Today I was heading for Newcastle to have coffee with a friend and to visit the bank, so I decided on a stroll round Heaton Park. I've driven by it before, but never visited. How lucky Newcastle is with its green areas - not only the Town Moor but also a huge green lung stretching down Jesmond Dene and into Armstrong and Heaton Parks! I parked in Heaton Park View and walked down past the play area and the bowling green. I saw the ruins of the palace and the windmill and continued through Armstrong Park to the bridge across the coast road and the entrance to Jesmond Dene. Tempting though it was to walk up the Dene, I turned back and followed a path down to the bottom of the park and continued along parallel to the road. It was so lovely and soothing to be amongst greenery. The trees are magnificent this year, really benefitting from the rain, and the autumn colours are beginning to develop. I walked above the cattle drove (a little oddity I hadn't heard of before) and eventually the path turned up a flight of stone steps under trees. By now it was raining hard and I stopped under the trees, sheltered from it all and enjoying listening to the patter of rain on leaves. I was alone, and it was quite a spiritual moment, haven't had one of those for a while.
I followed the path round by where the Temple had stood (so an information board told me) and back to where I had begun. It wasn't a long walk by any means, but it was a soothing one and I'm sure I shall return to it and to sample the delights of the Italian restaurant in the pavilion.
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| King John's well |
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