There’s a towpath near our place that’s bordered by the Thames on one side and a long line of rowing clubs on the other. It’s funny to walk along there early on weekend mornings and see everybody running around in their wellies, getting the boats ready. At the end of the towpath there’s a sign that’s always intrigued me, promising that if I go down this shady path I’ll end up in Richmond Park. Eventually.
So on Sunday Ariella and Paul came around for coffee and cupcakes then we set off together on the walk. It was unseasonably warm for London, with temps in the very high 20s, but on we trekked walking for about 2.5 hours. The walk wasn’t terribly well signed, so we stopped at many a junction to scratch our heads. A combination of iphone GPS and old-fashioned logic (“it’s called the Beverley Brook Walk, so we should probably stay next to the water”) got us there eventually.
We reached the park in about 1.5 hours, then spent another hour walking across it. While checking out a park map we were amazed at the oddly named features: King Henry’s Mound, Spankers Hill, and Leg-of-Mutton Pond. The English are definitely odd. We finally emerged out the other side where a friendly pub and half pint of cider awaited. And boy were we thirsty!
My favourite moment of the walk was passing a family of humans relaxing in the grass, about 3 metres away from a family of deer doing exactly the same thing. And the daddy deer (known to his friends as Buck) had the biggest antlers I’ve ever seen. Meanwhile, Ariella was mocking him for having the tiniest ears on earth, but I think they just looked small by comparison.
The official walk continued out the far side of the Park and on to New Malden station, but we were tired. So we took a bus home.
And that’s the end of my story.
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