Ask any Londoner where the best park in town is and they'll likely say whichever one is closest to their flat. We're tribal about our parks and protective over their reputations. So if you're out west you might sing the praises of Gunnersbury Park and its decrepit manor house. Head south of the river and they'll talk proudly about Battersea Park and its array of entertainment options- galleries and animals and playgrounds, oh my. East Londoners will swear by Victoria Park (and the surrounding beer gardens). Central London is all about Green Park or its tiny adorable sibling, Postman's Park. But north London may boast the most delightful secret garden of all in Gillespie Park, located just next to Finsbury Park station. A wildflower-framed path takes you past the train tracks to fruit trees that boast healthier apples than you'd think would grow in London. Continue past the Ecology Centre, which displays information about local wildlife, and you'll emerge in a forest that is almost always empty but for the occasional friendly dog and the distant roar of the nearby Emirates stadium.
Brydie is an Australian writer and performer living in London and she complains exactly the same amount about the weather as every other Australian living in London. Yes, that is her natural lip colour, no, she will not be taking any further questions at this time.
