South Norwood Country Park, and South Norwood Lake

The Times recently hailed Crystal Palace as one of the best places to live in the UK, and who are we to disagree. This blog is full of reasons to love the area. The Times lists the antique shops, the cafes, the park and the panoramic views, and no doubt you have your own particular reasons you love the area. One of my many reasons, is the large amount of green space. As I type this, I'm looking out the window at woodland across the road, one of many remaining pockets of the Great North Wood, which formerly covered much of South London. Of course we are lucky enough to have one of London's most historically important parks right here, and in addition plenty of smaller neighbourhood green spaces, but only a stone's throw away, we have another much larger patch of open space, which I happened to visit on assignment just the other day. South Norwood Country Park, as its name suggests, is very different to any of the municipal parks in the area, and in fact was only designated a country park as recently as the 1980s, having spent the previous century as a sewage works. Originally it was part of the aforementioned Great North Wood. Today it is an invaluable amenity for local people, and an important haven for wildlife.
Lying in a valley south of the Triangle, local landmarks are clearly visible, including the two transmitters, the athletics stadium, and the cinema. I was also lucky enough to catch the cherries in full blossom. The forecast for the next few days is good, so if you're quick, you might catch the blossom too.

As part of my assignment, I also visited South Norwood Lake, which I discover was built as a reservoir to serve the Croydon Canal in the early 1800s.