Rainy Romance and Winter Wildlife

Climb to the top of Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath and you’ll see a stunning view of the city.

But the best part is, that if you turn around and look the other way without moving at all, you’ll be in a different world, a green and peaceful place.

Turn to the side and you look down on what appears to be a happy little village.

Even in the rain, the Heath is lovely. This couple, with a typical English mindset, refuses to let the blustery rain spoil their romance.

It’s a place to gather your thoughts, to contemplate life, to take a few strong gulps of fresh air before heading back into bus fumes and Kebab shop smells of the city.

In a city of 8 or so million bodies pressing into small spaces and fighting for air, it’s unusual to catch one person alone and nothing but emptiness and a few trees and the greatness of a vast and open sky.

This little guy was there to have a rest as well. He just stood still, watching. Waiting for something. Or nothing.

If you stroll down the hill back through the Heath, there are some lovely scenes and wildlife to take in.

I stared at this bridge for a long time. You can not walk over it, but watch the ducks swim underneath leaving quiet ripples in their wake.

Friendly Squirrels

Back home in my little New York town, the squirrels scurry up the trees the second they hear your footsteps nearby. You’d never, ever get one to climb up on your lap and sit there calmly for a photo. Not so in London parks as this friendly guy proves.

Thanks jamiefraser1 for adding this photo to the Flickr pool! 🙂

Baby Owls and a Scandalous Squirrel

In the true spirit of a London Observationist, dusty sevens snapped these baby owls in a tree in Kensington Gardens, after much neck-craning, of course.

And while waiting for the bus, maggie jones caught this hungry little squirrel snooping in the bin.

With Spring in full swing and everyone out and about, if you’ve captured any London wildlife you’d like to share, post it in the pool.

Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park

Sometimes I hop on a random bus to somewhere in London I haven’t yet explored. Last weekend, I headed toward East Dulwich and Brockley but got distracted by Greenwich Millennium Village. Thought I’d step off the bus and take a few colouful photos of the urban landscape that looked a bit like someone peeled the stickers off a rubix cube and stuck them at random on the housing estates.

Then I started to explore a bit and found the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, a quiet little slice of nature that runs along these buildings to the Thames Path. Canals, wildlife and pretty trees that will probably blossom nicely in a month or two. Naturally I took a few photos…

Address: The Ecology Park Gatehouse, Thames Path, John Harrison Way, Greenwich Peninsular, London, SE10 0QZ

An Hour in Brompton Cemetery

My seemingly endless search for a new flat has finally ended. I’ll be living near my favourite London cemetery, so here’s a few pics to celebrate the end (of my flat hunting…)!

For some more Brompton Cemetery pics, I also posted some in September…

Share your own cemetery pics in the Flickr pool and I’ll compile a post of them when there’s enough…