Southbank: Woodland Garden

You might remember my previous post on Southbank's secret rooftop garden. It's a really cool space, full of little nooks and crannies to explore. I would advise all elves and their human friends to walk round to the other side of the garden - there are many larger plants here, like this purple puffy one which had many bumblebees around it, and also a way to the Woodland Garden!

Here's the tunnel which leads out of the secret rooftop garden. There are vines climbing eagerly all over the tunnel, and it's so surreal - like something out of Alice in Wonderland. It feels like you've become a miniature elf and got stuck in a hedge. You know what I mean.

This intriguing little sign invites us to 'cross the bridge to see what's growing in our Woodland Garden'. Well, I'd be pleased to accept! As you can see from the bottom right-hand corner of the picture, there are even a few plants growing on the concrete bridge itself!

After all that walking, I'm a little tired. It's a good job, then, that in the Woodland Garden there's a set of stools and a little table to relax at! In one of my rebellious moods, I decided to climb onto the table for my 'elfie. There's a pair of sunglasses sitting on the table too. I think those must have been left by a previous explorer. I left them there, in case the owners retraced their steps to find them.

I am well camouflaged amongst all these slender tree trunks! It's a very odd atmosphere, since the wood is real, yet the grass underneath is carpet disguising itself as grass, and there's a ceiling overhead. Add the sunlight bursting in from behind, and it's an oddly mystical, complex environment.

I'm going to climb in and out of these tree trunks for a little while now.

See you soon,

Elf Dryadalis

Southbank: secret rooftop garden

Going up the yellow stairs, this promising sign appears: 'We're sorry but we can't allow dogs on the roof'. It sounds like they're worried the dogs will throw themselves off or something. Actually, it's because this stairwell leads to a hidden rooftop garden on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank centre! The nearest stations are London Waterloo and London Charing Cross, though there are buses which take you pretty close too. A useful website here has been set up by Transport for London to help you plan your journey.

Here I am, standing appreciatively in front of the welcoming sign. Not only are dogs banned, but so is smoking. As a non-smoking elf, who could easily be mistaken for a snack by dogs/cats/pretty much anything bigger than me, this is quite a relief!

There is an additional sign, which I didn't photograph, saying that if the rooftop garden gets too crowded, they might have to shut it to additional visitors. But whilst I was here, although it was sunny, there was plenty of space.

I'm lying here on a mosaic adorning the entrance. I like the greens and yellows; they bring out my hair.

Here's a view of the rooftop garden! As you can see, although it's a small garden, there are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore.

I do like toadstools. This one was much taller than me, but after climbing all those stairs, I was glad to have something to lean on for a bit of a rest.

There are quite a few of these toadstools around the garden - it would be a nice game to have a competition on how many toadstools you can spot!

This is a pretty poem I'm standing in front of. The faded sign says, 'This garden elevates and perfumes my heart'. Isn't that beautiful?

There are stone benches to sit on too, and I got a whole one to myself! If you're going to eat lunch here, though, I'd suggest bringing a cushion - the stone's not the most comfortable thing to sit on!

If you're wondering about the view, this is what I can see: Festival Pier, where people can go on boats, and the river is of course the Thames! The breeze from the river is saving me money on hairspray - my hair's blowing everywhere!

Hope to see you again soon,

Elf Dryadalis