London never ceases to amaze me – Richmond may not exactly be central London, but it’s part of Greater London, sits within the M25, is connected by both London Underground and Overground trains, and is part of the same bus network that serves Trafalgar Square and the London Eye. It’s only a five mile cycle ride from where I live – closer than the office!

And yet, there’s a great big whopping park, filled with woods, grasslands, ferns and plenty of wildlife – from flocks of bright green parakeets (not so native) to herds of red and fallow deer. Under the guide of Darren Hector, we took a route down from Pembroke Lodge to the ponds, back up round Sidmouth Wood to our starting point.

We didn’t see much rutting – I only witnessed one fight from afar – but there were deer aplenty, and lovely autumn colours as a backdrop.

This is my favourite shot of the day, a beautiful red deer taking a wander in the dying ferns before lying down for a nap – which you can see here on Flickr.