I was in need of solace, but I also wanted to be alone with my thoughts, and so it seemed natural to visit the trees, and the old trees in Southwark Park ‘felt’ right.
The Avenues in Southwark Park
Southwark Park is one of the many green spaces in the Borough of Southwark which I am enjoying as I work on the new book, Green Southwark. This park, opened in 1869, is one of the oldest in south east London, and loved and enjoyed by many people. The avenues of London plane trees are grand, and I find it calming to walk under their spreading branches.
In winter, the trees are perhaps even more stately.
London Plane Trees
The details are beautiful. And yet this tree is a hybrid, dating perhaps from the 17th century. One is listed on the Ancient Tree Inventory, but I am sure there should be more.
Trees
The park has many other varieties of trees: cobnut, catalpa, and sessile oaks, and of course many more., includingcherries, horse chestnuts, small leaf limes, Japanese maples, a redwood, pauownia, gingko, causian wingnut. The Friends have produced a use booklet with a tree trail.
People
Perhaps it was my mood, but I found I was noticing other people who were alone, and just quiet.
Ada Salter Garden
The formal garden is named after one of the several extraordinary people I have found in Southwark. Ada and her husband devoted their lives to caring for the poor people in Bermondsey. Her husband, Alfred, was a brilliant doctor, who could have a starry career, but instead he joined her and set up practice in Bermondsey, in Jamaica Road.
Coffee
It is a big park, and there is always a nice cup of coffee, overlooking the lake at the end of the walk!
Walking here is always calming, and always welcom. This will be a tricky entry in the book as the history is interesting, and of course there will be yet another book to read – about Ada Salter!