This morning I entered the park from Belle Vue Road, through the gates next to the Purbeck Heights flats. This site was formerly home to a the La Belle Vue restaurant which was later renamed the Tilly Whim Inn. I walk down the steps descending into the cool shaded woodland overstood with Holm Oak trees.
On one side the biggest tree on the park stands proud – a great Monterey Cypress which has stood here for well over 100 years. If trees could talk I wonder what stories it could tell? Anecdotes of tipsy Victorians stumbling down from the inn, or disgruntled locals raging at having to pay 6d to pass a turnstile that blocked the path here in the forties.
A few Grey Squirrels run laps around the base of the tree as they chase one another and scavenge for insects, nuts, and seeds. The sound of birdsong echoes around this dell; Great Tits, Robins, and a Blackbird. Through the trees you can hear the lower rhythm of waves breaking on the shore, and the occasional call of a passing Gull.
I head further down, eventually finding myself clambering over the precarious limestone ledges and onto the beach. It’s a high tide, but the water is calm in this sheltered bay. At the foot of the pebbles the beach is covered in soggy, smelly Kelp; probably torn from the seabed during the strong easterly winds last week. It attracts a small number of Seaweed Flies which are dutifully picked at by a Rock Pipit.
The outfall of the Sunnydale stream trickles a steady flow of freshwater. It tumbles down over the Moss-clad rocks and sploshes into Algae filled-pools between the rocks. The waterfall has created a thriving microclimate for an abundance of plants here on the beach. A variety of Grasses form a living wall of green, covered with sprouting leaves of Valerian, Hemlock, Herb Robert, and Wood Dock. Bramble and Bindweed creep in from the sides, whilst emerging Horsetails give a pre-historic feel to the setting.