Country Article / Postcards
A Year in an English Park
Date: 06/26/2007
Children love Richmond Park. They feed the birds, chase the birds, hide from the birds…
International Living Postcards-- your daily escape
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Kingston upon Thames, England
The best thing about my day is the drive through Richmond Park.
Joggers and dog walkers greet me from the pavement. Riders and their mounts canter along the horse lanes that parallel the road. I envy them as their trails turn into the more remote sections of the park.
Families bring bread to feed the ducks, geese, swans, coots, and moorhens at the Pen Ponds. In summer the terrain is covered with a jungle of shoulder-high ferns, criss-crossed by paths usually being explored by invisible children whose excited shouts come from all directions.
My favorite walk during April and May is through the enclosed Isabella Plantation, following a tiny, trickling stream flanked by the national collection of Japanese azaleas along with rhododendrons, magnolias, and camellias.
At weekends I explore other areas of the park. Thatched House Lodge, near Kingston Gate, is the family home of Queen Elizabeth's cousin, Princess Alexandra. Pembroke Lodge, close to Richmond Gate, has a café with tables inside and out from which to take in the stupendous view to the west. White Lodge is the home of the Royal Ballet School's Lower School, where talented dancers begin their specialist education at the age of 11.
The park's deer are a main attraction. During the summer, drivers have to keep their wits about them in case the deer decide to leap out of the bushes and romp across the road.
In October, the bucks give voice, warning their harems to keep together and daring anyone to come too close. They are anxious and alert, with no time for the peaceful grazing and resting I'd observed earlier in the year. Now, at any moment, a fiercely prancing rival could emerge from the rich and glorious autumn colors of the woodlands.
When it snows, the park is closed to motorists. That's when I put on my wellies and walk. Families enjoy themselves, throwing snowballs or racing on skis and sleds. The animals hide in sheltered spots but I knew they'd come out again when the chill left the air and spring's green mantle began to cover the bare gray earth and trees.
Jean Knill
For International Living
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