A grand day out!

An early start for Pete and I, to catch the 6.46 am train to London. We weren't sure whether it was really a good idea, as the Notting Hill Carnival was on and half the stations seemed to be shut for engineering works, so there seemed to be plenty of potential for travel chaos. Nevertheless, our train was quiet, London hadn't fully woken up when we arrived, and we were in Kensington Gardens by just after 9am, and ate our brie and bacon sandwich breakfast sitting on a bench watching the fountains in the Italian gardens sparkle in the summer sunshine. I was smitten by a nearby planting of rudbeckia and heliotrope (see extra) which was at the peak of perfection.
 
We had a gentle wander through the park (Pete looking for a couple of rare bugs) and were at the Serpentine Gallery shortly after 10 am, to see Grayson Perry's current exhibition. Again, it was really quiet, giving us time to absorb all the detail contained in his pots and tapestries. Much of the work had been influenced by Brexit, including this pot (one of a matching pair inspired by the hopes and inspirations of Remainers and Leavers) and the red tapestry in the background. His work was both beautiful and thought provoking. I can definitely recommend a visit - but you need to be quick as it ends on 10th September.
 
The temperature had increased dramatically while we were in the gallery, but we strolled back through the park and took the stiflingly hot tube to Liverpool Street. This brought back many childhood memories, as we often used to get the train in from Gidea Park - although it's now much lighter and airier thanks to the recent modernisation. From Liverpool Street we took an overground train to Stoke Newington, and spent the afternoon in Abney Park cemetery.  
 
This is one of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries built in Victorian times and hosted 200,000 burials, including many non-conformists. Uniquely in London, Abney was also originally laid out as an arboretum, with 2,500 varieties of plants. An alphabetical planting of tree species was set out around the perimeter along with collections of oaks, thorns, pine and others within. The cemetery is now an important wild space (see extra), is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and supports an important deadwood fauna, with species associated with its veteran trees, particularly poplars.  
 
By the time we’d finished walking round the cemetery it was very hot indeed and I’d nearly had enough. Rather than heading back to Stoke Newington and taking the train back to King’s Cross we decided to walk to Finsbury Park via Clissold Park, which was full of local families enjoying the fine weather. They were even serving cream teas on the lawn of the church next door to it!  I really liked the area which was very vibrant, with an excellent range of interesting shops and cafes, characteristic of the gentrification which has taken place in the area. Church Street retains the distinct London village character which led Nikolaus Pevsner to write in 1953 that he found it hard to see the district as being in London at all.



When the Peterborough train eventually arrived at Finsbury Park it was almost empty, so we had a very easy journey home and were back at the house by 5pm. So despite our initial reservations, we’d managed to have a really fascinating day out  in London on a Bank Holiday without encountering any crowds or delays!