Our second trip of the season to West Norwood was our penultimate walk of 2025 and thus bittersweet. Each walk, each area, each season within the season is so enjoyable, the idea of the close of another year brings varied feelings.
This walk was guided by our Incredible Edible Tour guides who also happen to be the Chair of Friends of West Norwood Cemetery and keen gardening group member there, Dr Jane Jordan and Nikky Catto who writes cookbooks. Both Lambeth Tour Guides, Jane doesn’t cook, Nikky doesn’t garden. They love the way Incredible Edible needs both skill sets but Jane sees seasons as ‘next incredible act of nature’ while Nikky sees them as ‘is this edible now?’
There were some return walkers who take similar positions and they brought friends along. Seeing new walkers become regulars is a bedding in and seeing word of mouth spread the joys of these walks is like sowing seeds. Keats probably meant ‘close bosom-friend of the maturing sun’ quite differently but any chill in the air before Storm Floris was to brush was warmed with this feeling of companionship in the group.
Our group had plans for West Norwood Feast when we set off but we introduced them to an unexpected feast that created a joyful childlike delight along our route. Next year bring your reusable bags and containers for this walk is our tip. Please never forage without permission and leave some for the wildlife. And if like our walkers you aren’t sure the etiquette of seeing urban trees so well established they “fill all fruit with ripeness to the core” we model the behaviour to show how incredible it that we live surrounded by edible glories.
We showed what Open Orchard shares with all in Woodvale Estate versus residents’ allotments, how to volunteer with them and how to pick fruit or collect windfalls. Watching friends scoop up apples and plot the crumble they were now making for Sunday dinner later made us even sadder to say goodbye to the groups.
We covered rewilding willow and NatureVibezzz’ Lambeth Civic Award Winner hedges at Tivoli Park and eyed up greengages and nut trees to see if we could beat the squirrels in a few weeks for the sweet kernels. Some calm in Knight’s Hill Wood explaining the importance of this tiny wood and its purpose of making nature’s own compost fascinated them. NatureVibezzz runs Forest Schools there for children but we grown ups learned why not picking from ancient woodland or interfering with fungi is crucial when a lost bucket hat was mistaken for a triumphant mushroom momentarily!
Normally we end at the second Open Orchard and Bzzz Garage but Thames Water’s thwarted us. So we used the incredible knowledge of the green space of the cemetery to show an edible treat instead. The brambles in the wildlife area will mature to sweet tart blackberries just as our free walks season concludes on August 13th and will carry you over to autumn’s true mellow fruitfulness. The walks are summer based, but Incredible Edible is all year round. Start planning your next way to get involved so when we greet people next summer we have so much to share from successes, recipes and connections.
