Waterlow Park

Back in January I posted about my visit to Highgate Cemetery on my last visit to London.  You can see that post here.  In order to get to Highgate Cemetery I had to take the tube to the Archway station and then take a bus up the hill two stops and get off at Waterlow Park.  Then a walk through the park led me right to the entrance of the cemetery.  I didn't expect that the park would be such an inspiration for photo taking but, it was.

Along the path, I passed beautiful trees, some of them decked out in brilliant fall colors.

Next, I saw a gorgeous pond reflecting those same fall colors and serving as home to several types of water birds.  I learned that the pond is fed by a natural spring that gave this area a water supply back in the 16th Century when the rich and famous discovered this area and built grand homes here.  The park itself incorporates some of the gardens from those old homes into the park area.  It is said that the gentry were attracted here by the clean air and the views looking over the city of London.  If I close my eyes, I can imagine a very hazy view with many chimneys piercing the sky and all spewing coal and wood smoke.  The air up here must have been far superior.

The walk through this park was extremely pleasant and there were many people out enjoying a stroll in the park with their families and pets.

As I rounded a curve in the path, I could see the entrance to Highgate Cemetery looming large at the end of the path.  After my tour of the the old part of the cemetery, I was actually looking forward to a more leisurely stroll back through this beautiful and quiet park.