I'm visiting London for a few days and have brought the car up with me, and although parking on the road is free (hurrah!) between the hours of 10am and 12pm Monday to Friday it is permit holders only (boo). However, this simply gives the opportunity/nudge to get out and about somewhere!
Today I decided to explore somewhere which I haven't been to before (and also offers free road parking) - Crystal Palace Park.
It was actually a very nice place to visit, with quite a few large areas to explore. I started in the Dinosaurs area (yep - who would have guessed there were dinosaurs in London?) where I took this photo of a dinosaur's butt and a- what is it? A heron? A crane? A stork? An egret? (I don't know the difference...)
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More dinosaurs
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After filling my boots with dinosaur sights (and after dashing back to the car to pick up my trusty yellow umbrella which I'd foolishly left behind), I next headed over towards the Crystal Palace itself (or at least, the remains of it).
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Look at these picturesque old walls!
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My umbrella made an appearance, of course
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There were many old statues about (most without heads), however they were unfortunately difficult to photograph due to the angle of the light! There were also a number of grand broad staircases lined with giant sphinx statues, as you do.
Then after passing by an old doorway and through some pretty gardens, I sat myself on the grass (now dry - it was only a very small amount of rain we had) and sketched one rather lovely headless statue.
"A naked lady," announces the sweet kid who appears next to me whilst I'm sketching.
"She's not naked," states her sibling.
"I mean the statue."
Then I began to wonder back towards the car, back down the grand stairs from the Italian Terraces, through the wide green open spaces, past the Concert Bowl (which looked incredibly square-shaped for something called a bowl), past an entrance to a MAZE (which sadly was closed off due to coronavirus), past the WWI memorial bell and past the dinosaur lake.
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Another headless someone
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I wonder if mum would get lost in this one..?
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Bonus picture (unrelated to Crystal Palace Park):
I love how at the front of Parrington House they have these large flower beds from which these huge roses have been sprouting. The guys don't think they're amazing at all (in fact they find them to be a nuisance for some bizarre reason), but I just love the fact they're so tall I can see them through the kitchen window.
