http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34219 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34219 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33527 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33527 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31903 A fascinating, illustrated board, complete with map, explains when the different varieties of apple, pear and nut trees were introduced to the UK and by whom. Alongside the regular Cox's, Bramleys and Blenheim Oranges, there are more unusual varieties, such as the Vranja. A short message reads that residents can take one or two pieces of fruit home for their own use, but as the trees are only a few years old, they may have to wait a while.
In in the meantime, if starving for fruity vitamins, visitors to the park can also find blackberry bushes by the railway line and a large cob nut tree towards the main road.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31903 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31649 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31649 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31369 Peckham was mentioned in 1087 in the Doomsday Book, when it was called Pecheha, an Anglo Saxon word meaning 'village among the hills'.
During the reign of Henry 1, Peckham was a farming village and the land was used for growing crops and fruit. By the 18th century it was famous for its melons, figs and grapes.
In 1767, William Blake visited Peckham Rye and had a vision of angels in an oak tree. The ''Angel Oak', as it was later called, has since disappeared
The park's original layout opened to the public in 1894. There is a large lake and several smaller ponds alive with noisy ducks and geese, a Japanese garden, arboretum, bowling green and woodland walks. My favourite spot is in the Sexby Gardens where plots of lavender give off a wonderfully soporific, mid-summer ambience.

During the Second World War, temporary huts were erected to detain Italian prisoners of war. One still remains, located next to the café.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31369 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31368 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31368 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/27209 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/27209 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24537 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24537 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24117 The gallery has a small but quite up-market café and there’s a very good nearby pub, the Crown and Greyhound.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24117 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20282
The puppet masters are just that - masters of their art. I used to go with a friend and we were often the only adults there without children, but many shows have two levels of interpretation and you certainly don't have to be a child to enjoy them.

Before or after the show have a stroll along the New River Walk, running between Canonbury (The Marquess Estate) and the Angel. It's a lovely linear park based around the river that used to bring water to London from the country. It's beautifully peaceful, and there are ducks to watch (or feed) and benches to sit and contemplate. You could do a round walk down the park and back up Upper Street to Highbury and Islington tube and get the best of shops, cafe, theatre and park for a day's entertainment.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20282 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19674 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19674 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19672 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19672 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19662
My other recommendation would be Green Park, it has a better location right next to Buckingham Palace. Deck chairs are available to rent (£2 for 4 hours) and many food shops nearby mean that you won't go hungry. Great for running or relaxing - take advantage of London's green parks.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19662 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18180 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18180 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16346 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16346 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15088 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15088 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13657
It is operated by GLL so facilities are spartan but it is fab and clean. Entry is less than £4 and the pool is open from 6.30am (mon-fri) or 8am to 8pm.

Lockers are poolside (20p) and changing rooms and showers are inside and out. There is also sunbathing space around the pool.

It is a blissful place to plough up and down: no gimmicky wave machines or even inflatables here.

Be aware, though, that if it really really rains, then you will be thrown out of the pool as visibility is reduced.

Sad irony that London summers mean that it is too wet to swim.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13657 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13570 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13570 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13380 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13380 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11707
You look past the green lawns and Palladian architecture below, across the Thames, past the Dome and Canary Wharf, to the whole of north London spread out on its hills above the metropolis. Nowhere else do you get this feeling of the sheer scale of the city, and binding it all together, the sluggish grey ribbon of the river.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11707