Much smaller and more intimate than the other royal parks in central London. Lots of other people had taken advantage of this weekend’s good weather to stroll in the park.

Every now and again, there would be a crackling noise as squirrels (alas, grey ones not the endangered red ones) loped across fallen leaves to forage. One dad had come equipped with a bag of nuts, and 3 squirrels came right up to him to feed, much to the delight of his toddler.

I had mixed feelings about the Japanese Garden. On the one hand, it was beautiful in a blaze of autumnal colours. But the expected serenity was lacking thanks to other visitors ignoring the requests at the entrance and exits of the garden. Kids were scrambling up, down and across rocks and 3 young mums tried to push buggies across a narrow bridge which was already jammed full of excited toddlers throwing several loaves-worth of bread into the water.

It was all very different to the other Japanese garden I’ve visited in Seattle. It’s probably more tranquil on a weekday, or on a rainy day – I’ll have to come back to check it out.