Pan Over London - Horniman Nature Writing Workshop

Last month (September 12th 2026) I took part in a Folk Tales Nature Writing Workshop at the Horniman Gardens in Forest Hill. The setting was the nature trail at the bottom of the sloping park next to the museum's gardens, near where a new children's playground and cafe have opened recently. I've been going to the museum for years but never knew about the nature trail, a long stretch following the route of the disused railway line. The Crystal Palace and South London Junction line - which had a Lordship Lane station opposite the Horniman grounds - closed in 1954 and has been managed as a nature reserve by the museum since 1972.The Workshop was led by two poets from Wild Thing Collective -William Wyld and Jess Grynfel - along with Christopher Collier, folklorist and storyteller. After hearing some tales about the trees around us, we were encouraged to write our own piece responding to something in the natural world at the Horniman. There was a magical moment when a sparrowhawk flew…