We are back with an exciting event arranged! Link for registration
Date & time: 26th August 2023, Saturday, 11.30am – 2.30pm
Venue: Crystal Palace Park, Thicket Road, London
Crystal Palace Park is a large park in south-east London, Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. One of the key attractions of the park is the ‘Dinosaur Court’ where you can find many giant dinosaur statues (https://cpdinosaurs.org/visit/visitors-guide/). The National Sports Centre (NSC), which was a venue for the 2012 Olympics, is in the middle of the park. We hope to have a badminton session at the NSC after the picnic depending on the level of interest and court booking (please see below for further information). There is a swimming pool that is open to the public (For booking details, please go to https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/crystal-palace/crystal-palace-national-sports-centre/timetable).
Programme of the day:
- Tour of the Dinosaur Park – We’ll assemble at 11:30am outside the Information Centre near the Thicket Road Car Park.
- Shared picnic from 12:30pm – please bring one savoury or sweet dish/snack to share
- We will not provide drinks. There is a cafe on site where drinks can be purchased. We have a small supply of paper plates, plastic spoons and forks but would encourage alumni to bring their own cutlery and plates.
- Afterwards for those who fancy some physical exercises, we’ll make our way to the National Sports Centre at 2:30pm.
- If you want to stretch your legs, there is a maze spanning an incredible diameter of 160 feet. Just be mindful that it may take longer than expected to get out!
All alumni families and friends are welcome.
Badminton (subject to court booking)
We can only book courts a week in advance. Once booking has been made, it is non-refundable. We would like to know how many of you are interested in playing. Please complete your expression of interest in the registration form before 14th August. The cost will be around £4.00 per head per hour. All abilities are welcome. We will provide plastic shuttlecocks. For those who prefer to play with feather shuttlecocks, you are very welcome to bring your own ones. For health and safety reasons, children will not be able to join this event. Please let us know if you are a member of BETTER leisure centre. You may be able to assist us with court booking. Many thanks.
How to get there:
Getting to the park is easy. It is served by Transport for London (buses and London Overground) and numerous rail operators.
The current Crystal Palace rail station (CYP) at the side of the park. Other nearby train stations include Penge West and Penge East.
There is also free parking available. The closest car park to the Dinosaurs is at the Penge entrance off Thicket Road, where there is also an information centre, public toilets and a cafe. The other two car parks are accessed from Anerley Hill and Crystal Palace Park Road.
If you are interested in joining us, please complete the registration form (https://forms.gle/LnGPES6S7c1qK8q66) by Monday 14th August 2023.