Ruislip Manor – Ruislip Lido Walk – 01.04.2013

Arriving at Ruislip Manor, we were anticipating a large stately house to home into view, but this was not the case, instead we were greeted by a brightly coloured parade of shops. Our walk was to take us alongside Ruislip Manor Underground Station, onto the High Street and then into Pembroke Road, leading us to the village of Ruislip. Unfortunately, we had arrived when roadworks were taking place at the junction of Ruislip Station, normally this would not trouble walkers, but in this instance it did , as it was a bit difficult to cross the road! However, once we had successfully crossed over, we were on the high street. At the top end of the road the buildings seem to no longer seem to be the usual modern shops but they were much older in character. I was particularly struck by an old water pump that stood outside one of them. The water pump was originally sited in the central roadway, but in the 1970′s, as a result of increased traffic it was moved to it’s new location.

Walking a bit further along, I was rather taken by a small wooden archway, which seemed to belong to the local Parish Church. Taking a walk under the arch, I was able to see the Church of St Martin’s. The church has a long history, although the outside flint walls date back the C13th, some Roman tiles have also been found there! The village of Ruislip is listed in the Domesday Book when a priest is known to have held over 40-60 acres of land, possibly relating to St Martin’s Church. The Church has been altered throughout the years, during 1870, a large restoration project was carried out on the building by Sir Gilbert Scott and Ewan Christian. Both of these notable architects had been behind large developments such as the Grand Midland Hotel / St Pancras Station and National Portrait Gallery. The Church resides near a few other older buildings, all of which would have formed the original core of the Ruislip’s village square.

From 2013 – 01.04.2013 – Ruislip Manor Walk – Ruislip Lido Walk

We crossed over from the old Village, and found the “Manor Farm Heritage Site”. Just to the side of site was a large duck pond, throughout the C16th the pool was more commonly known as the “Horse Pond”. A blacksmiths, which has long since gone, once stood nearby making the pond a hive of activity, the smithy often collecting water to cool the furnace. Horses were often brought to the pond to be washed down and to drink, I can imagine the whole place would be have been buzzing with activity with the toing and froing from the blacksmiths! This is so different from the “Horse Pond” we had found in Hampstead. These days the pond is very serene in comparison! Beyond the pond we stumbled upon the sign for the “Motte & Bailey Site”. Ruislip had it’s very own Castle, courtesy of the Normans, built in C11th, probably as a town fortification. Although the structure would been created out of wood rather than stone, a little different from other Castles I have encountered. It was not mentioned in the Domesday book, so I am not sure how long the “Motte & Bailey” actually lasted, but the site where it used to stand is still quite evident.

I turned away from the missing castle to spot a set of wooden buildings which seemed to be still in use. The first one was known as “Little Barn”, which was alongside the “Great Barn”, both of which were built in the C16th, to store crops and produce when they were part of Manor Farm. The smaller structure was converted into Ruislip’s public library at the beginning of the C20th, what a change in usage! On the other side from the barns, we could see a piece of public art that had been installed above the small stream. It is simple artwork of pieces of Willow which have been crafted around clay pots representing flowing water and earth together, hence the Anglo Saxon title “Ea Eard”, which means exactly that. Around the corner from the stream we discovered Ruislip Manor House, the one we had been expecting to find when we first arrived.

From 2013 – 01.04.2013 – Ruislip Manor Walk – Ruislip Lido Walk

This great house was constructed at the beginning of the C16th, although at first glance I could see that the house has been radically altered over time. This is particularly noticeable with the C18th Sash windows, but nonetheless an impressive site. This was not a nobles home, as I thought, but it was built by Kings College Cambridge. When the College felt that they required more comfortable surroundings for there visiting dignitaries to stay, they commissioned for a manor to be constructed for them. Not only did the college use the site for dignitaries, but they used the site for the college farm. The house was also used for some sort of manorial court, sessions were held here right up until the C20th. Just beyond the House, we joined a small footpath, taking us past something looking like a huge bunch of brambles. In fact this was known as the “Ditch and Bank”, which had been the “Saxon” boundary of the village of Ruislip. Prehistoric Flint tools and clay pottery have been discovered here when excavations were carried out, showing that the area of Ruislip has been populated for a very long time!

The pathway led us out onto a “Flood Meadow” of the River Pinn, which was not overly muddy or flooded whilst when we encountered it . As we reached the small river, we discovered that we could have joined another trail known as the “Celadine Route”. The path would have taken us along the river Pinn, but we decided to save that path for another day . At this point we took to the pavement, passing by the “Hillingdon Trail”, but again we left the footpath for another walk! Our route had eventually brought us to round to “Ruislip Lido”, whose blue waters really were sparkling in the spring sunshine . It did not resemble the lido’s that we had stumbled on in our previous walks, like Barking and at Margate which had been neglected and no longer used. The Lido itself did not look like a traditional looking lido that I would have expected, but this is due to the Lido being created from the “Ruislip reservoir” as a means of Water Supply in C19th. Therefore, it was its original intention was nothing to do with leisure facilities. However, the lake was never used as a water supply and instead attracted many day trippers and wildlife alike, by the early C20th the Grand Union Junction Canal Company, reopened the lake as “Ruislip Lido”.

From 2013 – 01.04.2013 – Ruislip Manor Walk – Ruislip Lido Walk

As we turned the corner we came across an enormous building, which incorporated the “Ruislip Woodlands Centre” and the “Waters Edge Pub”. At first I thought that the building had been there for quite a number of years, but I was mistaken, as the pub had been built to replace the original Art Deco cafe built here in the 1930′s. Unfortunately the cafe was burnt down quite a number of years ago, shame it would have been a lovely sight to behold I would imagine! We did not stop for a drink to discover if it served a decent tipple or two! Therefore, we carried on our walk, whereby we discovered a electric locomotive. The lido railway has been in existence since the mid C20th, when it was built as part of the many attractions of the newly opened Lido. The line only seemed to suffer during the mid 70′s when it was sadly shut down, it seemed to be part of the Lido’s own decline. A keen bunch of Volunteers formed the “Ruislip Railway Society Limited”, who since that time have bought new engines and have extended the line to double it’s original size!

Our walk was to partial follow the Lido Rail line, through the open woodland areas. It was not long before we caught up with the first rail platform “Haste Hill”, although it seemed to be permanently closed. It did feel quite strange to stumble on what felt like an abandoned platform on a miniature railway! From open scrub land, the path suddenly became enclosed by trees, but it was not all that bad as the darkness was broken up by the sunlight shining through the branches. Trees were still quite bare and there were still plenty of brown leaves strewn on the ground, which made the walk have an autumnal feel rather than spring. However, we were able to gaze over the lake through a convenient gap in the wood and the warmth of the sunshine soon reminded us that it was definitely spring! High up on one of the trees was a a sign “Julierpass”, which seems to refer to a Swiss Mountain passing place, I am not sure why the Ruislip Lido Railway Passing Place has the same name?? It was not long before we reached the end of the line and quite a few construction works as the station is currently under renovation as is the whole area, but it was still very busy as we had reached the piece-De-resistance of the lido, the beach.

