I could have sworn I'd stepped onto a 453 on my way home from work today, but at one point I looked up from my book to discover I was cruising through an unfamiliar urban landscape. I thought we were just on diversion, but it gradually dawned on me that I was actually riding a number 12, en route to Dulwich.

I hopped off and started walking through Burgess Park; every day I pass by what now turns out to be a minute corner of the park on my commute, so thought I'd be minutes away from my normal route.

Burgess Park is huge – 113 acres, apparently. Unusually, it was created by actually clearing away housing, industry and transport infrastructure following its proposal in 1943, and it's a genuinely lovely, beautifully-landscaped bit of land. Right in the middle – or, more likely, just on the periphery, since I don't think I have yet quite absorbed the size of the park – you come across the above structure. It's a kiln, built to provide mortar – by converting lime to quick lime – for a housing boom in London, and was still in use up to the 60s according to information panels embedded in the pavement. Who knew?

My journey from there took me through Southwark, Peckham, Nunhead and, finally, Lewisham and New Cross. Some very lovely houses and mini-parks – Southwark in particular was very picturesque. If only I could be bothered moving...