London Bushy Park

Longimanus

Longimanus

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I'm contemplating on going to Bushy Park in the morning, I know the weather doesn't look great, but I've never been before.

I want to go and see the deer and just get a general feel for the park

Anyone got any advice on where to park, where to walk etc?

Thanks in advance
 
There's a car park near the Diana Fountain, accessed from Hampton Court Road
 
You can also park in the cafe car park. The cafe is called The Pheasantry and can be seen on Google Maps at the link below. You drive up Chestnut Avenue, turn left, then left into the car park. The cafe isn't particularly cheap but the food is OK. It's open until 6pm at the moment, 5pm from the end of October.

If you want to take a break from the deer (and the lakes and wildlife, of course - Heron Pond and Leg of Mutton Pond), go out of the back of the cafe into the Woodland Garden. It's quite long and in two sections going north-east towards Cobbler's Walk, and has a few interesting features such as ponds with bridges and flower beds, and a totem pole.

Above all, as Retune said, "WATCH OUT FOR TICKS!" (caps mine)
This can't be stated too often. Lyme Disease can be life-changing. You can go from being a photographer to bed-bound in a few weeks and, in some cases, encephalitis can result. The ticks aren't only on the deer, either, but can be transported by dogs and squirrels. If you plan on more than one visit, get a tick kit and learn how to use it.

Map showing The Pheasantry
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...256f459718!8m2!3d51.416531!4d-0.3398173?hl=en

Tick kits on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...argid=kwd-302419151275&ref=pd_sl_2fcs0gs2nd_e
 
garryknight said:
You can also park in the cafe car park. The cafe is called The Pheasantry and can be seen on Google Maps at the link below. You drive up Chestnut Avenue, turn left, then left into the car park. The cafe isn't particularly cheap but the food is OK. It's open until 6pm at the moment, 5pm from the end of October.

If you want to take a break from the deer (and the lakes and wildlife, of course - Heron Pond and Leg of Mutton Pond), go out of the back of the cafe into the Woodland Garden. It's quite long and in two sections going north-east towards Cobbler's Walk, and has a few interesting features such as ponds with bridges and flower beds, and a totem pole.

Above all, as Retune said, "WATCH OUT FOR TICKS!" (caps mine)
This can't be stated too often. Lyme Disease can be life-changing. You can go from being a photographer to bed-bound in a few weeks and, in some cases, encephalitis can result. The ticks aren't only on the deer, either, but can be transported by dogs and squirrels. If you plan on more than one visit, get a tick kit and learn how to use it.

Map showing The Pheasantry
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...256f459718!8m2!3d51.416531!4d-0.3398173?hl=en

Tick kits on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...argid=kwd-302419151275&ref=pd_sl_2fcs0gs2nd_e
Click to expand...
Great info @garryknight, really appreciate that, I've already got a tick remover so will take it with me. Is there anyway to be a bit proactive regarding ticks? Wearing long sleeves etc?
 
Longimanus said:
Great info @garryknight, really appreciate that, I've already got a tick remover so will take it with me. Is there anyway to be a bit proactive regarding ticks? Wearing long sleeves etc?
Click to expand...

Being proactive is mostly about a) wearing the right kind of clothing, and b) checking vulnerable areas regularly. So wear overlapping clothes - long trousers, not shorts, and at least knee-length socks, so there's maximum overlap and minimum space for ticks to get in; long johns are even better. Also wear long sleeves to minimise exposure. If you can wear gloves and not overheat, that's obviously a help. Then you only have to check your head. If you have someone with you, they can check around the back. One thing to make sure of is that you DON'T try and feel for ticks as you could pull the body away from the head, which is likely to pump nasties straight into your blood stream. So perhaps take a couple of mirrors for inspecting your neck and behind your ears, and use one for inspecting your face and hair. If you wear a hat, there will be less of your head to check. If one gets in your hair it could make its way down over time, so if you haven't got someone else to inspect your hair, wash it as soon as you get home.

One other thing: don't lie in the grass to get low-down shots. But you probably thought of that.

You can get more advice with a Google search for "how to prevent tick bites". For example, this article gives a lot of information.

Edit I've just realised that you've probably been and come back, as I missed seeing your question last night.
 
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TBH I think some of that tick advice is being a bit over cautious, if we did all that we would never get out of the house. We live in a rural area and regularly get ticks, you will know if you have one because it will itch but this may take up to a day after you were out-and-about to feel it; remove them by getting hold of the little black dot with tweezers and rotating anticlockwise. Then - and this is the important bit - watch out for a bulls-eye shaped rash - if you see this get to the doctor and get the right antibiotics. I know a plenty of people who have had many, many ticks and only one got lyme disease and then even though he was diagnosed a long time after the tick bite and was OK after a course of antibiotics. Like most diseases you could be unlucky but thankfully post-infections lyme disease seems to be rare. They seem to prefer soft/thin skin, backs of knees, neck, etc.
 
Cheers @garryknight, @sirch, I did a google search before I went.

The park is very nice, appreciate all the info from everyone, its somewhere I will be going back to!

Ive never seen so many green woodpeckers before!
 
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