From 2013 – 01.04.2013 – Ruislip Manor Walk – Ruislip Lido Walk

On a lovely sunny spring afternoon, it was so nice to be able to walk on the beach next to still waters of the reservoir. I really did want to feel like I was on holiday, therefore I was not surprised to learn that Cliff Richard’s film “Summer Holiday” was filmed here. With the reservoir so calm, I can see that people would have been keen to boat on the lake, but in 1958, a ship sunk here! This was the Titanic, when they filmed “Night to Remember”. Apart from Boating, it seems that Water skiing was popular on the Lido, in the Movie, “The Knack” in 1965, with Charlotte Rampling and Jacqueline Bissett used the reservoir for water skiing stunts in part of the film! A Ruislip Water skiing Club exists today and was founded by the Dr Who actor Jon Pertwee! Strolling amongst the sand with a hot drink, it really was wonderful. I had a glimpse into why the Lido was so popular all those years ago on such a warm day!

We wandered further around the lake to the other side to complete the walk around. It was here we decided to leave the lido behind and walk back into Ruislip, following the roadway. We eventually crossed over another part of the River Pinn, which seemed to wind it’s way lazily through the woodland. We eventually reached the northern end of Ruislip where I spotted “The Duck House” Inn, which is the oldest in tavern in Ruislip, which was built in C17th. However, we were unable to stop for a drink as it was here we ended our walk, so we could go back home for spot of lunch.

For all the afternoon walk photos, please click on the photo below -

2013 – 01.04.2013 – Ruislip Manor Walk – Ruislip Lido Walk

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Mill Hill Broadway – Mill Hill Village Walk – 29.03.2013

Setting out from “Bunns Lane, Mill Hill” we both expected to be greeted by the wonderful smells of hot cross buns and fresh baked bread half way along the road. Sadly we were disappointed we could not find any bakeries whilst we were walking . Instead, I think that the name “Bunns” derives from a family name, when the land was bought from the Bunns Estate, rather than anything edible which is a shame . If anyone has any other ideas, please comment. Just down the lane, we came across a brick built bridge which did not seem to cross anything particular. Therefore, our curiosity got the better of us, so we decided to investigate.

Crossing over the road, we found that the could explore the bridge further, as footpath ran next to it in“Lyndhurst Park”. Upon entering the park, we felt that it was divided into two distinct areas, an open grassy space and a wild woodland, which was behind the bridge. This expanse of land seemed very difficult to walk in as it was very overgrown and there was no footpath to walk along. We were still able to examine the bridge a bit more carefully despite it being a little tricky to get to. We soon discovered that this bridge had some of it’s archways bricked in, which indicated that it had been part of a railway at some point. As we walked further along we noticed some odd looking concrete poles which seemed to be carry some sort of electricity cables at some time. It seemed that we had discovered a stretch of land which had been part of the underground, which had been closed quite some time ago.

Some of the difficult parts which had been trying to walk on had actually been the original platform of a disused Underground Station, Mill Hill (The Hale), which was officially closed in 1964. The route, which went from Mill Hill East to Edgware, had been in existence since the late C19th. During the early C20th the line was to be upgraded as it was seen to be an important interchange with the overground station in Mill Hill and was closed temporarily to carry out the upgrade. Despite the alterations and expansion to the station, the line was never officially reopened to passenger traffic, therefore only Freight trains ran on the line until its closure. The small part of the closed line we had found was to be integrated into a walk but instead became a nature reserve.

From 2013 – 29.03.2013 – Mill Hill Broadway – Mill Hill Village Walk

We left “Lyndhurst Park” behind and continued to proceed down Bunns Lane. We passed by “Flower Lane”, which I naturally assumed came from the beautiful looking flowers that were in the surrounding park or perhaps from Flower Market that once stood here. Instead, “Flower Lane” derives it’s name from Sir Charles Flower Bart a former Mayor of London, who once lived in Mill Hill. Much further along the road we passed by a large house which had the word “Laing” on it. The house once belonged the construction company “Laing”, which was run by Sir John Laing. Laing Construction moved their offices from there small beginnings in Carlisle to Mill Hill, where they grew and are known for constructing Coventry Cathedral which had been destroyed in the Second World War, Regent Park Mosque and building the M1.

Past the Laing House it seemed like the next section of our walk was mostly pavement walking. Our route took Devonshire Road, where discovered another bridge which crossed neither railway or river, but a muddy trail instead. We both felt that this was probably another section of the abandoned tube line we had found earlier. Once we had crossed over the road we found that were able to join the footpath that was beneath the bridge, using the concrete footway from the road. Unlike the previous section of deserted line, which had been left to nature, this part had been into proper footpath. It was clear to see that it had been well used as we could see quite a few hoof marks where horses had been treading this way before! The only disconcerting part of this walk was when I stumbled on a concrete sign stating “cable 32,000 Volts under”, which I was rather I hoped would not be the case as that is a lot of electricity to walk next too!

With the trail being particularly muddy and the trees surrounding the trail it really did give us a feeling of no longer being in an built up area. The only clues that made us feel that we were in urban place were the brick bridges that still spanned the old line. The route seemed to end abruptly at one of these bridges, which is in terrible state and I am really surprised it is still standing as the supports have terrible cracks in them. I presume that the recent weather has not helped its condition and we could still see evidence of this when we saw some huge icicles hanging from it! As we were leaving this section of the line behind, we discovered the path had been incorporated into one of “Brents Leisure Walks”. As we turned to cross the bridge, we had a real surprise, despite the state of structure underneath it, the path had been freshly tarmacked. Personally I did not feel very comfortable crossing it!

From 2013 – 29.03.2013 – Mill Hill Broadway – Mill Hill Village Walk

Somehow our walk rejoined Devonshire Road, which was to take us to Holders Hill Circus. I cannot find out much about the name, which is shame, as I was hoping to find something out something on a Circus with Clowns and Acrobats which had been held here in the past! We turned uphill here to walk towards Mill Hill Village. En-route we passed by Mill Hill East Station, which is quite small. The station opened in the C19th, when it part of the Great Northern Railway, but it was not until 1941 that Mill Hill East became part of the Underground. This was when a shuttle service was provided to Mill Hill East in order to serve the local barracks. The Mill Hill East branch did not suffer the same fate as the rest of the line with the track closures at the early C20th. This was after the scheme named the “Northern Heights” which have taken the Northern line beyond Edgware did not materialise.

Our walk was now to take us up Bittacy Hill, where we passed by “Bittacy Hill park”. It was nice to see daffodils blooming there, despite all the terrible spring weather that we have been suffering. We finally reached the top of the hill, where we treated some great views over London, looking carefully we could see St Mary’s Church, Harrow and Wembley Stadium. As we continued on our journey, it was not long before a scary and daunting building loomed in front of us. This art deco building is the “National Institute of Medical Research”, designed by Maxwell Ayrton who designed the original Wembley Stadium and built during the late 1930′s. It really does feel like it should be in a horror movie, I don’t think it has been used for such a film. It has been used in the movie “Batman Begins”, when the exterior for the “Arkham Asylum”, somehow I am not surprised!

