doing so, I captured this view of the trees through the railings. 

And when I couldn't bear to watch from the outside any more, the view got even better. The sun and shade, the blue skies and fluffy white clouds and the colours of the trees, along with the path leading me through it. What's not to like?

And then it got cold. It's been quite a month for weather. The first frosts were still evident when I arrived in the park and this next photo is looking into a frosty flower garden.

As I walked further into the park the frost was still heavy and the bare trees provided the perfect foil for the view. 

I never expected November to be the most bountiful month picture-wise so far, but it has been. The colours, the sun and the frosts have all contributed to that, and I'm learning so much more about the park that I walk through every day on the way to work.

What have you noticed about your special place this month?

A year in Greenwich Park: October

Now that we're already into November it's time to share with you my monthly post on life in Greenwich Park. As the month progressed there was a definite theme and that will become apparent as you move through the post.  Sorry no spoilers here!

Last month I told you about how I'd watched the sweet chestnuts change from green to brown, but it wasn't until the start of October that I photographed them. And it was on the day they matched my cardy, which made me smile far more than perhaps it should have.

It's still been warm and there's been plenty of blue skies. I found myself catching this view several mornings on the trot and realised that that's the other thing about Greenwich Park, it gives you vistas to other parts of London and views that not everyone gets to see, how special is that? 

That's Canary Wharf in the distance (with the pointy top) and it always looks much smaller than it really is. That's partly because the top of Greenwich Park is quite high up, hence the cycle ride being downhill all the way there and not on the way back.

I've still not managed to cycle to work though, but I know it's getting closer. I'm still enjoying the walk, but I've made some sensible purchases which will help me be seen at night, and that's a good thing, so I'm running out of excuses!

One of the themes of the month is dogs. The dog walkers have been more evident, and sadly so has the dog poo. Especially on wetter days. I've been lucky so far, if you get my meaning, but I'm looking where I'm going more often now. Unlike the dog that came charging at me one morning in pursuit of his stick. He was so intent on his stick that he almost took me out. It was one of those chunky looking dogs, so one second more and timing it wrong, I think I might have ended up closer to the ground than I'd have liked. I didn't, but it was a close call.

The other theme that became apparent is that for those working in the park, it's been a month of preparing and tidying up. The pedalloes on the boating lake have been stored for the winter, the lake has had menn in waders in cleaning it and the bedding plants in the flower garden have been replaced. 

The banana plants, where I turn right, have also been moved somewhere where I presume they'll overwinter. But I know where I turn right now, so although I'm missing their height and structure, I'm coping. 

As well as the blue, cloudless skies there's been days that have had moodier skies too. And on those days where there's threats of rain it's been easy to know if it's imminent as I've heard the rustle of joggers as they've approached in their waterproofs! 

The parakeet population seem to have been in the ascendancy too, their screeching louder than before. It's almost as if they know they can claim the park for themselves once more. 

The photo above and below was in the morning of one of those moody sky days. The evening was much worse. It was dark and wet and moody as moody can be and also the first time I saw the laser of the meridian line for quite a while. I scrambled to take a blurry picture as I balanced my umbrella on one shoulder before scurrying off through a darkening park.

That was my latest walk through the park, or so I thought. The next night it was even later. So a week of firsts, seeing the laser and then hearing the announcement the park was shutting in ten minutes. That's definitely one way of upping your step tempo, I can tell you. There is a car that drives around all the entrances so I wouldn't have been stuck there, but even so, I'd rather be out than in.

With the clocks changing the park opening hours also change. It now shuts daily at 6pm, instead of 7pm, and so that's brought about a new rule for me. As the park can get quite dark (another of my discoveries this month), my new rule is if I can see families and dog walkers still using my route through the park I'll use the park, but if not I'll stick to the road and walk up the street instead. I've done that a couple of times and it's not a bad walk, it's just not as pretty as the alternative.

As well as the yellows and golds, the reds of autumn are making themselves known. The Virginia Creeper is at the exit I take each morning and the hydrangea is one of the varieties in the Flower Garden. One evening, when I'd left work at a reasonable time, I took another diversion there to see just what was going on with the banana plants.

