Any time is a good time to visit the Gardens... even a stinking wet windy day in February means you'll have peace and quiet like no other time. In summer, the park is particularly beautiful, but it gets very crowded with sunbathers. All in all, autumn is my favourite time to come down here, especially of a chilly Saturday afternoon in late November, when the leaves have started to turn...
Mostly, we like to feed the birds when we're down here. They gather in huge flocks at the Pond when someone turns up with some stale bread or cakes and mob them. We find that fun. My friend Chris deals with the bread, and I take the pictures. Our favourite birds are the Little Gulls. These are delightful birds which come down here from Finland and Russia to winter. They are tremendously agile, capable of hovering for some seconds, and are brilliant hunters in the air. They also like seem to like eating our stale toast!
Of course, the moment of victory follows a long period of cruising, jostling with your pals for position, waiting for your moment to strike...
...or gliding high, observing those curious two legged creatures from above.
Of course, we're not the only people who like to feed the birds. When these kitchen porters from a local hotel turned up one day just as the sun was setting, with a whole sackful of stale cakes, this little fellow proved me could outdo even the gulls for agility.
They look pretty sitting down too!
Other park birds, like these ducks, prefer to just chill out on the water.
While the swans decide the setting sun is well over the yardarm - time for a drink.
Other swans are too in love to pay attention to any of that.
Of course, there are plenty of other animals in the park. Some of the squirrels are so spoiled by being fed by the many tourists in the gardens, the come up close to find food.
Others regard us more warily.
All and all, a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon when the ham bands are quiet.