walk – Page 4 – My London+

A walk to Wimbledon Common

I set out for a long walk with one of my sons, and according to him it ended up being eight and half miles. It was certainly worth it, despite stiff legs for days afterwards. A lot of walking to get there was uphill., and we did take a detour which added to the length of the walk.

We used the usual route via the railway cut and Raynes Park and stopped off at Holland Gardens so my son could adjust his shoe. Then up, up another steep hill to the common. This is where the detour started. Although the Buddhapadipa Temple is closed right now, I did wonder if the grounds would be open so I could get a photo of the outside of the Temple. Sadly, it wasn’t, but I took a few photos anyway (one through a glass window in the wall!). I shall wait for it to reopen and visit again.

Best shot I could get through a glass wall.

From there we doubled back and headed towards the Windmill Cafe. I wasn’t sure it would be open, but I suspected they would be doing a takeaway service to make some money. Well, it was very busy. It had just started to rain, but we stopped for hot chocolate and a portion of chips each. We couldn’t sit anywhere, so we stood under an awning, trying to keep our distance from everyone else.

The Windmill was also closed, but during normal circumstances it opens at the weekends. I’ve never yet been inside it.

We set off back along the path and took a right-hand path to follow the pond round. The rain was pretty heavy by this time, but the walk was beautiful. The trees are just coming into bud and will look very pretty soon. Perhaps a trip back is in order, though this time I shall wait until the first restrictions are lifted and go on the bus! That way I can explore more of the common, which also adjoins Putney Common, where I don’t believe I’ve walked in years.

To get your bearings, the Windmill Cafe is on the opposite side of the common to Cannizaro Park if you approach it from Wimbledon. You will often see horses being ridden on the common as there are stables nearby. And if you have time and the legs for it, do explore Wimbledon Village.

Cattle trough and watering hole, by the side of Wimbledon Common

When lockdown ends (places I want to revisit)

King Alfred, Winchester – September 2020

On the 29th March the ‘stay at home’ restriction is due to be lifted. We are still advised to stay local, but local to me covers London/Surrey borders. It may be a little longer before I can visit Winchester in Hampshire, but it’s not far off.

Here I thought I would post some photos of places I wish to visit when the country opens up again. The photos are a selection from last year.

Tate Britain – galleries in general open on 17th May, all being well.

I am planning gallery visits. The first one I have my eye on is the new David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Possibly my first visit to London will be along the Southbank where this iconic tourist attraction can be seen. I have been on it twice!

Thames Path – Kingston to Hampton Court stretch – June 2020 (first outing after first lockdown!)

I do like to be beside the seaside – Eastbourne – July 2020

Watermeadows, Winchester – September 2020

From the Archives – Carshalton

I’d been through Carshalton on the bus a few times. It always looked inviting, so in 2015 this was the stopping point. Since then I have returned a few times, including a year ago when I walked part of the Wandle River Trail, which incorporates this.

This is a beautiful spot. There are always ducks, swans and other birds on the ponds. There is also a church opposite which is worth a look, and the town, though small, offers coffee shops – a nice pit stop before or after a walk. Carshalton also boats The Honeywood Museum overlooking the ponds. It’s history goes back to the 1600’s and the house was probably built for the Earl of Arundel. You can read the history of the place here.

The museum regularly holds exhibitions. The rooms are interesting and there is a great little cafe. Though the cafe is currently closed due to Covid restrictions, I believe they are doing a takeaway service.

Used in the war to keep children safe while sleeping!

Across the road from the ponds is All Saints Church. This is impressive inside, and a church has stood here since the Norman conquest!

To finish with, here are a few general shots in and around the ponds.

Nature in winter

It was a bitterly cold day when I took these photos. I even thought about wearing my face mask to stop my nose from freezing! My fingers ached with cold and got worse each time I took off my glove to take photos. Was it worth it? Yes!

On this walk I retraced my steps to a favourite place – the wetlands at The Hamptons, stopping off at Morden cemetery. Snow and ice clung to shadier parts. There was even ice on the water at the wetlands. The horses in the field wore coats and were being called in one by one to go return to their stables. Along the bank behind the Equestrian Centre is where the wild rats live. I watched them flitting across the path and into holes by trees and vegetation. As my son keeps pet rats, I have become fascinated by wild ones too, and this is the place to see them. Hope you like my photos.

