"Every Sunday, 300 locations, connecting with nature!" See link re #LdnGreenGround challenge to get involved. All welcome!!!
A glorious park in Stoke Newington
Clissold Park is in Stoke Newington in the borough of Hackney. It was originally created in the 1790s as the grounds of Paradise House which was later renamed to Clissold House, which now houses the parks's cafe.
My parent's local park
Back in the early 70's, my parents lived in Manor House. Given I live in North West London, Hackney is somewhere I rarely visit. Other than from my Dad a few years back, I had never heard of Clissold Park. I would say that following my Sunday morning visit, it's probably one of the most stunning parks I'd even seen!
When I spoke recently to my Mum to tell her that I was going to visit it, she mentioned that it used to house deer. I had assumed that this would have been a thing of the past however, carrying out my research before visiting, I was intrigued to see that this was still the case. (Mum also mentioned that she generally went there for ice cream :))
A glorious park for an autumn walk
The park is an expanse of 54 acre with a huge diversity of trees. The variety of trees meant that the autumn colours were so rich with the range of colours on display.
When I arrived just before 10am, there were already a large number of people in the park and the space most definitely did not feel as though I was in zone 2. What makes it really wonderful is it's landscaping and wide range of activities including a group of children playing Sunday football. I made an assumption that most people were local. They were carrying out a range of activities from walking, playing sports, seeing the animals and visiting the cafe.
As you can see from the map, there is a large pond used as a boating lake, a playground, bowling green and tennis courts. The centre of the park houses an enclosure where the fallow deer (I counted 9 including the male) a small aviary and 2 goats can be found.
Diverse in many ways
As well as the range of people, there are a range of habitats from the water, pond and lakes, to the different flower, reeds, logs for insects and bushes.
Clissold House & Cafe
After a relaxing and enjoyable walk along the paths which meandered though the park, although not a super cold day, I decided to pop into the House to grab a hot drink to warm myself up a little. When I walked in, I was surprised by the beauty of the space.
Even though it as a little late for breakfast, I ended up ordering a bowl of porridge. There was ample seating outside but my preference was to be inside. Upon ordering, I looked for a space to sit.
I was expecting limited seats round the side of the serving area and was happy to find that there was in fact substantial space including a quiet room. Whilst my main aim from the morning was to be outside exploring the green space, the short time I spent indoors was just as tranquil, especially given I managed to find a seat right next to the window.
As I made my way out of the park from the cafe, I walked past the tennis courts which were full of people, the football game and large lake. There is no doubt that being outside on a stunning morning, visiting a park I had only heard about from my parents and seeing such a range of trees, colours and deer was a wonderful way to spend my Sunday!
Follow me on Twitter @WanderfulLdn
Location: Stoke Newington, Hackney Transport: Manor HouseVarious buses along King Street Company: Alone What I found: 54 acres of wonderful and diverse landscaped green space including two lakes, an aviary, fallow deer enclosure, goats and a wide range of birds. Cleanliness: On the whole really clean. Others in the location: Lots of people of all ages, many families with young children, playing football, tennis, , walking and many people in the cafe.
Comments