sheffield is the greenest city in the uk, with about four trees to every person. the leaves were all bright green when I got here last weekend, but have finally started changing colour. mostly yellow, but a bit of red. there are no maple trees, so none of the really vibrant colours. the grass is still green and flowers are still in bloom.


of the many, many parks here, the botanical gardens is my favourite so far. there's a greenhouse full of cacti and bamboo and lots of gardens and trees and trails outside. and it's all free! one side of the park is bordered by a stone wall. against a bit of that wall is a little field of flowers.






most of the other parks are covered in forest. lots of little paths and stairways like this (slightly blurry... didn't have my tripod).



and there's the odd rugby player or two...




with dry downhill skiing in the background. dry! blasphemous! I was talking with one of my flatmates last night, who says this means skiing on white astroturf. apparently, there's also indoor skiing on artifical snow nearby. poor, benighted brits.