And then we had snow!

Finally, snow worth taking photos of! I ventured out while it was snowing to do some shopping and came back via a local park where a brief blizzard ensued. With freezing temperatures I have also been taking care of the birds. Each morning I break the ice on the water bowl and throw out handfuls of seed, top up the peanuts and suet. The squirrel is rather partial to the nuts, of course, but it has encouraged a pair of robins, a great tit, pigeons, wood pigeons and starlings. In fact, the robins seem to have moved into the variegated bush and I am hopeful that in the future there will be a whole family of little robins.

At the end of last month I took part in the Birdcount run each year by the RSBP. We didn’t have many visitors in the hour I did my count. They all came in flurry towards the end. When I say all, I mean a wood pigeon and a starling! The pair of robins showed up at the beginning, so there was a lot of staring out of the window watching lots of birds fly over, but they had to land to be included in the count.

Now the weather is colder, the birds are more frequent and they are getting through mounds of seed. It gives me a good excuse to get out my camera and take a few photos. Enjoy!

A local circular walk

This short walk is local to me, following a route I have used many times, except for the last part. It meant walking alongside the busy bypass (rather similar to the walk to Richmond Park, except this was on the other side of the road!)

I began the walk by cutting through my local park, crossing the railway line (the railway cut was beneath me), passing the allotment where my granddad once grew potatoes (that’s all I remember about it!), and walking along the cut that runs between the golf course (the same golf course that the railway cut also runs alongside of!). Out on to the A3 bypass I walked until I came to a left hand turn which took me up to Traps Lane and back down into my town.

The railway cut from its joining point at the bridge in New Malden. Today I walked over the bridge.

The cut that literally cuts the golf course in half!

A view across one half of the golf course

The busy A3. I turn left here towards Traps Lane

The houses around this latter part of the walk are truly expensive. The area is full of gated roads, gated houses and private roads. It is the posh end of where I live! The walk was full of contrasts. I also had the perfect day for walking. It wasn’t too cold, and the sun shone.

Between the road and the houses on Traps Lane, I always think this grass verge should be a moat!

The highlight of the walk was veering off of the main road and entering a private road. Whether I should have been there I am not sure, but had I not ventured there I would not have come across the delightful scene of a small pond surrounded by trees and houses. It rather took my breath away.

Tranquil. This beautiful scene was unexpected. Such is life in a private road!

I would also like to mention that the author John Galsworthy lived in Kingston, just a couple of miles from here. His book, The Forsyte Saga, became a popular TV series which first aired in the late 1960’s. I remember watching it when I lived at home with my parents! There are buildings in Kingston named after him, and a road by the local hospital, which is close to where John Galsworthy lived on Kingston Hill. I also came across Soames Walk on my travels yesterday. Soames was a main character in The Forsyte Saga.

So, there we go, a short walk with a little history thrown in.

In Search of Spring – A Walk to Raynes Park

Spring is bursting out all over in Holland Gardens

Torn between two walks, I decided to head towards Raynes Park and to Holland Gardens. I’d not been there since sometime last year. I went in search of pretty flowers; signs that spring is on the way!

I set off using the ‘pretty route’, via my local park and the railway cut. After that it is all uphill! Holland Gardens, which I have posted about before, is coming into flower, with sprays of yellow in the bank by the tennis courts, and in the flower beds. From the top of the gardens, there is a lovely view across the whole park. I sat for a short while contemplating what to do next. Consulting Google Maps I saw there was another park nearby. I headed in that direction.

Cottenham Park has a large playing field, tennis courts, and a children’s playground. There is also a nursery on site. There is not much in the way of flower beds, just sprinkles of spring bulbs. I much prefer Holland Gardens! So, I did not linger, and I came home the quick way (along the busy main roads). I’d had the best of the day, as an hour later the rain came!

An abandoned walk and Richmond Park

Last week when I left home for a walk, I had no idea where I might go. I only knew that I wanted to walk somewhere I’d not been before, or at least not for a long time. I ended up walking towards Beverley Meads, a place I’d not visited for about three or four years. It meant walking along a busy bypass to get there, and I was a little unsure of the way in.

