Anna Sayburn finds complete bliss of a weekend in Dulwich.
Saturday morning (sunny, please!) I’ll jump on my bike and cycle through Dulwich Park, down to the Lordship Lane shops in East Dulwich – butcher, fishmonger, the fantastic cheese shop, fruit and veg.
Lunch is a bread and cheese picnic. We’ll eat sitting on the grass in Dulwich Park, hiding the food from the geese and squirrels.
Saturday afternoon means a leisurely stroll in Sydenham Hill Woods, enjoying the cool green shade. We’ll pass families in wellies, dog-walkers, joggers and the occasional party of trail-laying Scouts from the nearby Scout Centre.
On Saturday night we hop two stops on the train to Brixton, for a film at the Ritzy Picture House. The upstairs bar is good for food before and a drink afterwards, especially with live music some evenings.
Sunday morning starts a bit more slowly, but we’ll amble down College Road to the newsagent in Dulwich Village. After buying the paper, we’ll spend half an hour riveted by the announcements in the window (maybe I should take up martial arts? Or rent a villa in France? What about guitar lessons, and what on earth is Hopi candle therapy?).
Then it’s off to Dulwich Picture Gallery café for a cappucino, coffee walnut cake and a good read of the paper. The café too has it’s regular crowd – visitors to the gallery, of course, but it’s also a meeting place for young mums with pushchairs, children and parents taking part in practical art classes, and a group of lycra-clad cyclists who make it a regular stop-off on their Sunday rides.
I’ll take advantage of my Friends’ card to get free entry to the gallery. If I’ve already seen the special exhibition, I’ll wander round and renew my friendship with my favourite pictures.
All too soon, it’s Sunday afternoon, then Sunday evening and the weekend’s nearly over. To put Monday off a little longer, we stroll up to the Dulwich Wood House pub with our neighbours, for a drink in the beer garden. It’s been another good weekend.
