Wednesday, November 02, 2011

A Walk in Trent Park

Trent Park is a beautiful park in Enfield, especially at this time of year.
I have been to lots of different events; the council can't seem to make it's mind up what the park is for. For several years they had a mega-firework display with lasers and a huge bonfire. Then other years in the summer they have had balloon festivals, and crafts festivals that featured traction engines and a steam-driven plank-making machine (I loved it!)
Funniest was the stoat-racing year which I did write about at the time. For 4 pence (who on earth settled on that fee?) you bet on a hopeless stoat- they were all hopeless- and yelled encouragement. One got halfway down the tube and stopped, with its fur peeking out from joins in the plastic tubing. Another got halfway down the tube very quickly, changed its mind and backed out again. And one got almost to the finish, the end of the tube, and backed out again too. The eventual winner was very casual, pausing for thought a few times (you could see its shadow stop and start) before sauntering out of the end of the tube, looking bewilderedly at the cheering crowds.
This photo shows the carved benches and gargoyles that continually mutate and change. You never see the guy who makes them: maybe he's a ghost, or a horde of elves. All the stages of the process are there to see, from the massive trunks of felled trees to the grey, seasoned furniture you see in the picture.
There is also an animal sanctuary, which I was tempted by (they sell fresh duck eggs), but the smell of chicken sh*t was a trifle pungent today so I gave it a miss!

5 comments:

Wilky of St Albans said...

Hey, I was born a mere 300 yards from Trent Park, and spent many a happy afternoon there before it became a managed park. Think pre-punk. Rumour has it Rudolf Hess was kept there for a brief time during WW2.

By comparison Hadley Woods is a disappointment. Best local woodland is probably the track between north and south mymms, which knocks TP into a cocked hat.

Anonymous said...

Malcolm would love it there, with all that wood!

Monty said...

And i reside just a mere Stones Throw from Trent park, and if i remember rightly it was the scene of a gig by The Chefs!

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Wilky, were you a German spy working for the Luftwaffe!

FARMER GILES (of Oakwood) said...

Forty Hill/Hall has a better selection of Fauna & Flora, (And some Pot-Bellied Pigs)