The banana plant bed was half empty and so it was clear they were being moved for the winter. Like other parts of the park the ground was full of the husks of the sweet chestnuts. The Asian community are foraging for the chestnuts, out in most weathers and well prepared too with carrier bags, shopping trolleys and sensibly plastic gloves. I've even seen one man tramping about with plastic overshoes on, I told you there was less rigour from the dog walkers didn't I?

So another month in Greenwich Park has passed already. A month where I've still bumped into my regulars, we're nodding and smiling and I think they are the real stalwarts of the park. A month where the ground staff are busy preparing the park for winter and the shorter days. And a month where I've realised just how dark it can get in there, and while it's pretty and an awesome space, it's not somewhere I want to be in the dark.

What have you noticed about your special place this month?

A year in Greenwich Park: September

I got thinking the other day, Greenwich Park is now such a big part of my working week that it'll be interesting to watch it close up over the coming months. And so, my thinking led me to think sharing how the park changes with you would be a good thing too. 

I'm hoping to capture how people use the park changes, as well as the more obvious changes in the trees and gardens. You'll remember last month I shared how I took a diversion through the Flower garden and I'm counting that as the start of this series as that coincided with my daily commute to Greenwich.

Each day I've been walking the same route, and it's often as busy as this:

Seriously though, the view above is now one of my favourite in the park. Before I'd really only thought of the park as a whole, and with the exception of the Flower Garden which is gated, not individual parts. I do see people on my way through the park and we'll come onto those in a moment, but first conkers.

Yes, on 1 September I found my first conker. That was quite a shock to the system as the weather was still very much warm, and the warmest two days were still to come. It's been fun to see children with their parents scour for the biggest ones, with only a few of the bigger kids encouraging the conkers out of the trees with sticks.

The park is still quiet in the mornings, but I've noticed that it's now quieter in the afternoons too. Where once there were impromptu picnics and gatherings as I walked home, the park is less busy. There's groups of schoolkids messing about, as you do, after school. But it's in the mornings that I notice people more. 

People walking their dogs. Like the old man with the Jack Russell and the man with the greyhounds, who hang back and then gracefully bound past me. The greyhounds that is, not their owner. It's got to the point where I judge if I'm running ahead or behind schedule on where I meet people along the way. Most often it's behind schedule, but occasionally I see the panic in their faces because they must be doing exactly the same thing!

The light has been great this month, it's that time of year when the sun is low and it's been great to capture how the sun shines through the trees. It's actually been quite captivating. And magical.

THE TREE WHERE I TURN RIGHT

I've watched the sweet chestnuts turn from green to brown, but that photo is technically next month so you'll have to wait for that. The grass in front of the tree where I turn right, is usually a good indicator of how my day will go. I mean the day after the Autumn equinox, it was a lovely day and I risked sandals. Walking over the grass I soon realised this was a foolish decision and I arrived at work with wet feet. Lesson learnt and now it's trainers every day.

Ironically there's less cyclists in the park this September. Perhaps most were taking advantage of the lighter London traffic and can't quite fit a cycle commute into their "back to school" September routine, who knows.  And I say ironically as September was supposed to be the month that I'd start cycling in - or rolling down the hill one way at least.  It hasn't happened partly because I'm still enjoying my walks, even the uphill ones on the way home, and I'm not ready to give those up just yet. Maybe October will be the month, maybe...

There is one tree that I think is pretty special, and that's this one.

If I were to follow a tree here, it'd be this one. It's a fantastic shape and as you can see its leaves are starting to turn. It'll be interesting to see how it changes, along with the rest of the park over the coming year. And if you're wondering I haven't checked in on my first tree for quite a while, maybe I should.

While there's been less cyclists, there's definitely more people using the park to keep fit with runners jogging past every which way. My favourite fitness thing though has to be the girl that jogs backwards. It makes me smile inside every time I see her, it just looks so peculiar. A bit like these greeny-grey pinecones. I've got my eye on these, though they'd better hurry up if they want to be in contention for the bleached treatment.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of October brings for the park and sharing that with you.  Do you have a place - park or otherwise - that you visit regularly and note how it changes?