Peckham Rye Park
A common and ornate park rolled into one in south London, free, where the young William Blake said he saw a tree full of angels, with a Japanese garden and an Edwardian sunken garden.
The lowdown
Peckham Rye is two green spaces in one, a broad open common and, beside it, a more ornate Victorian and Edwardian park, all free. It is the beating green heart of a corner of south London that has become one of the city's most creative neighbourhoods.
It carries a famous story. As a young boy the poet and artist William Blake is said to have wandered out to the Rye and seen a tree filled with angels, a vision that stayed with him for life. Whether or not you believe it, it gives the ordinary grass a touch of magic.
The park half hides several lovely formal gardens, an Edwardian sunken garden, a Japanese-style garden and the Sexby Garden, along with a lake, a cafe and sports pitches. Combined with the buzzing bars and galleries of Peckham nearby, it makes a brilliant free day in the deep south of the city.
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