Walden Pond

, in Travel and Places

A replica of Thoreau's hut, with a statue of the man himself A replica of Thoreau's hut, with a statue of the man himself

Another thing that surprises me about Boston was how close the wilderness is. In New Zealand all the accessible land near cities tends to be farmed, but in Massachusetts there is so much reasonably flat land that tracts can be left fallow all over the place.

A trail near Walden Pond A trail near Walden Pond

Walden Pond was the site of Henry David Thoreau's experiment in simple living and was made famous in Thoreau's book. The park is pretty much a shrine to Thoreau, you can visit the original site of his cabin and view a replica cabin built near the car park. Near the replica is a sign with Thoreau's original itemised list of expenses. He spent 28 dollars and twelve and a half cents for his freedom living near the pond, whereas I spent a fiver just to park my car there. I am not sure if that refutes his larger point or proves it.

The pond is not large and the park is only slightly larger, but it is a very peaceful and pretty spot to wander around the delightfully unkempt paths. Apparently people swim in the lake in Summer, but today there were still patches of ice in the more sheltered corners of the pond.

I didn't see any of the promised birdlife, but I did come across a small pond half covered in ice and half filled with noisy frogs.

An icy pond containing frogs (not shown) An icy pond containing frogs (frogs not shown but they certainly were heard)

Walden Pond Itself Walden Pond, from just left of the beach