As we continued along the Ridgeway, we could see on the opposite side of the road a church, but there did not seem to be any information about it. It looked very odd as it was attached to a house, if anyone has any information I would like to know. The road then took us onto “Mill Hill Village”, which surrounded a large pond. As we started to walk around the village, we found it bereft of shops, which seemed very odd to me. We found ourselves strolling along the “High Street” and passing by residential buildings with names like “Old General Store”. Nowadays, Mill Hill village relies on shops outside of the village centre! Upon leaving the High Street, we spotted “Rosebank Barn”, which had been a Quaker meeting place in the mid C17th. Just along the road we discovered Plaque to the Botanist and Naturalist Peter Collinson. He was Quaker and it was more than likely he attended the meetings at Rosebank Barn whilst he lived in Mill Hill. Collinson, although a Cloth Merchant, studied plants and with his overseas trade was able to obtain many seeds and plants internationally. He had regular correspondence with Benjamin Franklin as was a supporter of the Philosophical society, Collinson was also one of the governors of the London Foundling Hospital.

From 2013 – 29.03.2013 – Mill Hill Broadway – Mill Hill Village Walk

We proceeded on our journey, passing by Mill Hill school and as we did I caught sight of the “Patrick Troughton Theatre”. Nothing unusual about a theatre being named after a TV star, but Patrick Troughton attended this school as he was born and bred in Mill Hill. The Theatre was recently renamed in his honour and apparently as part of the celebrations, whilst a production was being put on, a Dalek from the Dr Who series came to watch! Just across the road from the school I spotted a plaque on a church, so I immediately crossed over to read the inscription. The church had been built by William Wilberforce, who was one of the key figures in the abolition of the slave trade. I was aware Wilberforce lived in the area, when we walked this way before, but I was not aware of the churches existence. Apparently, he undertook to build this church at his own expense, as unfortunately there was not a nearer church that he was able to attend. Sadly the chapel was not consecrated until Wilberforce had passed away so he was never really able to attend the church he had commissioned

Coming along the road we came across a large pond, known as “Sheepwash Pond”. The name “Sheepwash pond” derives from when farmers used to wash their cattle and sheep through the pool when they were en-route to the Smithfield market in London. I am pretty sure that the sheep and cattle would have preferred to remain here than carry on their journey! The creation of the pool was from when Sir Charles Flower dredged the site for gravel for a local toll road, nothing to do with sheep at all! Although we can hear the sound of sheep today as “Belmont Farm” lays just behind the pond, which we had discovered a sign for in one of our previous walks. It was a shame we did not get time to visit as it was just so late in the day .

Passing by the pond, we walked on by Hammers Lane, where we discovered “Mill Field”. It is here that a windmill once stood giving the whole area the name “Mill Hill”. It is certainly a great shame that the windmill is no longer around to admire . The field certainly commands some amazing views as it was quite high up. It is a great position for a mill, as on a gusty day I can just imagine the sales whizzing around! It was here we rejoined our previous walk which we was to take us down Highwood Hill, past St Josephs College, eventually back to Mill Hill Broadway where we ended our walk for the day.

The route for the our walk was as follows. Please click on the photos below for the photos from the walk -

2013 – 29.03.2013 – Mill Hill Broadway – Mill Hill Village Walk

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Hampstead – Belsize Park Walk – 18.03.2013

Emerging from the murky depths of the underground, outer London’s deepest tube station “Hampstead Tube Station”, where we had risen from ~58m below ground to where were going to embark on our walk for the day in Hampstead. We made our way onto Heath Street, where I observed a small black plaque on the building opposite. “The Clock Tower”, was constructed in 1873 and where the Hampstead local fire station was situated until the beginning of the C20th. We continued on by the old fire station, until we found our first part of Hampstead Heath which was going to be a major part of our walk today.

Further along Heath Street, we found “Whitestone Garden” and if the weather had been a little kinder to us, it would have been a nice place to sit and relax. The garden was created from a piece of land which had become derelict and it took a group of volunteers to transform the area. The ground was converted into a haven for the local residents to enjoy and for them to sit away from the busy roads. There is a beautifully crafted wooden bench in the shape of two hands, which is dedicated to the founder of the project. Whilst we were in the garden taking in the surroundings, I noticed a strange looking dome. The dome is part of the “Hampstead Observatory”, which belongs to the Hampstead Astronomical Society. The society has been in existence in the area since the late C19th. One of their main objectives is to ensure that the public have access to a telescope. Therefore, at certain times during week you are able to use their facilities and have the ability to view wonders such as Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s Clouds and the details of moon craters .

Just after exiting the garden, I was struck to see in the middle of what seemed like a roundabout, “Whitestone Pond”. This shallow pool was originally known as “Horse Pond” and was often visited by people with horses so they could be refreshed after the long trudge up the hill! By the end of the C19th the pond was enlarged and was often frequented by Military horses. Whitestone, apparently also had the affection name of “Hampstead-On-Sea”, particularly when locals used the pond for recreational use during the C20th for paddling, models boats, paddling and skating in the winter. Today the pond is not as popular for such use and was restored in 2010, I cannot really see that paddling would be much fun in the middle of a roundabout! I noted that we had gone from the deepest underground station and now reached one of the highest point in London, as the pond located at summit of Hampstead Heath!

From 2013 – 18.03.2013 – Hampstead – Belsize Park Walk

Crossing the road, we came across the pub “Jack Straws Castle”, which is a huge wooden clad building. Although it is not the original public house, built here in the 1700′s, it certainly is very impressive. The pub is named after “Jack Straw” who was one of the leaders of the Peasants revolt of 1381. The pub had been patronised by people like Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackerary, Bram Stoker and Karl Marx. We started to walk down Spaniards road, which once had been the haunt of notorious highwayman such as Dick Turpin, today the road is only haunted by traffic. We crossed over and found a small path which was to lead us onto Hampstead Heath. The path eventually led us out onto open land, it was here we could really appreciate how high we were. The view was really was amazing, we could see the Olympic Stadium in Stratford one way and had a clear view of the city of London the other.

Following the path around the heath into the woodland, it became quite undulating, however the trail became quite indistinct as was it very muddy. It we not long before we came across “West Field Gate”, which was to lead us into the “Kenwood House Estate”. Keeping to the path, we soon came across a building that was being renovated. These protected structures were Kenwood’s “Dairy” from the late C18th which was built by Second Earl of Mansfield. During the C18th, the aristocracy saw the dairy as a “fashion accessory”, the lady of House would meet her lady friends here to pose as milk maids, make milk and take tea in the dairy. Lady Mansfield’s visitors to the dairy included the Duke of Wellington. Leaving the dairy behind, we continued along the path into the gardens to “Kenwood House”, while doing so we passed by a bronze sculpture by the french artist Eugène Dodeigne.

