The perfect time for a walk in the park

 London has some great parks and open spaces and they usually look their best at this time of year. The grass is still green and lush and the trees are in full leaf as you can see from this picture of Hilly Fields in Lewisham which is my local park.




I've always enjoyed having this a few minutes walk from where I live but now that I have more time I have really started to appreciate it. I love seeing all the different things that people get up to in Hilly Fields - blowing giant bubbles, practicing their slackrope walking (like a tightrope only it's not tight!), playing the guitar, doing exercise classes or just sitting enjoying the scenery - and all this activity is part of what makes city parks so special. However, there are times when it is good to be able to appreciate the space with fewer people around and I like being able to go there now at times when it is quieter.

Over the last few weeks I've discovered that a good time to go for a walk in the park is between 9 and 10am. Earlier than that and you'll be sharing it with the early morning dog walkers and runners and people walking or cycling through on their way to school or work and from mid-morning onwards there tend to be quite a few other people around. When I walked through Hilly Fields the other morning just after 9am, there were very few other people around - just a few mothers out jogging with their babies in pushchairs and a couple of people playing tennis.

As you might guess from the name, the park is on a hill and there are great views of the surrounding area. In one direction you can see to the Isle of Dogs and the Dome and in the other direction you can see to Crystal Palace and beyond.

 A short walk down Vicars Hill from Hilly Fields brings you to another park, Ladywell Fields, which has had alot of money spent on it over the last few years to open up the river that runs through it. It's a really attractive open space and I usually continue on there after walking across Hilly Fields.


From there you can also walk or cycle along the Waterlink Way to Catford and then on through various riverside parks for another couple of miles. It's a good place for some off-road cycling or walking.