The park that keeps you sane

The heron stands absolutely still. You might mistake it for a sculpture until its neck darts forward, quick as a blink. Grey herons patrol the lagoons at the Wetland Centre in Barnes like they own the place. They do, really. Bitterns are the trickier proposition. They blend into the reeds so perfectly that you can […]

You see them differently when they are sitting down. The commuters who rush past you on the towpath are sprawled on picnic blankets in Marble Hill Park. The school-run parents are barefoot on Crane Park Island, toes in the cool grass. Summer evenings do this. They slow everyone down and spread them out across the […]

You don’t think about the route anymore. Left out the door, right at the corner, through the gap in the railings. Your dog already knows. This is the nearest green space, the one you visit before breakfast or after work when the light is fading. No planning required. No special occasion. You’ve seen it in […]

There is something about a wide stretch of mown grass that makes people want to do things. Not grand things. Simple things. A dog chases a tennis ball across Richmond Green. A child tries to keep a kite aloft on Kew Green. Two friends throw a frisbee back and forth on Barnes Common. The grass […]

You walk past it most weeks. A wedge of grass behind the library. A triangle where two roads meet. A strip of land beside the railway bridge that never quite became anything. These are the commons. Not the grand ones with names and visitor centres, but the small ones that belong to you by ancient […]