Park Life
I, like many others who were growing up/older in the 90s, can only hear one thing when I see those two words: Yep! The title track from Blur’s 1994 platinum album, which, as it happens, I’ve always rather loved!
But, in this context I’m referring to the many wonderful green spaces that we are lucky to enjoy around us, especially in London and, even more specifically, in South London.
(Ok, ok, you’ve got us! South London is our fave. I mean, obviously we do parties anywhere and we love everywhere but we do have a particular fondness for our stomping ground south of the river).
Would you believe that the number of public green spaces in South London exceeds 1,500 covering over 35% of the boroughs? They’re not all as large as Richmond Park or Blackheath of course but that’s a pretty phenomenal statistic!
Crucially, our parks are an ideal place for families to hang out, walk the dog and for children to burn off some energy. And how much of a life saver were these wonderful green spots when it came to the dreaded drudgery of lockdown? During this time, I discovered parts of my favourite parks that I never knew existed!
In fact, one recent study found that over 50% of Londoners regularly poured out of their flats and houses to spend time in a local park as a way of enjoying some escapism from those house-bound weeks and months.
Here are some facts which you may or may not know…
Crystal Palace Park was named after the giant glass structure that was relocated to the area from Hyde Park after the Great Exhibition of 1951. A few of the stone foundations remain. And who couldn’t love THOSE dinosaurs (if you don’t know about these, trying to explain them now would take a while…perhaps that’s the subject of a future blog…?)
Greenwich Park has a tree (or at least part of one) dating back to the 12th century - seriously! And there is a whole row of chestnuts that were planted by Charles II over 350 years ago (ok, he probably didn’t personally plant them but he at least ‘commissioned’ them.
In the 1880s, Arthur Herman Gilkes, the headmaster of Dulwich College was so concerned about the rapid urbanisation of South London that he created Dulwich Park. He got his pal Lord Roseby (who later became prime minister) to open it in 1890. O to have friends in high places, eh?
Adele’s song ‘Million Years Ago’ was inspired by her many trips to and walks through Brockwell Park in Herne Hill. Brockwell Park also plays host to a number of music festivals with many seminal artists having played there. The earliest recorded concert in Brockwell Park was in 1913!
So there we have it! Aren’t we lucky to have such a wealth of greenery on our doorsteps? We certainly think so here at Nutty’s Towers. Which park is your favourite? Do let us know…
Oh and er, one more fact for you… We can’t be sure just how many Nutty’s parties have been hosted by a south London park but it certainly runs into the hundreds! On Saturday, James will have his second weekend running of doing a party on Peckham Rye (he’s not complaining!).
