I have just got back from my daily trundle with John today, and I must say we came across something I find utterly, jaw-droppingly remarkable.

I still have very fond memories of my family trip to America, back in 1994: we visited New York City, before going on to tour California and the west coast. Our trip included going up to Yosemite and seeing the giant Sequoias: I’ll never forget how huge and majestic the tallest trees on earth were.

That,, of course, was almost thirty years ago and I must admit I hadn’t thought about the Redwoods in a while. Today, though, John and I took a walk through a few of the parks and woods near Eltham. It was a lovely, lovely stroll: to be honest I don’t tend to go that way on my own because the paths can get a bit rough and dodgy. Paths through parks are usually fine, but heading into Oxleas or Sheperdleas wood they are unpaved and root-strewn. Today, though, following John, my eyes once again tightly fixed to his arse as he lead me through such peaceful, beautiful woodland, I felt confident that I wouldn’t come to any harm.

We were there for two or three lovely hours, exploring the woodland: I had no idea that the woods in this area were so vast. At one point we found a cafe overlooking Oxleas meadows where we had a brief snack. It was astonishing how far you could see across south London and beyond. Pressing on from there though, we went back into the woods, where we found something incredible. I didn’t notice them at first, but John pointed out two tall, majestic Sequoia trees, there in Oxleas Wood. I was astonished – I thought Redwoods only grew in California. My mind instantly went back to my eleven year old self, looking up at those trees in Yosemite. They weren’t as tall of course, but they were still recognisably Sequoias. What the zark were they doing in South-East London though?

I was amazed by what we had found, seemingly purely by chance. It just goes to show what you can find if you just go out and look, apparently even including fragments of California. We now intend to head that way again soon. London will never stop amazing me.