CHAPTER V 
GREENWICH PARK 
Towered cities please us then , 
And the busy hum of men , 
Where throngs of knights and barons bold 
In weeds of peace high triumphs hold , 
With store of ladies , whose bright eyes 
Rain influence , and judge the pri%e 
Of wit , or arms , while both contend 
To win her grace , whom all commend. 
—Milton. 
would not occur to most people 
to reckon Greenwich among the 
London Parks. But it is well 
within the bounds of the County 
of London, and now so easy of 
access that it should have no 
difficulty in substantiating its 
claim to be one of the most beau¬ 
tiful among them. Both for natural features and 
historic interest it is one of the most fascinating. 
Its Spanish chestnuts are among the distinguishing 
characteristics, and although smoke is slowly telling on 
them, numbers of these sturdy timber trees are still 
in their prime, and it would be hard to find a more 
splendid collection in any part of the country. One 
of the giants is 20 feet in girth at 3 feet from the 
ground, and contains 200 feet of timber. 
