Urban Farms and Secret Gardens
You may think London is too busy to be wild. If I mention farms and secret gardens you'll probably start thinking of countryside destinations outside the capital. The good news is that the car keys can stay at home! All of this is right on your door step.
Urban Farms
Crystal Palace, in South London, may be famous for its football team and the iconic BBC television mast but it also has a farm - Crystal Palace Park Farm . This community farm has a large selection of animals including Shetland ponies, chinchillas, goats, kune kune pigs, small lizards, snakes, chickens and even parakeets. Open to school children and families, Crystal Palace Park farm offers a different perspective of London.
To the east is Hackney City Farm - with donkeys, sheep, goats and other, smaller animals. They also offer various craft workshops throughout the year including pottery classes and stone carving. An Italian café - voted London's best family restaurant, Time Out award 2004 - is on site providing top quality Mediterranean food.
London's largest urban farm is Mudchute Park constructed on once derelict land near to the city scape of Canary Wharf. This farm has an equestrian centre catering for all types of riders, children to adults, beginners to advanced. Group and private lessons are available.
Cows, sheep, ducks and Llamas are just some of the animals that can seen. There is also a garden centre that stocks competitively priced seasonal bedding plants plus a wide selection of fruit trees suitable for city gardens.
Secret Gardens
The smallest secret garden in London can be found at Banbury Wood, a tiny nature reserve hidden away in Islington. Formally a vicarage garden, it has been in an overgrown state for 100 years. Take the tube to Caledonian Road. The garden is behind Crescent Street, N1 and is open on Tuesdays 2-4pm.
For a walled garden then cast your cursor to Brockwell Park - a former kitchen garden of great beauty with flowerbeds and arboretums. Community green houses are also located here as is a miniature railway. Brockwell also hosts concerts and the regional BMX championships.
On a more upmarket scale is Chelsea Physic Garden - occupying a 4 acre site since 1673. Show casing over 5000 species of plants including the Britain's largest outdoor fruiting olive tree - a fascinating fact which I just had to share with you. There is also a garden of world medicine - Britain's first garden of ethnobotany should the question arise at your next pub quiz. Wild life is abundant here with many different types of birds. Rare migrant visitors include the Kingfisher and Goldcrest.
Soil fauna (now this is interesting: in a tea spoon of average soil there are over 10 billion micro-organisms. A definite quiz winning answer) include beetles, the red mite spider and springtails. Honey bee hives are also on view as is some pond life (not the football club) with frogs and dragonflies. This is definitely a good day out. Don't forget to bring your tea spoon.