Camley Street Natural Park

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Entry sign to the park, listing December wildlife sightings in the park

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Warning sign: This site has open areas of water!

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One of the signs prompting you to use the Augmented Reality app to see what the wildlife in the area looks like (and does)

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A screenshot from the AR app. A butterfly.

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A bench carved out of a log

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Classes are often held on the wooden walkway that surrounds the pond

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Another screenshot from the AugmentedReality app. This time, a fox.

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One of the paths through the park where you can easily forget you are in London Zone 1.

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Another view of the paths through the park where you can easily forget you are in London Zone 1.

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Looking back on the new cafe and classroom centre

Thanks to the recently completed #SomersTownBridge (*see footnote) one of London’s FREE hidden gems is now a short easy walk away from @CoalDropsYard and the regenerated @KingsCrossN1C area.

Historians and fans of London’s seedy side will gladly point out that the park and areas around it was once the site of filth — from coal dumps to local prostitutes plying their trade.

Times have changed significantly since Ken Livingstone championed the original redevelopment in the ‘80s, but the surrounding area remained questionable for years. As recently as 2001 yours truly was harassed by thugs on a sunny Saturday afternoon walking the towpath in front of what is now Granary Square. Today it’s hard to imagine anyone getting harassed by anything other than an overpriced latte in what is London’s latest success story for regeneration and growth.

To keep pace, the modest two-acre wildlife sanctuary reopened in Sept 2021 after four years of redevelopment, adding modern classrooms and a cafe selling, yes, overpriced lattes. There’s even a pretty cool AR experience for those who can’t bear the thought of encountering wildlife for real — or experiencing anything without their smartphone. (Images 3, 4, and 7)

Crossing Regent’s Canal via the footbridge and getting lost along the mulch covered paths that wrap the long and narrow site is a soothing experience. As most of my photos show, even in the dead of winter when bare branches abound, “it’s hard to believe that you are next to one of the busiest rail interchanges in the country”. Just imagine what this place must be like in the Spring. I’ll certainly be going back to find out.

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* by @MoxonArchitects who designed the other new footbridge into Coal Drops Yard, officially named #EsperanceBridge by local schoolchildren.

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Visit https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/camley-street-natural-park

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