Unfortunately, the house is currently being renovated, therefore, we were unable to see it in its entire glory. The first house built here was a Jacobean mansion in 1616 and in mid C18th was sold to Lord Mansfield, who improved the property greatly. In later years the Earls who lived on the estate preferred there Scottish roots and moved away from Kenwood. The House changed hands over the years and in the early C19th the future of Kenwood was uncertain and a wealthy benefactor was sort to purchase the property. In 1925, Lord Iveagh, purchased the entire estate and secured the future of Kenwood. The house contains a wonderful art collection from Artists like Vermeer, Rembrant, Frans Hals, Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds it would have been a joy to see such an assembly of art! This is because these paintings was left to the nation by, the last owner of the Kenwood Estate, when he passed away in 1927. It was in 1928 that Kenwood House was opened the public.

From 2013 – 18.03.2013 – Hampstead – Belsize Park Walk

Following the path through the estate, we passed by “Thousand Pound Pond”, which probably gained it’s name after Lord Mansfield agreeing to sell some more of his land for £1,000 an acre. We had seen a lovely white bridge crossing the spanning the lake from afar, but we discovered that once we reached the bridge it was actually a wooden facade. The bridge is known as the “Sham Bridge”, which was built and designed by the Architect Robert Adam in mid C18th. It was almost a disappointment to find out the bridge was a fake, I can imagine those C18th ladies floating across the bridge in those wonderful dresses! The path beyond the house was to take us to Stock Pond, one of the numerous Highgate Ponds that populate the Heath. We decided to investigate the path just past the pond as we had become fascinated by a strange looking building that we could see in the distance.

We were determined to find it, despite the route we took being slightly treacherous due to the mud on the slope. We were finally rewarded when we reached “Athlone Gardens”, however, we disappointed when the lovely Victorian house lay just beyond some electronic fencing and was just out of reach! The name does sound rather forlorn to me and I much prefer its original name “Caen Wood Towers”. The Towers were built during the C19th by a wealthy partner of a company “Francis Reckitt”. The house changed owners a number of times and in 1942 the RAF took possession of the property and used it as an “Intelligence Training School”. The house is not used today and looks more like something that could be in a scary movie, which a pity as no one is able too view it

We managed to negotiate our way back onto the Heath, through the mud once again, to rejoin our original route. The path brought us round to a sight that I was certainly not expecting, the “Ladies Bathing Pool”. I was surprised to see one brave lady swimming in the pool this early in the year! This pond was originally a reservoir dug in C18th to maintain the water levels in the area, which over time was converted for recreational use such as swimming. I will take my hat off to the Hampstead swimmers, as these ponds were to be closed as they were deemed to be too expensive to maintain, but they fought to keep them open in the high court and won

From 2013 – 18.03.2013 – Hampstead – Belsize Park Walk

As we turned the corner to leave the bathing pond behind, we discovered that we had not trekked through the worst of the mud! I am not sure how deep some of it was but we were not going to risk finding out, so we improvised by using the fence of the pond as a way through! Once we had navigated our way around this extremely muddy section, we found ourselves by the next set of Highgate Ponds, Bird Pond and the Model Boating Pond. Although we did not see anyone race any model yachts, it was said that in the mid C19th, such a race took place here when many craft took the water and raced their yachts for glory and prizes. I would like to have seen such a race, it would have cheered me up after all that mud!

Our walk then took us past the “Mens Bathing pond”, where we decided go uphill to enjoy some more views and rest for a while. “Parliament Hill”, as it is known as, probably acquired its name in the C17th. This was during the English Civil War when it was defended by troops loyal to the English Parliament. It is also rumored that Guy Fawkes and colleagues were planning to watch the destruction of parliament from this vantage point, I can see why as views are certainly amazing. We would have spent a lot longer but there was a film crew taking up all the room . They were trying film someone trying to fly a kite, which would have been great if there any wind about, this is another popular name for this place “Kite Hill”.

From 2013 – 18.03.2013 – Hampstead – Belsize Park Walk

As we started our descent the weather started to make a turn for the worse for the rest of our walk. We carried on along the path taking us past the Bandstand and the Athletics track. A little confused where to go we made our way back up hill and through the a woodland area of the heath. The paths were very muddy once again despite being under trees. We followed a path which took us down some steps but these felt quite slippery as it was beginning to rain quite heavily. The path led us out past the “mixed bathing ponds” and onto our first concrete path of the day. I was really glad of this as the heath was almost marshland on the other side!

We had now reached the end of our particular walk of Hampstead Heath, we had really enjoyed our trek. It was a shame the weather was not better as we would have sat and whiled away some of the day and enjoyed the spectacular views. I am not sure about partaking in some of the bathing ponds it is still far too early in the year and I am certainly not that brave. We stopped briefly to shelter from the rain, only to see a sign “Keats House”, which we investigated immediately. We were led to “Keats Grove” and glancing behind a locked gate we could see where the Romantic Poet John Keats had lived in the early C19th. It was here that he wrote his Poem “Ode to Nightingale” in his front garden.

From here we made our way to Belsize Park, which is a short walk from Hampstead, to end our walk for the day. We walked pretty quickly as the weather was not very nice at all. For the days walk, please feel free to look at the the photos by clicking on the photo below -

2013 – 18.03.2013 – Hampstead – Belsize Park Walk

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Harrow on the Hill – South Harrow Walk – 03.03.2013

“Up on Harrowdown hill
Where you went to school
That’s where I am
That’s where I’m lying down” © Thom Yorke, 2006, Chrysalis Music

What a great thought to lie down, sit back, relax and enjoy “Harrow On the Hill” where we were heading today. Unfortunately, Thom Yorke, was referring to another Harrow in England, it is just a coincidence that this “Harrow on the Hill” also has a school! The hill is not too steep to walk and provided some charming views whilst we made our way up. As we seemed to near the top, our paths crossed with the “Capital Ring”, a footpath which we have encountered previously. We thought that we would follow some of the “ring” for our walk today, but not as far as some of the sign suggested, particularly as Crystal Palace was just over 30 miles!

As I turned around from the sign I noticed a small wooden emblem engraved “Old Music Schools – Museum of Harrow Life” on the brick building behind us. The school was built in the late 1800′s when the need arose for a separate building for the Music Department. The Architect ensured that the structure had a band room, practice rooms and a concert hall with amazing acoustics. I can just imagine the melodious sounds that would have emanated from this building! I am not surprised that the original name of the lane where the school was built, was known as “Music Lane”. Today the building houses a museum and the rooms are used for lecturing, a far cry from its initial use. As the building no longer makes beautiful music, the name of the lane is now “Football Lane”, probably due to the lane leading to school football fields.

