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unusual : places Crystal Palace Park Having grown up in South London, I have vague memories of visiting Crystal Palace Park as a tiny tot, but after years of drink and damage my mind is somewhat hazy on the details. So, after several recent recommendations, and living only a couple of miles away, I thought I would remind myself of the old place. So, firstly to a very mini history lesson: The Park housed the famous 'Crystal Palace' which was an enormous glass and iron structure designed by Sir Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park in 1851. After the Exhibition it was decided that the building was so lovely, it should be opened up in a permanent home, and so the whole building was moved to Sydenham to create a 'Winter Park and Garden under Glass', and opened in 1854. The sad part is that the whole building burnt down in the 1930s. I'm not quite sure how glass burns, but still. However, there is a happy tale too. A small but fascinating part of the Exhibition has recently been recreated. The world's first Dinosaur Park, made in the 1854 re-building of the Palace, has been remodeled. In their time the dinosaurs caused a moral outrage (I love a bit of Victorian outrage!) as they were created only 30 years after dinosaurs were discovered and 5 years before Darwin's The Origin of Species. And, so to my Crystal Palace nostalgic journey. I chose a quiet morning during the week, and snuck away from my desk with my running shoes on. Sydenham Hill is quiet a trek first thing in the morning, or indeed at any time. But I kept going with the thought of spying the 'terrible lizards' in mind. I found the park easily and crept in through the side entrance, chanting "Dar-win, Dar-win, Dar-win" to keep up my pace. I ran down the splendid steps, got lost around the running track, and wound my way through the tracks, until at last I found the pond. Soon I was running through autumn leafed trees, along a deserted, bouncy, bark-strewn path with the sun sliding through, and ducks quietly chuckling on the pond. And then, out of nowhere. The dinosaurs! Yes, they're just sat there in the pond. I'm laughing now just thinking of them. They don't have giant garish signs or theme park rides attached. They just sit still, alone, contemplating the world, and whatever happened 65 million years ago. So I urge you, if you have a longing for the splendid or the ridiculous, pay a visit to the Crystal Palace Park. Or if it seems like too far to travel, there's a great virtual tour of the park on BBC London's website, along with a bit more history about the park and the Great Exhibition: http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/features/history/crystal_palace/index.shtml. |
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