My friend and I were on a walk through Richmond Park when we heard that our part of the UK had moved into Tier Two of the governments three tier system of Covid 19 measures. This means households are no longer allowed to mix indoor, whether that is in homes or in pubs, restaurants or cafes.
Straightaway that meant some of the things we do we can no longer take part in. I cannot play play badminton with my friends, or meet my writing friend in the cafe where we sit and write for a couple of hours a week. These things only resumed about a month ago, and now that’s it, for however long.
It is even more important for me to get outside and walk whenever the weather permits, and unless complete lockdown happens again, that’s what I intend to do.
This walk was put off from the week before due to bad weather, but this day we were lucky. There were showers, but we managed to dodge them, and the sun came out frequently. There was a warning about the deer in Richmond Park – it is the rutting season – but we didn’t see one deer!
We began the walk at the Kingston Gate. My friend has walked the park many times so I was totally in her hands. We headed across towards Pertersham Nurseries, near Richmond. When we arrived it was busy. The place is much smaller than I expected, and there were queues for the shop. To eat there you had to book in advance. However, I had seen the price for the cafe online – £10 or so for a sandwich! We sheltered from a brief shower under an awning and then headed straight out again! We walked down to the River Thames at Richmond and had lunch at the veggie/vegan cafe caled The Hollyhocks, which sits on The Terraces, high up, with wonderful views across the river.
We lingered a while before heading back the same way. The changeable weather made for some dramatic skies and the autum coklours were wonderful. This time we headed uphill towards King Henry’s Mound where there is a viewing point into London. On a good day you can see St Paul’s Cathedral, 13 miles away. There is a law that this view must not be obscured, though planners have tried. I took a photo, not thinking I had captured anything as I couldn’t see the cathedral with my naked eye, yet my camera captured a ghostly white image of the cathedral with my lens on full zoom. Amazing.
In the other direction you can see right across to Windsor apparently (though I couldn’t). There is a telescope you can use to pin point things. Afterwards we wandered around some gardens before heading back to the Kingston Gate.
It was a lovely day, even though my legs were aching like hell! Enjoy the photos.
My London+ 