Gareth's reviews
Review of Coram's Fields
23 Sep 08, 11:16
Fantastic central London park for kids 
Coram's fields appears to be a little known gem, a genuine one-off, and a great place to visit. But terms and conditions apply!!
You absolutely cannot get in here if you're an unaccompanied adult, you have to have kids, yours, or somebody else's with you or you won't be let in.
So what is this place? Well, it's on the site of the 'foundling's hospital' - which was built to look after the many unwanted children left in London in years gone by. That got knocked down many years ago, and with a legacy this area for children was built.
In essence it's like a giant playground - a couple of tree lined grassy areas for running around in, a large sand-filled play area, swings, slides, adventure playground, fountains (when they're working). There's also a sensory play area - mirros, things to bang etc
Animals - a whiole load of them - a couple of sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, a load of goats, geese, chickens - all of whom can be fed.
There's also a cafe which does really great coffee, but also pretty decent food for the family, pasta, pizzas and sandwiches etc
What's wrong with it? Nothing. It's free, there are always staff around, the kids toilets are ideally sized for little ones, and in my opinion this is a simply fantastic place for kids as they have a degree of freedom combined with safety to play in which is rare outside of school or home.
It's only about 7 mins from the British Museum, so if you're kids get bored looking at ancient marbles, drag them down here to run riot for a few mins whilst you grab a coffee and watch the rotters knacker themselves chasing a chicken round the grass.
This also gets more bonus marks as its located over the road from the back of Great Ormond St Hospital, and provides some space for families to come to during breaks from treatment.
In conclusion - faultless.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Nunhead Cemetery
02 Sep 08, 16:57
Saw a werewolf with a chinese menu in his hand.. 
strolling round Nunhead Cemetery. Actually, that's a lie, but if you come to one of the annual open days, which is more akin to a village fair (a fete worse than death) you'll see a really top-rate selection of goths here! So, what is this place? It's one of the huge Victorian cemeteries built to accomodate the rapidly expanding deceased population of London. It fell into disrepair post WWII I think, but since the 70s a hardy group of locals have managed to stop anyone's plans to build houses on it, and it's a nice woody hill in SE London, albeit one with thousdands of dead bodies lurking a few feet underground under some cracking gravestones. Kids like exploring the woods, and in one place you get a fantastic view of St Pauls. Nice place to come for a quiet stroll.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Centre for Wildlife Gardening
23 Jul 08, 14:11
Wildlife haven in darkest Peckham
I pop in here at least a couple of times a month. The garden itself is great to walk around, and there are various different gardens within the area - including a sandpit for the kids, and a pond (remembering to hold hands with the little ones as the temptation of jump in with the frogs can be huge on a hot day). The centre building itself will sell you seeds and dispense advice, and you can also buy plants for your own garden here - one of the advantages here being the plants have been grown in the same environment as your own garden, so if it works here, it will work at home! But the main reason to come is to be inspired about what you can do with your own chunk of ground at home.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.