In the larger parks, as well as the expanse, there are always enclaves waiting to be discovered. In Peckham Rye, Sexby Gardens is hard to miss in late spring, when the wisteria comes into its own, spilling over and softening the edges of the formal beds. In Brockwell, the unassuming Walled Garden feels like a hidden gem every time you step inside, while over in Myatt’s Fields Park, the historic mulberry trees mark the passing of the year, heavy with fruit in summer and quietly architectural the rest of the time. Crystal Palace never fails to fill us with a kind of childlike wonder, especially as we await the return of its iconic dinosaurs, and no list would be complete without the world-famous Royal Park of Greenwich, where the views, the landmarks and the cherry blossom speak for themselves.

Nunhead Cemetery and Sydenham Hill Wood have their own kind of quiet beauty, the kind that comes from watching what decides to grow there rather than what’s been planted. Bluebells, ivy, birds moving through old trees, the slow change of light through the canopy. It’s never static, and that’s what makes it feel so alive.