Today’s jaunt was to another park but one of a rather different kind. Parliament Hill Fields is part of an even bigger spread of parkland called Hampstead Heath. Despite the name, it is managed by the City of London.

To reach our destination, we took the 214 bus that goes to Highgate Hill.

In case you are wondering about the figure 14 stuck to the driver’s door, this is nominally the maximum number of passengers allowed on the bus at any one time during the pandemic. The 214 is a small single-deck bus and larger ones may accept up to 30 passengers. I said “nominally” above because it is up to the driver to enforce the rule and while some do, others do not.

We left the bus at the bottom of Parliament Hill Fields (the origin of the name is uncertain though this BBC site offers a possible explanation) and entered the park. We had hoped today would be sunny but we had to make do with clouds and the occasional sunny moments. Bravely, we had brought a picnic lunch.

We found the cafe open and bought coffee to go with our lunch. The familiar pandemic rules were in force: enter by one door to buy your food and drink, exit by a second door and consume your purchases outside.

We followed a path up the hill, looking for somewhere to sit and enjoy our picnic.

As we went, we admired the view and there was plenty to admire.

We were looking for a bench, preferably with a view, but there were none that we could see. Then we spotted a tree trunk part way up the hill, just in front of the trees. Can you see it?

It turned out to be clean and dry so we sat down to try it out.

Parliament Hill is famous for its views and from our log we had a good view across greenery to the City of London whose taller buildings stood out like a mouth full of broken teeth. Impressive? Yes, but I prefer more natural surroundings.

I enjoyed looking at a large tree near us. The sun was in front of us and when it appeared between the clouds, it lit up the new leaves and made them shine golden green.

After a while, we felt that the log was rather uncomfortable and that it would be better to find a bench. We followed this path and eventually found a bench where we ate our lunch and finished off the coffee.

After lunch, we walked over the hill in the direction of the ponds. First, though, we had a rather different view than the one from the log. There were no City buildings here but houses almost hidden by the trees. Much pleasanter, in my view.

We soon had a glimpse of water between the trees. Hampstead Heath ponds are famous. Some have been used for bathing since time immemorial and still are. I think the one we were approaching is called Highgate Pond.

Some of the ponds are busy with water fowl but there were none visible here, perhaps because people had brought their dogs here a few minutes ago and the dogs had been splashing about in the water.

From the pond, we walked back to the entrance through which we had arrived, crossed the road and caught a 214 bus back towards the Angel.

We left the bus at Claremont Square and walked down into Amwell Street. We had decided to “top up” our mileage with a little walk on home territory.

When we reached Myddeltin’s deli, we stopped for an extra coffee. The shop was busy, with people waiting outside. I reserved a table by sitting at it while Tigger bought the coffee.

Afterwards, we went for our little walk.

I’ve mentioned letterboxes before and how the houses in this neighbourhood display their history by possessing all possible types. This door, obviously dating to a time before the postal service was invented, has had a letterbox added in what seems a very awkward place but look how small it is! These days, most mail won’t fit in it and I imagine the postman has to ring and hand over the mail person to person.

I was amused to spot this lion apparently hiding among flowers. I have mentioned before that there are many lions in this neighbourhood, on roofs, in front of doors, as lion-head door knockers and, as here, free standing in gardens.

Finding ourselves in Wilmington Square, we walked along this pedestrian-only path that marks its northern boundary.

We met a squirrel who flirted with us, obviously hoping we had food to share. Unfortunately, we had to disappoint him.

In a nearby street, we met one of the neighbours, a feline one. S/he was very friendly so it was a pleasant encounter.

And here we are, finally, back in Claremont Square and nearly home, where I will leave you for today.