However, the first part went well, as I followed the sign to Beverley Brook walk. But then came a part I didn’t remember. I was standing on a bridge off the busy bypass (where the photo above was taken). Google maps wasn’t helping much, so I used my instinct to get me there. It wasn’t long before I encountered a great deal of mud, and the path I needed was totally awash with it. I ended up back on the bypass trying to find another way in.

Not an inviting path! No way could I use this.

I came to Colliers Wood Football Club and wound my way round the side. Someone had laid plastic steps across the worst of the mud, and I made it into an area known as Fishponds Nature Reserve. As I crossed a bridge, I was faced with an astounding amount of mud! I tried to find some drier places, but my feet sank into it. Mud sucked at my walking shoes and went over the top of them. I found a boardwalk and followed it until the path ran out. Beyond was more mud. I knew when I was beat and I turned around and retraced my steps.

Back out on to the A3 bypass, and feeling defeated, I realised I was not yet ready to go home. If I kept walking, I would eventually come to the Robin Hood Gate entrance to Richmond Park. It was further than I thought, but there was not turning back.

Richmond Park, near the Robin Hood Gate entrance

Once I entered Richmond Park the noise of traffic was replaced by the sound of birds, especially the Parakeets. What are Parakeets doing here? Well, there are many stories of how these birds got here into this part of London, but possibly it is no more than a few escaped pets. However, they have spread to other parts of England, and if you want to know more about them, then click on this link.

Looking at the park map, I decided I would walk to the Kingston Gate. To walk around the whole of Richmond Park is about ten miles. Many years ago I did a charity walk around the park with my brother, but I’ve not done it since. Although the day was fast losing its brightness, it was lovely to walk surrounded by so many trees. Even in the park the recent rains had made parts of it muddy, but it was okay as long I kept to paths.

At the car park to the Isabella Plantation (a much visited place when I was younger) there was a cafe. This was new to me, but very welcome. I bought tea, but due to lockdown, the seating had been cordoned off. I considered walking to the Isabella Plantation, but I was conscious of the time. During winter I was sure the park closed around four-thirty, and it was already close to four o’clock. I was keen not to get myself locked in! So, I carried on walking towards Kingston Gate. Just before arriving there, drizzle began. Thankfully, I had an umbrella. I considered catching a bus home, but using public transport at present is not encouraged unless it is essential during lockdown.

My legs felt tired, and this was a longer walk than I’d set out to do, but as long as I didn’t stop, I was sure I could walk all the way home. And that is what I did. I am not sure how many miles I walked in all, but it must have been at least seven, maybe more. I’d walked non-stop for just over three hours. I felt much better in myself from being outdoors, despite the aching legs. To see a map of Richmond Park, click on this link.

On the walk home I saw these lovely flowers in a garden

The Royal Oak pub. It’s been many years since I’ve been in here.

The Cut

Before the snow came (see previous post) I took a short frosty walk along the local railway cut. I wondered if I would find anything colourful to take photos of in January. I didn’t walk the whole length of the cut. I doubled back and went off at a different exit and then walked through Beverley Park before going home. Here are a few photos from that walk.

Re-visting The Hamptons Wetlands (again!)

Finally, a day for a walk, but where to go? Back to the place I have grown to love in the last year. I am always finding new ways into this place as there are various access points around the estate where the wetlands is situated.

This time the entrance I usually use had a large puddle that even I was not prepared to wade through. Last time I went through on my heels to stop the water going over my shoes. It was not possible yesterday as the puddle was bigger, though a family were attempting to bypass it by walking along the fence next to it!

We continued along the path as I wanted to see where that particular path led. It comes out into a road which leads down to North Cheam (which I could see in the distance). We took a right turn and followed another road which eventually led back into The Hamptons and down to the wetlands. The cygnats, or rather young adults, are still there, still moulting. I guess there is a never ending food source there, so it seems worth staying. Couldn’t see the heron this time, but the Egypitian geese were there.

There were many families out walking with dogs and children enjoying a rare day when it wasn’t raining or too cold.

We came back home through the horse field. The field was muddy and as the horses walked you could hear the ground squelching underfoot! I always enjoys saying hello to the horses.