Camley Street Natural Park

Today we take a trip to Camley Street Natural Park. Located on Camley Street in the middle of the industrial sprawl behind St Pancras station this is a hidden gem I came across a few months ago.

The park sits unassumingly on the bank of Regent's Canal amongst train tracks, derelict land and gasometers. Today - with wonderfully sunny weather - I took ABJ to explore it. It's free to enter and, sneaking off down a path, our first impression was one thing: GREEN. The park is a breath of fresh air (literally!) from the streets of London. There are meadows of grass, flowers, trees, animals and insects which are criss-crossed with secluded paths. We followed a few of these and were led away into the undergrowth.

There's a few "Willow Domes" laid out around the park - living, still growing shelters where you can rest your feet:

We were the only ones on the paths we followed and felt a million miles away from the bustling London metropolis. There was a pond, some rabbits and a laid-back seating area. On our exploration we even got to see some local wildlife: two amorous ladybirds and a baby rat:
We couldn't linger as long as we'd have liked as we had to leave to meet ABJ's mother. As we left we passed the thorough-looking activity centres/visitor info huts. I'm fairly sure there's nature trails threaded through the park which, if you get an information guide from the huts, you can follow.

Summary: Well worth a visit to get away from the city atmosphere. There's fun activities for all the family too!