A bank holiday and the sun was shining so Heather demanded we go outside. As I’d been complaining that London parks (barring the big central ones) seem to all consist of nothing much but a big empty field she determined to show me different by taking the short journey (bah, busses 🙁 ) to Priory Gardens in Orpington.

It’s certainly prettier than just an empty field, a large natural lake running right up to the boundary we entered from. I’d been promised ducks and there were a number of those among the canada geese that signs warned us not to feed for conservation reasons. Unfortunately the ducks themselves seemed completely disinterested in the bread we’d bought (a surprisingly difficult task to accomplish at the local shop earlier).

I’d also been promised squirrels but it took a surprising amount of time before we encountered one, though he was a friendly enough chap (or chapette—how does one sex a squirrel?) when we came across him. We fed him some pistachio nuts, which didn’t seem to send him as crazy as it did some other squirrels. He seemed quite nervous though so we left a nut on his tree and wandered over to the priory from which the park arises.

There are pretty, though small, more formal gardens leading up to the old priory building, but there is a slight air of degradation. Our circuit complete we returned to the lake to see if any ducks would take some bread (a few, but hardly the expected feeding frenzy) before adjourning to the White Hart to refresh ourselves before heading home.

In all better than a blank grassy field then, but Heather agreed that it lacks a certain something.

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