The Quiet Paths

London – June 2026

Work took me to London for a few days, but with a free evening and camera in hand, I escaped the city streets for a wander around Harrow Common and Bentley Priory Nature Reserve.

It’s remarkable how quickly the noise of London falls away. Within minutes I found myself walking through ancient woodland beneath towering oaks, the largest of them known simply as The Master—an extraordinary veteran oak believed to be over 350 years old and one of the oldest trees in the historic county of Middlesex. It has stood watch over these woods for centuries, surviving changing landscapes, kings, wars, and even the development of modern London around it.

The meadows were alive with longhorn cattle quietly grazing the species-rich grassland, while overhead a green woodpecker laughed from somewhere among the trees.

Bright flashes of rose-ringed parakeets darted between the branches, their tropical colours feeling wonderfully out of place against such an ancient English landscape.

Later, as the evening softened, I wandered into the deer park where a small herd of fallow deer grazed peacefully beneath the oaks. It was difficult to believe I was still inside Greater London.

The final surprise came on my walk back towards the hotel. A fox stepped calmly onto the path ahead of me and simply stopped. Unlike our rather cautious Helmshore foxes, this city dweller seemed entirely untroubled by my presence. We stood watching one another for a few quiet moments before it turned and trotted unhurriedly into the scrub.

I couldn’t help thinking how different the encounter was without Pepper beside me. Had she been there, the moment would almost certainly have ended with an enthusiastic chase and a very excited terrier. Instead, there was only stillness, curiosity, and the quiet privilege of sharing the path for a little while.

Sometimes, even in the middle of one of the world’s busiest cities, nature finds a way to surprise you.