From 2013 – 03.03.2013 – Harrow On The Hill – South Harrow Walk

I looked up to see a statue of Queen Elizabeth 1 which adorns the side of the School. Harrow on the Hill School as it stands to day, was founded in February 1572 under Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I to a local Farmer John Lyon. However, construction of first school was not started until 1608 after John Lyon’s wife sadly passed away. The School was completed in 1615 and some of the original school still stands today! The School has produced some notable students in its time such as former prime minister Winston Churchill, first prime minster of India Jawaharlal Nehru, Lord Byron, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and FA Cup founder C.W. Alcock. The school is very active today and I am sure still produces outstanding students in a variety of things. However, I am not sure that “Charms Class” would are on the school curriculum, Professor Flitwick’s, Charms Class, was filmed in one of the form rooms of Harrow Old School.

One student, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, has the following inscription on the side of the school –

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor”

It was here on the hill he saw with shame and indignation a pauper funeral which was to awaken his lifelong devotion to the service of the poor and oppressed. During his political career he worked tirelessly to have acts passed in parliament to ensure life would be improved for people. These Acts included the Ten Hours Act in 1833 , Mines and Collieries Act in 1842 and Chimney Sweepers Act in 1875. These acts would make changes to people lives for the better ensuring that children would not work long hours or work deep underground.

Finally passing on by the School we had reached the very top of the hill and the church which is perched prominently on of it. A church has been on the hill since the C11th, although the Church has been rebuilt and renewed many times in it’s lifetime. With the spire reaching in to the sky and its wonderful and peaceful location, this church certainly does have some great advantages. Although being so high the church is used as a navigational reference for aircraft approaching RAF Northolt! I was not surprised to learn that one of the Harrows more prestigious students, Lord Bryon used to while away the hours in the church yard gazing at the amazing view that we stumbled across when we walked the other side of the church.

“Again I behold where for hours I have ponder’d,
As reclining, at eve, on yon tombstone I lay;
Or round the steep brow of the churchyard I wander’d,
To catch the last gleam of the sun’s setting ray.”
On a Distant View of The Village And School of Harrow On The Hill, Lord Byron, 1806

As we sat gazing across the view it was very easy to see how Lord Byron would sit for hours. We were strongly thinking the same as we sat there eating our sandwiches. On a clear day, apparently you are able to see Windsor Castle in the distance from here, but I am not quite so sure –

From 2013 – 03.03.2013 – Harrow On The Hill – South Harrow Walk

We did eventually walk on and leave the beloved view behind. We rejoined the path to take us on the other side of the hill. This part of the path was not so inviting to walk as it was a little dark and dingy. Particularly as it walks past what seems like the abandoned Cemetery of St Mary’s Church. I was quite glad when the path came out onto open ground. We were a little disappointed not to be able to find any further signage of the “Capital Ring”, which we had found earlier, which was shame as that seemed like a logical path to follow at this point. Therefore we decided to make our own route for the rest of the walk.

The way were walking now was to take us past the “John Lyon School” Office. As mentioned before, John Lyon was the founder of the Harrow School after Queen Elizabeth issued a Royal Charter in 1572. However, in 1876, a further school was founded when it was deemed that the Harrow School had pupils from outside of the area outnumbering locals. Just past the school I noticed that they were renovating a cricket field, which I presume had been damaged by all the bad weather that we had have had. As we walked around the fields, I noticed that the tiny scoreboard building had a small inscription stating that the Cricket Nets were laid in memory of “Mark Tindall” who was in charge of Harrow XI from 1946 – 1969.

From 2013 – 03.03.2013 – Harrow On The Hill – South Harrow Walk

Mark Tindall MBE studied in Harrow School and while he there he was able to play Cricket. A few weeks after leaving Harrow, he made his debut for Middlesex and he was hit 85 against a Nottinghamshire. He made a century in his Freshmen’s Match at Cambridge, passed 1,000 runs in all in 1936 and was made captain in 1937. Unfortunately, things changed in Cambridge during 1937 and his own form declined. After this time he did not play cricket again until 1946 when he master-in-charge of cricket at Harrow XI, until 1959.

We continued on with the walk, but this time it was mostly along roads. We found that our walk had taken us to South Harrow. We passed by the Tube Station and we carried on down the high Street. We were heading for another destination, Alexandra Park, which is not far from the main road. We discovered a concealed entrance to the park from the main high road, not your usual park gates that you would find. A bit disappointing if you ask me as the park seems to be hidden from the main road and house, which is a shame as it is rather nice.

“Alexandra Park” was opened in 1940 and was named after Queen Alexandra who was wife of Edward VII, and was a frequent visitor to the area. The park is pleasant to walk around and as we walked further into the park we came across some artwork. The sculpture was “Inner View” by Lorraine Benton, it was certainly interesting to look at and if we had time could have provoked some discussion as to what it represented. As we walked a continued around we found the park had a little Millennium garden as well which could have sat down and enjoyed too. However, it really was time to finish our walk as the afternoon was drawing in for us.

For all the afternoon walks photos, please click on the photo below -

2013 – 03.03.2013 – Harrow On The Hill – South Harrow Walk

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Kennington – Crystal Palace – 11.02.2013

Kennington, “Town of the King”, a place where Royalty had lived, ruled from and had even passed away in. During C11th King Harthacnut who Reigned over both Denmark and England died here and Henry III held his court in this area in C13th. Subsequently in C14th a Royal Palace was built, which was widely used by Royalty up until, Henry VIII’s first Wife, Catherine of Aragon, in mid C16th. Henry VIII ordered the Palace to be dismantled in 1531.

Our walk today was starting out from the “town” where a Palace was dismantled on orders, and was to finish at a place where a Palace was devastated. The end of our walk was far from our mind, however, as we turned into “Kennington Park”. What a lovely green space that appears from the urban streets which surrounds it. As we started to explore, we were to discover that this park was full of history.

The park itself, was created in the mid C19th, but prior to this time the area was known as “Kennington Common”. The Common was widely used by many, including the London Cricket Club, the Methodist John Wesley preaching to thousands and early in C19th thousands of reformists gathered here calling for electoral reforms. From a common to recreation grounds, the area underwent a transformation, when it became the first public park in South London.

From 2013 – 11.02.2013 – Kennington – Crystal Palace Walk

As we ambled along we came across a house which we soon discovered to be the “Prince Consort Lodge”. This Lodge was originally commissioned by Prince Albert, as part of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The building was intended to be an example of new working class family home. When I read the amount of new gadgets that were available in the new model home from 1851, I was surprised that they took so long for them to implemented into the average working class home!

From a common to a park, firstly being used for exhibition homes and then to parkland, what a difference it must have been. Now it is used a great deal for leisure and it is enjoyable to walk in, even in the freezing cold. We did spot another building which I thought might have been another model home at some point, but it was the park cafe built a quite a few years later than 1851! I would say that the cafe does have a window that looks suspiciously similar to the one from the original prince consort lodge plan that is available in the park!

