It’s a lovely sunny day here so I just got back from a short walk. I’m supposed to be self-isolating, so I can’t go anywhere with too many people (I’m already missing my rolls around Stratford) so I took myself over to Kidbrooke. I’ve found a lovely circular route there and back which goes through two quite outstanding parks. One, Sutcliffe Park, is fairly new, but is astonishingly beautiful: the river Quaggy runs through it, and there are nice little accessible paths running beside and over it. The sight of the pleasant little stream flowing through the park is incredibly evocative. At one point it flows through a bit of woody marshland bridged by well-made causeways, so, walking along them you can almost forget you’re in a city.
Just over the road from Sutcliffe Park is another new little park. I think in has only just been built as the buildings close to it are all very new. The river runs through that too, although it is slightly more developed and clearly more intended for children. There is a beautiful little waterfall I could sit next to for hours. It’s an astonishing little place which I would really like to show Lyn and my Parents when it’s possible and safe to do so again. It’s a wonderfully relaxing corner of the metropolis. From there, I can just follow the footpaths back to Eltham, once again remarking to myself what an incredible city London is.