An Afternoon with the Animals

After spending much of today taking photos and posting ads for stuff we want to sell, I decided to get us out of the house before Bob convinced himself that every object in the flat had some sentimental reason that meant it had to make the journey back to Vancouver with us. We ended up walking over to a nearby greenspace that we hadn't yet visited, Barnsbury Wood. The name may sound grand, but it's actually the smallest Local Nature Reserve in London with wee opening hours (2-4pm on Tuesdays) to match.

Once a private garden, the space was left to grow wild in the early 20th century and quietly became home to a variety of creatures until local residents twice banded together to save it from development in 1977 and 1981. Barnsbury Wood was granted Local Nature Reserve status in 1996 and is tended by local volunteers who also host extended openings of the greenspace on summer Saturdays. Simple, but lovely, it's a soothing place for a short stroll.

It seems that some of the residents whose back gardens look onto the wood have come up with ways to use the space outside of public opening hours!

This nearby pub was almost as green as the park:

Since we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to go to one of London's many city farms--one that we hadn't yet visited in spite of many good intentions to stop by during one of their Saturday market days. (That's the problem with London: too many things to do!) Freightliners Farm was founded in 1973 in railway goods vans on wasteland behind King's Cross station, moved to its current site in 1988, and is the only city farm in the UK with a non-slaughtering policy. The geese and ducks greeted us,

some more enthusiastically than others.

The sheep willed us to move along,

while we stood in awe of the most enormous rabbit we've ever seen.

A pheasant almost blinded us with its colours

and this chicken made us smile.

Actually, quite a few of the chickens made us smile!

The other bunnies kept away from their giant cousin down the way,

and their guinea-pig neighbours seemed to take everything in stride.

This aviary resident

was a bit more aloof than the farm's goats,

who didn't seem to want Bob to leave!