“Noon was chill and misty when they reached the park. Although a scattering of hopeful crocuses had pushed their way through the grassland, the chill damp of winter continued to hang in the air. She had swathed herself in a woolly scarf and hat. Only her eyes and broad cheekbones were showing, invigorated by the fresh air. Kurt had thrown on a thin fleece. She could see him visibly relaxing as they left the traffic-filled streets and entered the wide green space of the park.”
This is a passage from Penny’s Antique Shop of Memories and Treasures, and it’s the part where the two main characters, Penny and Kurt, first take a walk in London’s Richmond Park.
When I first started writing this story, I had a vague idea of the characters and setting. I always find it strange how my vague ideas seem to solidify, and how everything comes together eventually to fit the theme of my novel.
Richmond Park is the largest Royal Park in London, and it hasn’t changed much for hundreds of years. It was originally grassland and common land used by the people, but was established as a Royal Park by Charles I in 1625. Charles came to Richmond to escape the plague in the city. He loved the hunting there so much, he decided to turn the place into his own park, and he walled it in with eight foot stone walls. As you can imagine, his decision wasn’t too popular with the commoners who’d been using it. The King allowed pedestrians a right of way, though, which was big of him. To this day, the walls remain, and the Park is still full of deer – although the Queen and her family no longer hunt them :)
Nowadays Richmond Park is open to the public twenty four hours a day. If ever you are in London, it’s a fabulous place to visit. Although it’s surrounded by houses and tower blocks, once inside the massive park you could honestly believe you are in the country. The landscape includes hills, woodland gardens, grasslands and ancient trees, and the wildlife is astonishing. The Park is most famous for its herds of deer, but it is also a National Nature Reserve, a European Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and absolutely teems with wildlife of all sorts.
So why did I choose Richmond Park as one of the settings in Penny’s Antique Shop of Memories and Treasures? Well, first of all there was the sense of history. Penny is an antique dealer, and has a vivid imagination. She loves to immerse herself in the past, and to picture how the people and places must have been in those days. My hero, Kurt, doesn’t share her imagination – but he loves to hear Penny speak.
For his part, Kurt loves the outdoors. “I don’t like to feel boxed in,” is a phrase Kurt repeats in the novel. Kurt is reserved, but when he gets into the park with Penny, he begins to open up to her for the first time.
I love to incorporate the setting in the theme of my writing, and in Richmond Park I found the perfect place for love to blossom between Penny and Kurt. It can be a magical place to visit. If you’d like to see some more photos, I can recommend the aptly named Richmond Park Photos, which shows some beautiful images. You can also see the Park by satellite with Google Maps.
As Kurt goes on to say in Penny’s Antique Shop, Richmond Park can be a wonderful place for city-dwellers to escape all the stresses of city life. According to this article in The Daily Mail, one young woman found the park such a healing place to visit after suffering from depression, she actually had a map of it tattooed on her thigh!
(Although it’s not always stress free – Richmond Park was also the scene of internet sensation Fenton the dog )
Richmond Park is one of the world’s great city parks, with an ancient history, and an important landscape for wildlife lovers and Londoners still today. I loved the idea of it playing a role in my novel, and becoming part of the relationship between my hero and heroine.
I hope you liked my introduction to Penny’s Antique Shop of Memories and Treasures, and its setting in RIchmond Park. Are there any settings in novels that remain with you long after reading? Is the setting important to you, as a reader, or as a writer? Do you enjoy reading novels where the setting is part of the theme? If you have any views or comments, I’d love to hear from you.
Helena Fairfax 
Thank you for all this information on Richmond Park, Helena, and the beautiful photos. I have never been there but will definitely make sure I visit if I go to London. I had no idea such a wild, unspoilt space existed in the capital. I love the excerpt of Antique Love. It is very poetic, very atmospheric…I am sure you can’t wait for the release in September!
