Woodlands in the urban jungle

Life has changed rather dramatically for us since my last blog post. Our baby twins, Ewan and Megan, gave us a surprise by arriving early, on 23rd November. We have been staying in Glasgow (4 hours drive away from home) ever since, due to baby Ewan needing treatment for his heart. Becoming parents has been such an exciting change and we are in love with our two gorgeous little babies. However, being away from home with two wee ones, one of which is still in hospital, is also pretty challenging, tiring and stressful at times.

After spending many hours inside the hospital, and in our little room feeding Megan, I always feel the need to go outside and find some nature to help me relax and re-set my brain. The hospital and its urban surroundings are very different to my usual woodland habitat. However, I have managed to search out some mini oases of nature to keep me going.

Outside our window

Outside our ground floor window is a strip of grass, a young beech hedge and a small tree (not entirely sure what type of tree, it looks a bit like a hawthorn but pruned to form an upright tree). In the distance, behind a carpark, is a large ash tree next to a large silver birch. It is nice just being able to see these tree shapes from the window.

There is often a robin hopping about beneath the beech hedge, while a variety of other birds have also made an appearance in front of the window, including a magpie, a blackbird, a dunnock, blue tits, long-tailed tits, goldfinches and pigeons. Being close to the River Clyde here (and a rubbish tip), there are also lots of gulls flying about, as well as crows and jackdaws. When we step outside, just beyond the carpark is a series of large sycamore, cherry and lime trees and towards dusk they are often full of flocks of starlings and goldfinches. It is uplifting to hear the chattering birds busy in the branches and to see the flocks swooping between the trees.

Carpark 3

I discovered this very mini strip of woodland on our initial visit to the hospital back in the summer. It extends from the back of a carpark along between a hospital building and some back gardens. Although very close to the busy hospital, it provides a refreshing pocket of nature, which I have visited many times now when in need of a brief respite.

There is a small patch of grass and then a row of tall lime trees with elder and other shrubs beneath. Further along are some smaller trees (whitebeam, willow, apple) and then some hollies and a large poplar that is covered in ivy, which droops down off the tree in an artistic fashion. There are normally lots of birds busy in the shrubby undergrowth – various types of tit, sparrows, a robin or two. Pigeons are usually perching in the crowns of the taller trees and I have heard a song thrush singing up there on a few occasions. Grey squirrels are often to be seen chasing each other up and down tree trunks. I have enjoyed spending just a few minutes here whenever I get a chance, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the tiny woodland.

Top of the multi-storey

Not a woodland, but the top of the multi-storey hospital carpark is another place I sometimes head for a quick nature fix, as well as some exercise climbing the six flights of stairs (I don’t actually park a car here!). The carpark has great panoramic views in three directions. Around sunset is the time I usually choose to visit the carpark because the light has been beautiful on many evenings.

To the north, beyond the western suburbs of Glasgow, and looking remarkably near, are the snow-covered Campsie Fells with their steep and craggy slopes. Further west are the Kilpatrick Hills, set above the Erskine Bridge across the Clyde. In the distant west are some larger, snow-covered hills that must be somewhere in Argyll, beyond the Firth of Clyde. To the south, the urban landscape gives way to lower hills with wind turbines on the horizon.

After being stuck indoors so much, it is liberating just to spend a few minutes looking out across the landscape from this vantage point. It feels good to know where we are within this bigger scene and to see the distant, open hills. Up here you are more exposed to the weather and get a better perspective on the clouds and how they appear in the light of the particular day. Big clouds over the Campsie Fells are often tinged pink at sunset. One afternoon I simply enjoyed standing and being buffeted by a strong wind that was blowing from the south, looking at the new moon hanging in the dusky sky and watching gulls swooping past.

Elder Park rose garden

Elder Park is a few minutes’ walk from our accommodation Recently we have been going for a walk there at lunchtime when we have time and the weather is ok, carrying Megan in a baby sling, cosy inside my jacket. Most of the park is a large, flat expanse of mown grass, dotted with mature ash and sycamore trees and criss-crossed with tarmac footpaths, with a concrete-lined pond on one side. On the other side a slightly neglected rose garden. This is where I like to head because the shrubby holly and rhododendron bushes, together with some bigger trees, give an enclosed feel, a bit like being in a woodland clearing, and also provide habitat for lots of birds.

I’ve been very glad to have been able to find some comfort from nature in our temporary urban home. I have been surprised at the variety and abundance of nature that becomes apparent once you start looking and it just goes to show how much potential there is for integrating wildlife habitats within urban design.