Wandering the park for a while longer we discovered further artifacts from the exhibition such as “Slade fountain” and “Timworth Fountain”. Although we could have stayed a longer, we felt it was time to leave. Our feet were to lead us on to “Camberwell Green”. The green itself seems quite small, but it days gone by it must have been much larger and inspiring. The Composer Mendelssohn picked up his pen and wrote the composition called “Camberwell Green” whilst he was staying nearby. However, the melody was since renamed to “Spring Song” which was a more popular title!

From 2013 – 11.02.2013 – Kennington – Crystal Palace Walk

Making our way up Denmark Hill, we came across our second park of the day, “Ruskin Park”. A park which was named after the famous Artist and writer, John Ruskin who lived in the area during the C19th. John Ruskin, whilst he was living in Denmark Hill, wrote four articles in response to his essay “Unto This Last” in 1862. As the area grew, the railway came, John Ruskin felt that it “spoilt his view from Denmark Hill” and this was one of the reasons he moved away.

Ruskin park looks somewhere to enjoy during the springtime, particularly as the Friends of the Park seem to have worked hard on the upkeep of the flowerbeds. They have created flower gardens from the old Bowling Green, something to really relish later in the year! The Bandstand in the Park has been fully restored, but obviously it was too cold for any bands to play today! I have been told that there used to be some words on a plaque either on the Bandstand or on a seat in the Park which quoted the “Spring Song”, however, I was unable to find this anywhere, can anyone help?

It was nice to know that this area had once been such a large influence to some great artists such as Mendelssohn and John Ruskin. Just as we were leaving the park, suddenly a large set of columns loomed into view. These pillars were originally part of a “Portico” which were from one of the 6 large villas located here in C19th. The houses were eventually demolished at the beginning C20th and the land was incorporated into the park, which opened in 1907. It was shame the Portico was not used as a magnificent entrance to the park, that would be some sight to behold!

From 2013 – 11.02.2013 – Kennington – Crystal Palace Walk

Crossing over from Ruskin Park, we entered into “Champion Hill”. As we did, I spotted an little bronze statue of a fox, which was built in the back of a pub garden known as the “Fox on the Hill”. The Fox pub has been in this area since the C18th, although it was much further down the hill when it was first known as “Little Denmark Halls” and eventually renamed the “Fox Under the Hill”. Sadly the pub was completely destroyed in the Second World War, but was then rebuilt to its present location. Still a little early for us to stop and sample a drink or two! Unlike the actor and actress, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who both, apparently did stop here for a drink, allbeit in 1963.

As we started walking up Hill, I did start to wonder why it was named “Champion Hill”. Was it because this was where Tournaments were held and Champions where made? There were no obvious historical signs to reveal this kind of information! Most of the grand residences that had once dominated all along the hill were under renovation, therefore, it was very difficult to tell much about them. I have had to look into into Camberwell History, to find out anything! I have discovered that the “Champion de Crespigny family” owned land here and lived in “Champion Hill House”. So it was a hill of Champions, just not the winning champions you would have expected!

Turning out of Champion Hill, came into “Dog Kennel Hill”. Dog Kennels? I was a little bemused where would there be dog kennels have been in the middle of Camberwell? If we had been walking this way in C17th we might have heard the sound of barking dogs from the kennels that were on the nearby estate of Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne. His Hunting Lodge was said to have been somewhere on Denmark Hill. Now all we can hear is the dull roar of the traffic…

From 2013 – 11.02.2013 – Kennington – Crystal Palace Walk

Reaching the bottom of the hill, we came across “Dulwich Hamlet Football Club”. This little football club’s stadium is known as “Champion Hill”. The stadium really had been the home of champions as this was a venue for the football for the 1948 London Olympics. The club today is very different from it beginnings and the huge following that it attracted. The team had crowds of over 20,000 cheering them on at their matches during the 1920/30s, the club even went on to Wembley to win the Amateur League Cup four times! (1919–20, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37) Even though some would regard this as a small club, it still has produced some very notable players, such as Marlon King and George Ndah to name but two.

After stopping for tea, we continued down through Dulwich, past Goose Green and on to Brockwell Park. When we finally reached it, we were rather surprised to find how large it was. This was because, the entire park had originally been part of a private estate. The house which we saw perched on top of the hill, was “Brockwell Hall”. The hall was built by John Blades a wealthy Glass Merchant in early C19th. The park was opened at the end of C19th, when the fortunes changed for the family, when the land was bought and transformed into a public park. J.J. Sexby, the Chief Officer of Parks of the LCC designed the conversion of the estate into a public park said it was –

“a wildness …… the beauties of Nature unadorned….. long stretches of undulating grassland dotted here and there with fine specimen trees…… When it was bought for the people of London, it was already a park – not a park site.”

Walking around this very attractive park, that has a walled Garden, an outdoor Lido and plenty of outdoor space, I can only just imagine what a joy it would have been when the park first opened. But I am not so sure I would have liked to have tried the Lido today, as the water would have been at freezing temperatures!

We left the park to carry on our walk, which was now mostly along pavements. We did not mind as they were well lit, particularly, as it was heading towards the end of the day. Our route was to take us on towards another park but unfortunately it was too late in the day to visit. This was “Norwood Park”, we will need to return so we can find out more about it.

We had finally reached Crystal Palace High Street. It was here we discovered that the Impressionist Artist Camille Pisarro had stayed and painted in 1870-1871. Not only meeting the contemporary artist Monet in London, he had painted the Crystal Palace that had once stood proudly in this location. Coming out of Crystal Palace High Street, we crossed the Road and we finally reached Crystal Palace Park.

The mighty Crystal Palace had once stood in this location, but was sadly devastated by fire here all those years ago. Therefore this is now just a park, which we will need to return to at some point, so we can truly understand what once stood there. For me this walk was full of discoveries and there are still more to come in the future. Please feel free to look at all the photographs for the walk by clicking on the photo below:-

 

2013 – 11.02.2013 – Kennington – Crystal Palace Walk

 

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Grand Union Canal – Winkwell – Berkhamsted Walk – 03.02.2013

We had decided to continue our walk alongside the Grand Union canal from WinkWell as we both felt that after the particularly wet and snowy winter that we just had, the canal towpath was probably the best and least muddiest route, or so we thought… We didn’t even mind that the weather was just cloudy and cold, at least it was not raining . We had quite a fast pace on this section as we wanted to keep quite warm, but it as not long before we hit a snag! Our devious plan to stay away from the mud had been foiled.

This section of the towpath was sadly very uncared for. The huge amount of walkers, runners and cyclists had churned up the path so badly because of the rain which had softened the ground so much. This meant the tow path was really terrible to walk through, deep puddles and very nasty mud! It was also very precarious in places, particularly under the bridge we encountered, as the safest place to walk was on the concrete next to the canal as the puddles were very deep and treacherous, however, if we had not been careful, we could have fallen in – scary stuff!

