Laters (The Barbican Conservatory)

I can’t believe how quickly it’s come round – but tomorrow is the first day of my trip around Cambodia and Vietnam! I’m so excited, I can’t wait to get out there, and of course I’ll be taking lots of photos and updating my blog as often as I can, so watch this space!

In the meantime (and because I’m so sad to be leaving my beloved city), I wanted to share some photos of an incredible place I found while exploring this week.

The Barbican Conservatory is a profuse jungle of vines, flowers, cacti and trees, nestled (literally) in the concrete heart of the Barbican Centre – an Arts Venue not far from Liverpool Street. It is only open to the public on Sundays so it is definitely worth visiting when you can, it’s absolutely perfect for a lazy Sunday in London.

I enjoyed a whole morning of wandering around enjoying the lush colours and almost tropical heat inside the glass house, it is so beautiful. There is a big pond full of Koi Carp, a little waterfall feeding a small pool enjoyed by a family of turtles, and a special greenhouse full of cacti and succulents (and Japanese tourists in danger of getting their eyes poked out in the pursuit of the perfect photo).

I especially love the way the plants have grown up and around the existing concrete structure, and are now blossoming from steel stairwells, metal gantries and stone balconies. I have always loved the look of palm leaves and vivid green colour schemes, so this was a little piece of heaven for me!

It’s so pretty! If you’re into photography it really is a great place to take your camera and have fun experimenting, but don’t forget to put your lens down once in a while and enjoy how straight up beautiful and magical it is. A big gorgeous jungle in the middle of the city – what more could you want?

Outside, there’s a great courtyard with fountains, a café and lots of space to sunbathe and relax. I absolutely love this place and I’ll be going back as often as I can.

(see you in Vietnam!) PV x