Sunshine.

I don't know if it is just me but it hasn't seemed like summer till now. Not only weeks on end of drab greyness, but the general angst, recriminations and arguments around the referendum also made everything seem grey. But now the sun has come out, and the Olympics are here (or, rather, in Rio) and the atmosphere is lighter.  Our local housing co-op had its own Olympic Games and it was great for the kids that the adults turned out to organise them a relay, sprint and all the favourites like egg and spoon and sack race.

We decided to do a couple of the things we'd been waiting for summer to do. One of them is to revisit Abbey Wood. It's now an unremarkable suburb in SE London, but in years gone past it was a hub of power, the site of Lesnes Abbey, whose monks once owned everything for miles around.  They were closed down in the 16th century and the remains of their huge, grand abbey are being regenerated as part of a Heritage Lottery Scheme, A new turf roofed visitor centre is being built, as well as a new garden like the monks might (or frankly might not) have had.

It has cast iron gates representing grass (I think)  and rather odd sculptures which are supposed to represent beehives (I think). So not the easiest garden to interpret, so far. I've found a description of what it will ultimately be like (follow the link here),but the main thing is that it is an attractive place to be, which is what really matters in a garden.

The monks' fish pond, previously overgrown, has been opened up for wildlife studies with a boardwalk, and generally the site is getting more of the attention it deserves.

Just round the corner by those trees in the picture above, is a stupendous play area with a climbing wall, bike track, every imaginable sort of play equipment, an outdoor gym a parkour zone and goodness knows what else, and it was great to see lots of kids and families picknicking and playing.

The woodland that stretches out from the abbey is very ancient,  part of the great Wildwood which used to cover so much of the London area.  Over 900 species of invertebrates, and 300 species of plants have been recorded here, and it has a fossil bed, ponds and some heathland too, plus quite a few butterflies I didn't recognise.   Most of all it is a wonderful woodland to walk through and we stopped and chatted with quite a few people who come here every day, either to walk their dogs or to get a bit of peace and quiet. 

The heather is fully out in the heathland glades. If it had only been lavender, what with the hot sunny weather, I could almost have thought I was in Provence....

In a lonely glade, someone had carved my ideal chair from an old treetrunk.  And very welcome it was after a few miles.

There are several ponds. There's a heron in the background with a mother duck and her ducklings swimming.

and plenty of blackberries, particularly delicious ones.

Since the sunshine continued, we went a couple of days later to Wisley, in Surrey, the chief garden of the Royal Horticultural Society.  We try to go a few times a year to see the garden change with the seasons.  If you haven't been to WIsley, let me show you my house (in my dreams) Naturally there would be a team of Wisley horticulturalists standing by to look after the acres of grounds. 

And label all the plants.... like this one whose leaves look as if they are speckled by sunlight filtering in through the trees.   

Here was my favourite curiosity.  It hardly looks like a flower at all. 

At this time of year, the wild areas come into their own. This part of the garden features plants which grow wild in the British Isles.

So that's what I'm up to. Mostly, just enjoying hanging out in the summer and making the most of the sunshine. 

I hope you're enjoying your late summer too.