From 2013 – 03.02.2013 – Grand Union Canal – Winkwell – Berkhamsted walk

Sadly the rest of the path had not been much cared for either, which is a great shame really, as it seems to be a very popular part of the canal. In fact I was rather taken aback by the amount of fishermen that we walked past. Looking at the other side of the canal, we could see that the rain and indeed the snow has taken its toll on the River Bulborne which runs parallel to the canal. The whole area must have been under water at some point as the river was full to overflowing!

As we approached our next lock, I saw something which I not seen previously, water pouring over the top of the lock gates! Obviously rain had filled up the canal so much with the extra water had no where else to go! It was an extraordinary sight. We had reached “Lock 58″ “Sewer Lock”, probably so called as the lock is next to the Berkhamsted Sewerage Works, *Ew* a bit smelly in times I should imagine! We continued on to lock 57, we saw the same with the problem where the water was cascading over the top of the lock gates. A beautiful sight if it had been a waterfall! As we approached the lock we noticed that it had a strange name “Bottom Side Lock”. I am not sure why it had this odd name, I am certainly not sure what this particular lock is meant to be the “bottom side” of!

From 2013 – 03.02.2013 – Grand Union Canal – Winkwell – Berkhamsted walk

Passing on by the lock, we found the familiar sign to Braunston, showing us it was now only 62 miles to go! On my first Grand Union Blog it was 71 Miles away, therefore, I should think about completing the whole of the canal and visiting Brauston at some stage. Strolling on, we came towards another lock which seemed to have it have it own lock keepers cottage, although I am not sure if the cottage is officially part of the canal, the path did seem to much improve from here on in! This particular lock had the unusual name of “Top Side Lock” and was obviously the “top” whatever the “Bottom Side” lock was!

The path then took us over the canal and was now passing through residential area, in fact this was Berkhamsted. It was here we decided to finish the walk and come off the canal. We did not venture into Berkhamsted itself, as we will leave that for another time. We found a little bridge to take us back across the canal to the road. As we ventured along the road we passed by the “Old Mill”. Although the Old Mill building which stands today is Victorian, Corn mills have been in this area since C16th. It seems that milling came to an end in the late C19th when a fire extensively damaged the wheel and machinery. Subsequently, the mill became a public house and restuarant in later years which we can still see today!

We didn’t stop at the Old Mill for a drink, we were going to try “The Three Horseshoes” in Winkwell once we had walked back. We decided to return via the road as it was less muddy! I will recommend the Winkwell pub as they did not turn away muddy walkers! (mainly as they kindly provide a boot scraper outside!) it is a great way to end a walk

Photos from the mornings walk can be seen by clicking on the photo below -

2013 – 03.02.2013 – Grand Union Canal – Winkwell – Berkhamsted walk

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Cassiobury Park – Croxley Green Walk – 11.11.2012

Struggling up a muddy hill was not really my idea of a start to Sunday morning stroll, but it did not prove to be that bad in the end. The hill was not as steep as I had originally feared either, which I was rather glad of as I had neglected to bring my walking stick out with me on this occasion! The muddy trail in question was taking us away from Cassiobury park and the Ironbridge Lock on the Grand Union Canal and the path in question was to take us to Croxley Green.

As we reached the top of the hill, the path came out of the trees and out into the open. Despite being early November, the sun was shining and in fact felt lovely warm! The stretch of grass that we could see before us was in fact part of a golf course. I have been across a few golf courses in the past and I hoped that the path was not going to prove to be very difficult. As we walked further along, the path looked more like a track which was to lead us straight across the golf course. There were no footpath markers on the course but then again the footpath was quite easy to make out! Because of the lovely sunshine the course was extremely busy so it was rather daunting to walk across to say the least, I was particularly concerned about flying golf balls I am not sure I would have heard if any golfers shouted any warnings!

From 2012 – 11.11.2012 Cassiobury Park – Croxley Green Walk

As we reached the other side of the Golf Course, I looked over my shoulder to look at the golfers and I could see that they were really enjoying both there game and the weather. The Golf Course in question is part of the “West Herts Golf Club”, which was founded in 1897 and during it’s beginning it included members such as the prime minister of England, A.J. Balfour in 1901. Bernard Darwin said of the course in 1910

“A fine day at Cassiobury comes within a measurable distance of heaven”

With the sky being so blue, the sun shining high in the sky and the trees gentle waving the winter breeze I could definitely sense a little of what the gentleman was saying. I assume from climbing the hill earlier, that the course is reasonably high and is rewarded some great views but with all the trees that now surround the course we were not able to enjoy any of these . Therefore, I could not capture only a glimpse of what Mr Darwin meant about being “…within a “measurable distance of heaven” just how nice the day was on the golf course!

The footpath was soon to lead us out of the Golf Course and onto “Rousebarn Lane”. It was here that we were faced with a choice either continue our route across the fields or walk along lane. As we were a little unsure whether the footpath across the fields would lead us to Croxley Green we decided to walk along the lane and look for route which might lead us there. We reached a junction a little further up where we turned off, which we both hoped would take us to where we were going! It took us past a residential area and past some large cottages and Tudor shaped buildings. Strangely the area behind these buildings had been all fenced off, so I decided to peer through the metal fencing as I was very curious…

As I looked carefully I was just able to make out the outline of a large house through the metal railings, the winter sunshine enhanced it silhouette making it looking domineering and eerie. Did this place hold any untold secrets? The site where the buildings currently stand was originally part of King Offas Kingdom during his reign in the C8th Century! The manor house was Durrants Manor House, but the actual land and manor did not come out of the Royal possession until Elizabeth 1 sold Durrants Manor to a physician in her household. Much later during the early C20th the house and its land changed hands again when Merchant Taylors school purchased it for sports purposes. The whole site and the house is now being renovated but in its current state does look very unnerving.

From 2012 – 11.11.2012 Cassiobury Park – Croxley Green Walk

Passing on by the manor house, we caught up with some friendly dog walkers who were kind enough to ensure that we were heading in the correct direction for Croxley Green. We were now walking away from the road and along a muddy track. Either side of the lane were farmers fields, but it was quite difficult to see as the lane had a very large number of tall trees that lined it. We decided to share this part of the journey with the dog walkers, which made this part of the route very quick to walk, so it was not long before we reached “The Green” in Croxley. I will admit that it was rather nice to enjoy the open space of the green in the winter sunshine, so we thought we would take a nice saunter and as it was approaching lunchtime we would treat ourselves to a Sunday lunchtime drink.

Through the window of the inn, we could see right across “green” which seemed quiet and unassuming. However, if it had been warmer time of year, the view could have been quite different, with noise and such revelry! As summed up by John Betjeman –

“Onward, onwards, north of the border, down Hertfordshire way.
The Croxley Green Revels – a tradition that stretches back to 1952.
For pageantry is deep in all our hearts
and this, for many a girl, is her greatest day”
John Betjeman at Croxley Green (“Metro-land”, BBC, 1973)

Even in some of the taverns it is said that it is traditional that during the Christmas time that St George & the Dragon is acted out, obviously we had come to the Green at a very quiet time!

