It was the least cold day of the week! Not sunny, but I was determined to do some walking last week. As it happened, I did two walks. The second one was on a bitterly cold day. I’ll come to that in a moment.
The first walk was in Richmond Park. I managed to drag my son along and we entered by Robin Hood Gate. My idea was to walk a different part than last time, and the aim was to exit at Richmond Gate. We walked to Roehampton Gate where we stopped for lunch in the cafe. Something hot before we ventured out again. From there we edged along the side of the park, finding all sorts of pedestrian gates I knew nothing about (I know mainly the main gates where cars and pedestrians have access). There was a trundle up a hill (I’m not good on hills!) for a nice view back towards Roehampton before the last push towards Richmond.
The first thing you see when you exit Richmond Gate is The Royal Star & Garter Home. Now dedicated at World Heritage Site, the home is accommodation and nursing for up to 180 ex-servicemen. Nearby is the RSPCA memorial.
Walking down Richmond Hill, you come to some magnificent views across the River Thames and towards London. We then caught a bus outside the Poppy Factory to go home.
On the second walk, I retraced the steps of my old ‘lockdown’ route towards The Hamptons Wetlands and across the ‘horse field’. I left early, and the day was all blue sky and freezing! I wanted to photograph birds and, of course, horses. There were not as many birds at the wetlands that day. The heron and the Egyptian Geese weren’t there, but I did manage to photograph a Robin, Swan and gulls.
Coming across the horse field, I was fascinated by a horse and foal. I spent rather too long taking photos and my poor fingers froze. But it was worth it.
On the way home I spotted a little Christmas tree (Conifer) outside a newsagents. I’d been looking for one for my writing/hobby room, so I bought it.
My London+ 