Greenspaces: Dulwich Park

Dulwich Park is as immaculate and serene as neighbouring Dulwich Village.

The park's flat fields and circular layout make it perfect for football, running and cycling (banana bikes, trikes and bicycles are available for hire, although fairly pricey), while the lake, cafe and very large playground attract families in droves.

A recent addition to the park is the outdoor gym. Whereas the Hilly Fields version stands rusting on the brow of the park's most prominent slope like the Angel of the North, Dulwich's 13 new machines are dotted around its outer loop like bits of garden furniture.

Visit the Greenspaces map for a guide to parks in the area.

Lewisham's green spaces in top 10 nation-wide

Lewisham has won 14 Green Flag Awards from Keep Britain Tidy, giving it the joint-seventh-highest score for local authorities nationally. Green Flags are awarded based on criteria including cleanliness, management and safety.

Lewisham borough picked up 13 Green Flags for its outstanding parks, including Hilly Fields, Ladywell Fields and Telegraph Hill Park while Horniman Gardens, which is managed by the Museum Trust, also collected an award.

Lewisham also retained several Green Flag Community Awards (formally the Green Pennant Award) and picked up a new one for Frendsbury Gardens, the West Brockley park that was transformed in 2008.

Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: “I’m especially pleased that Frendsbury Gardens has received an award. As one of our newer open spaces, it’s a great example of how a community, supported by the Big Lottery fund, has turned around a disused space into something which is now award-winning.”

Click here for the BC Greenspaces map.

Twinkle Park - Sounds in the Park today

Grateful to the Deptford Dame, who alerted us to this star in our firmament:

‘Sounds in the Park’ is presented by Twinkle Park Trust and Friends in partnership with Parksfest 2013, a series of free events organised by Friends of Greenwich Parks and supported by the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

This Summer Festival will take place in the beautiful surroundings of Twinkle Park, close to the River Thames. This charming ecological garden with a large pond is the serene habitat of wildlife, and is surrounded by colourful shrubs and tall trees. It is a magical place of relaxation and beauty.

It will be the eighth annual summer event organised by members of the Trust, and volunteers and is a free event open to the general public. This lovely setting will provide an open air stage for the Paul Zec Jazz Quintet; reggae by DJ Patrick Gardener; Heart of Soul Steel Pans; Arty Party - mask making; Pond Dipping (a children’s activity), Pimms O’Clock café and refreshments.

In addition the Festival will host displays by the Twinkle Park Trust and Build The Lenox project; Utrophia, Community Garden, the Solar Smoothie and Portrait Stall.

Sounds in the Park
Sunday 9 June, 1-6pm
Twinkle Park, Deptford
Bring a picnic and a rug!

Greenspaces: St Paul's Churchyard

Sitting just off Deptford High Street, St Paul's church is an 18th century, Baroque masterpiece. The churchyard itself is a walled garden and a retreat from the throng of market day, with low Portland Stone walls that offer a good place to sunbathe.

The gardens look like an isometric video game, with pristine benches, gravestones, lampposts, flowerbeds and square hedges dotted around as if they've been generated at random - an island of twee in Deptford's sea of grit.

This has been added to the Greenspaces map - our guide to local parks and open spaces.

Charlotte Turner Overhaul

The Deptford Dame reports that Charlotte Turner Gardens, on the Greenwich / Deptford border, is to receive a makeover. She says:

The improvements are quite exciting - I particularly like the idea of planting an orchard and some cherry trees. More of this kind of thing please - perhaps Lewisham Homes should consider planting fruit trees in its many small public green spaces around Evelyn and Pepys? 

 The main features [include]: A central grassed area with timber-retained mounds at each end – suitable for ball games and all kinds of play activities. A tidied and more attractive area between Carrick Mews and Brig Mews, with better views of the park and easier to maintain and a row of cherry trees, running the entire west edge of the garden, bringing colour in the spring and fruit later in the year. 

This is one of the sorriest parks on the greenspaces map, so the investment is very welcome news.

Two new Lewisham pocket parks created

A press release from the Mayor of London's office says:

From fruit and veg patches to water features, work is beginning on the first of the Mayor’s 100 ‘pocket parks’ – transforming underused urban spaces into mini oases across the capital in a £2m scheme.

‘Pocket Parks’, which are around the size of a tennis court, are set to reinvent some of London’s forgotten nooks and crannies and make the capital an even better place to live and work.

In Lewisham, thanks to £67,000 from the Mayor, new planting, trails, seating and lighting, will create two ‘pocket parks’. Blackheath Elliot Pits will feature sensory equipment, a Trim Trail adventure, and a play space to educate children about the pits’ ecological importance. Sydenham Literary Piazza will be a space to sit, read and reflect and link Sydenham road with Home Park, encouraging cycling and improving safety.

All 100 ‘pocket parks’ are due to be delivered by March 2015. A further funding round for community based projects will open in May.

This is also part of the Mayor’s Team London programme which is seeking to build a volunteering legacy following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by encouraging Londoners to do something great for their city.