‘Together they walked to the Gate, the sun waning as the day began to end, a cool breeze blowing through the glowing green woodland.’
Over the weekend I visited a park I’ve known for years. I used to go there as a child, and my mother and grandmother also played there as children, so it’s somewhere very dear to me. It holds magic, as well – the magic of living close to somewhere so wonderful, exploring hidden pathways and sunken gardens, of watching my own daughter play where three generations of her family played before her.
‘The War Memorial loomed like a golden tower’
It’s also the inspiration for my Ambeth Chronicles. In the books it’s the park near to Alma’s house, the place she goes when she needs time to think. It’s also where she is attacked and pushed through the tree gate into Ambeth, emerging on the other side into a different world. So it was wonderful to walk the familiar pathways and see them through my character’s eyes, another layer of magic added to an already special place.
‘past the tennis courts and playground and the small cafe’
I took photos as I walked, wanting to capture some of the places on film. The park features all the way through the series of books, and so I considered words already written and twists yet to come, drawing more inspiration from the leafy green.
‘she wandered through the Gardens with Caleb… Hedges rose around them like a maze and every corner revealed something new…’
And then I thought I’d share them with you 🙂
‘Alma saw she was near to a gap between two oak trees, beyond which she knew was a track that would take her to the end of the park and home.’
Helen Glynn Jones 
What a magical place! Thank you for sharing it with us.
Oh, you’re very welcome! Thanks for visiting with me, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Those are beautiful pictures, I keep going back and looking at them 🙂
Ooh, thank you – I’m so glad you’re enjoying them 🙂 It’s a pretty inspiring place, that’s for sure. When I went to write my book it was the first place that came to mind.
Love that your books are based on a real place… gives it so much more meaning and context.
Thanks Ali – How’s your head after all that green tea last night 😉
Lol! Nice and clear, I’m happy to say!
Yes, me too – all that raging meant a good night’s sleep 😉
Haha! Such rebels! 😀
Not Surprised you’re inspired by it – proper stunning and ethereal. 😊
Yes, it’s quite a lovely place. It was once the grounds of a private house hundreds of years ago, so there’s a sort of magic to the landscape, that it’s in the centre of a city yet has never been built on for all those centuries – I wonder if that’s what gives the woods their mystery. Ooh, now I have another story idea!
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