A glimpse of the countryside in the heart of South London. I took a train out of London Bridge and it stopped briefly at a signal in the not at all rural surroundings of the Millwall industrial area. I noticed this embankment was rich in native wildflowers like Field Scabious, Greater Knapweed, Ox-eye Daisy and Musk Mallow. The carriage was one of the older models which still have windows that open so I stuck my camera out for a quick pic.

 Railway lines are a rich source of wildflowers: embankments, cuttings, verges and gravel make good habitats. The ground alongside the tracks is sometimes neglected and sometimes disturbed by maintenance work. Indeed trains themselves can carry seeds along in their wake. These factors are ideal for propagating certain species.

 Often as not the plants which proliferate are species that have naturalised in the UK. Drifts of Red Valerian, Rosebay Willowherb, Ragwort, Goldenrod and Michaelmas Daisies are commonplace. The embankment I saw today was rather like a meadow of old which makes me wonder if it had been sown intentionally. Then again some of our country flowers may have made their own way into town.