Hi Greenwich, we’ve met before. Last time, I got a *little* confused and entirely missed the playground. This time we had a native guide, so we found it. Woo-hoo! But let’s begin at the beginning.
We were there to see some wildlife, with Roo’s friend C. The Greenwich Park website promised an event where you could do crafts and “see whatever wildlife is passing by”. That’s good expectation-management. We might see some wildlife or we might not. Don’t get too excited.
But luckily, we spotted some wildlife straight away! Roo DID get excited. And here it is:
It’s not the wildest of wildlife, granted. But he was obsessed with it. As we went into the Wildlife Centre to hunt out the real animals, Roo kept a little whinge up: “wanna go see the froggy bin”. In a minute, darling. Let’s have a look around here first. He and C squeezed the toy birds that the nice ladies had put out for them. They even named some of them. For a moment, it looked like they might sit down and do some crafts but no, they wanted to join the nature walk.
And they did. Kinda. They ran round the group, under people’s legs and climbing over logs while the man was explaining to everyone the difference between a sweet chestnut and a horse chestnut. Needless to say, it wasn’t geared towards 3-year-olds. But we did find this pair of giant hands:
It’s sculpture. Not just a freak of nature.
So, we went back to the Wildlife Centre after one too many breaks-for-freedom, and the nice ladies there offered to take us all on our very own nature trail. One of them took us straight to the deer hide, bypassing the other group so we could see the animals up close. As soon as we got there, we spotted two stags milling around and checking us out. Roo and C were both excited again (let’s face it, they were excited all day). They may have made a little bit of noise, and the deer wandered off again. But at least we got to see them!
Can you see them? They were a bit far away and through glass, so I didn’t get a great photo. But I promise they were there.
We left the deer before we scared them all off completely. It was time to head to the swings. I won’t bore you with the tedious details of how you get two hyped-up boys across the length of a Royal Park, but we did it. We even had time to stop at the viewing point and take some photos that were slightly better than the ones I took last time. I’m particularly pleased with the panorama at the top, but here’s another nice one:
Ah. London-y
So, onto the playground. It was pretty big, with several climbing frames and sets of swings. C took charge of the roundabout and held court there, while Roo ran around and tried everything out. There was also a big sandpit, but I don’t think they noticed. Lucky, cause they had the same water-trough arrangement that they have in Corams. You probably know my feelings already on sand and water together.
Once again, I kinda sat back and let Nathan do the Roo-wrangling. I was having a nice chat with C’s Mum. We both had babies to feed, and that takes a while. Oh, and my boss was there with his nephews. So I had a nice chat with him too. In the meantime, Nathan ran round after both boys, played “helicopters” and rescued them when they got stuck. Don’t feel too bad for him -the exercise is good for him.
Talking of exercise. we had a hill to climb. Apparently what goes down must also go back up again. I made it halfway up, carrying Eva and pushing our very overladen buggy, before giving in and letting Nathan take the buggy. My friend made it all the way up, but she’s northern and therefore hardy. We, on the other hand, live in a river basin. I’m no good with hills. My sister lives in South Wales and up the side of a mountain and I still ache a little when I remember taking my niece and nephew out sans buggy (they were both preschool age), then having to carry them up the hill. They are now 18 and 20 and I still bear a grudge.
Anyhoo, we made it up. And we even made it to the end of an NCT Nearly-New sale, where I became the proud owner of a Peppa Pig rocket jigsaw and “That’s Not My Kitten”. A grand day out.
VERDICT: 3-year-olds aren’t the best nature walkers, but it’s fun to try and spot some deer. The playground is def worth a visit. View is stunning as ever.
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