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Thanks Marie! Richmond is a great place to visit, although a little way out of the centre (south of the river), but sometimes it’s good to be away from all the hustle and bustle. And I’m looking forward very much to release, thanks! :)
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Loved the pictures of the park too Helena. I have never visited it but it does look very beautiful and peaceful. Looking forward to reading about Penny and Kurt. :)
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Thanks for your comment, Tina. I’d no idea about the long history of the park until I started researching. A fascinating place, and great to have a landscape like that for all that wildlife, right in London. I hope you enjoy reading about it!
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Fascinating article, Helena and lovely pics. Congrats on your upcoming release!
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Thanks for your comment, Lindsay! I’m looking forward to release day. Can’t believe my book is finally ready!
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Congratulations and best luck on your upcoming release, Helena. Loved the history of the park. It looks like a lovely place.
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Thanks, Rose! Richmond Park is a great place to visit if you want to get out of the city (you can tell I’m more of a country girl!) Thanks for coming by!
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Hi, Helena! Great article. I’m a country girl, too, and enjoy visiting parks when I go to a new city. Hopefully, I’ll get to Richmond Park some day!
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Hi Heather, I think you’d love it! I’d love to own a house by the park, as my hero Kurt does. Then you’d have the best of both worlds – city and country. It’s one of the most expensive places to live in England, though. Maybe one day – when that bestseller gets published!
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Helena, what a lovely place and a great backdrop for your story. I peeked at the link to the photos. What a fabulous photographer! He captured the beauty and the peace so well.Kudos to the folks with vision who have saved this property as a park and not allowed it to be used for commercial or residential purposes. It helps one believe there is some goodness in humankind. This post is such a teaser making me even more curious about your new release Sept 6. Best wishes.
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Thanks so much, JQ! I’m so glad you liked the link. The photos are absolutely gorgeous, and really make me want to visit the park more often, to see the changing seasons. I believe the park belongs to “The Crown”, and has belonged to the monarchy since Charles I’s day. It’s by the Queen’s “grace and favour” that the public are allowed to roam through. I expect the Royal Family have never been so strapped for cash they’d have to sell the park for development! Not when they already own loads of palaces and castles. It’s a great part of London, and fantastic to have an area preserved for wildlife in the city.
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Great article, Helena. By coincidence, I visited Richmond last week and it’s a lovely setting. Good luck with your new release!
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Hi Megan, thanks for dropping by. I was in London last weekend, too! Wish I’d known you were there. Thanks for your good wishes, and I hope all is well with you
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Excellent post, Helena. Setting and location are of the utmost importance to me and sometimes play as big a part in my stories as characters. Thank you for the information about Richmond Park.
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Hi Patricia, thanks for your comment and for dropping by. I love reading novels where the location plays a big role, especially places I’ve never visited myself. I hope The Promise of Provence is doing well!
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What a gem you’ve shared with us, Helena. I love ancient trees. Next time I go to England I’ll try to stop there and soak up the energy. Wishing you all the best with Antique Love.
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Thanks for your lovely comment, Gemma. Richmond is well worth a visit, just to escape the press of the city for a little while. I hope you do have time to see it next time you’re in London. Thanks for coming by – it’s lovely to meet you here!
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Helena, we have friends planning a trip to London and the Lake District in Oct. I told them about Richmond Park. They requested your info, so I sent them the link to this blog post. See? You never know what these blog posts can do.
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Thanks so much, J.Q! I hope your friends enjoy their trip.
There is so much to do and see in London, and sometimes I find it all a bit overwhelming. When the crush of people in the tube stations gets a bit much, it’s good to have places like Richmond to escape to! Thanks for sending your friends the link. I really hope they enjoy themselves in the UK – and it doesn’t rain too much!
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Your book is becoming a more tempting read all the time. i love your writing :)
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Thanks so much for your lovely comment! I hope you enjoy The Antique Love if you do try it. Please come back and let me know. Thanks again for dropping by!
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