Bushwalking in Blighty

Across the Thames from where we’re living in Kingston are numerous adjoining parks that lead onto Hampton Court Palace. 

One of my favourite places to visit in the UK, Hampton Court Palace was the home of the famous Henry VIII. When we have visitors I tend to take them on one of the local boat rides along the Thames from Kingston to Hampton Court Palace, but yesterday in the hope I could gain some inspiration for my writing course homework, I decided to go for a walk.

Home Park being the destination of choice is a mere 700 acres compared to its neighbour Bushy Park which is 1099 acres. I share with you the size because the expanse of these parks is surprising considering how close they are to what I term the city.

Walking across Kingston Bridge I can disappear out of urban life and into tranquillity within 5 minutes.

The Ice House

Past the entrance into Home Park I am greeted by a large brick structure to the left, it's actually an old Ice House from the 17^th Century. 

Looking at where its located Henry must have had a long long walk from the palace to get ice for his Gin and Tonics!

The Big Trees : Sherwood Forest?

Wandering along I pass massive tree’s, they remind me of Sherwood Forest not that I’ve actually ever been there but it just has that feel about it.

I suppose the one real difference that gets me every time I go for bush walks in Blighty is the long grass. In Oz we typically mow it where we can, or back burn it where we can’t to protect ourselves from bushfires and venomous little creatures such as the tiger snake. I utterly refuse to walk near long grass particularly in warm weather back home but here I find myself almost running through it in utter delight, yes it is a bit of a novelty.

Deer in the long grass

As I keep walking I come across deer roaming freely. They can do that here and feel utterly safe because it is illegal to hunt them thanks to the Queen. At home we’d be adorned with our rifles hoping to get some nice venison for dinner, well my brother would anyway.

The random hole...odd?!

The lake (or one of them)

Continuing on I get distracted when I find a few holes randomly scattered not far from a lake. What ever could be living here? I can’t see anything worth investigating further so continue on enjoying the view of the swans on the lake.

Passing a Golf Course I was just wondering where next to go when I see them..... hundreds and hundreds of rabbits. It is quite rare to see so many in one place so I quietly creep along trying to get as close as possible to take some pictures. It doesn't work of course because one step and they run and hide in their burrows.  I did try and take a picture but you probably cannot see the rabbits, you'll just have to believe me when I say there were lots.

The Rabbits

Actually it brings back memories of my childhood on the farm, standing on top of the ute and shooting bunnies with my Dad and brothers. Back then they were vermin to the farmers so we’d have competitions on how many we could shoot. No apologies to those animal Liberationist's as that was how we did things back then. 

But back to the topic at hand, bushwalking in Blighty is probably less challenging than in Oz as there are no mountains to climb and no venomous creatures to avoid. It's easy to just get lost in your surroundings and enjoy.