Refreshed, our journey was now to take us back to Cassiobury Park. We took a very different route back, mainly via the roads. Not as picturesque as the way we had been walked to Croxley, but was certainly more direct and was faster paced. I would only recommend it if you were in a hurry ! It was the same amount of distance walked and I did not enjoy walking back as much. Although I did spot this curious house, when nearing the park, which seemed be built entirely of wood. To me it looked like a “Swiss Cottage”, I would like to know more!

For all the mornings walk, please feel free to browse through all the photos -

2012 – 11.11.2012 Cassiobury Park – Croxley Green Walk

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Grand Union Canal – Hemel Hempstead – Winkwell Walk – 21.10.2012

Unlike other stretches Grand Union Canal that we had walked before, this part of the canal was easily accessible from an urban town centre.   It was the first time that the canal really showed that it was an important transport link into the town, before the railway and roads.    As we joined the towpath, I was quite saddened by the state of the first lock that we came across.   In contrast to the other locks that we had encountered on our previous walks, this one had been gratified and looked very neglected.  Most of the other locks that we had seen on the Grand Union Canal had been in reasonable condition.   The lock keepers cottage that used to be nearby had gone and all that remained was the front wall.  Perhaps,  if a lock keeper was still there the lock would have been in a much better state?

As we walked on and away from the lock, we found a small iron sign saying it was 65 miles to Braunston. The very first sign that we found near Ironbridge Lock in Cassiobury Park stated that Braunston was 71 miles away, clearly we were now 6 miles nearer .  Walking a canal towpath was quite nice and straight forward, particularly as we did not have  to worry about any footpath signs that might  disappear along the way.  My thoughts return to the “London Loop” and the “Hertfordshire Way” where signs regularly vanished!   However, it was not long before we stumbled across a footpath which was take us off route. The path was to take us onto a open space, which is part of the “Boxmoor Trust”, which ran along side the canal. For late Autumn this wild meadow was a beautiful lush green, the stream that was running though was lazily babbling over the stones. I would have presumed that the brook was an overflow of the canal, but despite that it looked quite picturesque.

From 2012 – 21.10.2012 – Grand Union Canal – Hemel Hempstead – Winkwell Walk

The meadow land is also used for open grazing, as a group of horses were gathered around the opposite side of the stream. The path was to take us across the bridge towards the where the horses were resting and taking shade from the Autumn sunshine. Past experience with animals in our walks made me nervous to take this route, but they were very friendly and let us pass without incident . It was so nice to have these lovely horses as opposed to grumpy cows and sheep LOL. We realised now by taking this route that the path we had taken was rather wet and muddy to walk as I think it must have absorbed a lot of rain overnight. We now wanted to rejoin the canal towpath, so we took the path which we felt would take us back to the there. Unfortunately when we reached it, the path was a dead end .

As a consolation their was a bench to sit at and while away the hours if we had wanted to, but we couldn’t have rejoined the towpath. Not without wetting our feet anyway, as there was a little river in the way, another canal overflow of some sort I should imagine? Therefore we had to backtrack our walk into the field and out over the bridge to find the way back to the canal! Once again on our way, we passed on by Fisheries Lock and onwards. We were suddenly approaching a wrought iron bridge. The iron work itself still looked in reasonable shape, but, the bridge did not look like it had not been used in years. Was it part of an abandoned works railway or an old road?

From 2012 – 21.10.2012 – Grand Union Canal – Hemel Hempstead – Winkwell Walk

In fact as we carried on up this stretch of the canal we came across yet another lock which had not been as looked after The lock did not even carry a name, sadly in this case it was just a number… it was just “Lock 62″. It was almost a shame that this lock did not have a name, I think I was getting used to seeing names on all the locks that we had come across, I think it is rather a romantic idea! Perhaps canal barge users would refer to each locks by names as they would navigate up and down the canal, I would imagine that to be the case, it may have been easier to remember locks by names than numbers? But someone may wholeheartedly disagree with me?

Upon reaching the next Lock, we finally discovered some information regarding the “canal overflow” which ran alongside the Canal. In fact it was not an overflow at all! It was the River Bulbourne. This river derived its name from a time when the river was known to flow through meadows where cattle grazed and the river became the “River of Bulls”. The river is about 7 miles (~11km) in length and is alongside the canal and in fact merges at least twice with the Grand Union. The river had big impact in the area before the canal arrived, the Bourne End Water Mill used to stand which was built in C13th, sadly it is no more.

We had reached the small village of “Winkwell”. I wondered if this was named after someone who winked a lot and very well . Obviously this is not the case as the name is actually derived from the old English “Wincel” meaning corner and “weil” which means well. The village was located just across the swing bridge, which in fact is one of only 3 that cross the Grand Union today. We walked a little way up from the bridge to see the last lock on our journey which looked very well maintained to me!

From 2012 – 21.10.2012 – Grand Union Canal – Hemel Hempstead – Winkwell Walk

Sadly, there is a tale from the late C19th when the popular lock keeper Joseph Buck, drowned here. One dark Christmas night, after a few drinks from the Three Horseshoes Pub, it is assumed that this was the reason that Joseph Buck never reached his home. Hopefully there are no more sad tales from this village and lock! We did decide to take a walk across the Swing bridge and take a look at the “Three Horseshoes” pub. The trouble was we were too early to go in for a drink but we were able to peer through the window that the pub was a lovely old pub, in fact it was built in 1535

It was here we ended our walk, but as we were too early for a Sunday lunchtime drink, we headed back to Hemel down the canal towpath so we could head home for Sunday Lunch Feel free to look through all the morning photos by clicking on the photo below:-

2012 – 21.10.2012 – Grand Union Canal – Hemel Hempstead – Winkwell Walk

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Weymouth – Portland Walk – 14.10.2012

Steam trains rattling along this beautiful branch line with the Autumn leaves hanging overhead, busily dropping off and picking up its passengers on its usual day to day journey. Sadly, this line is now abandoned, shut down as part of Dr Beeching axe and there are only echoes of what the line might have once been. This line has now used a lovely walk, known as the “Rodwell Trail”.

The trail begins at “Westham Halt” in the middle of Weymouth. I always thought that a halt on a railway not to be very large, however, this platform was quite long. I imagine that this would have been full of passengers once all bustling trying to find there way on to the train. Instead of a busy platform in 2012, it is a busy path, in this section of the “Rodwell Trail”, it is very well used by cyclists and locals. This is probably because it is a great walk through Weymouth which avoids any roads

As we proceeded onwards along the trail, it was not long before reached station “Rodwell”. Because of the dark shadows that the surrounding trees cast, this stop seemed to be very haunting. The platform edge in some areas seemed well preserved to me and it suddenly felt very eery to be walking along a rail line, albeit abandoned. We could even see a path that led to the platform from the residential area behind the station, even renewed perhaps this was the original entrance that led to the station all those years ago?

From 2012 – 14.10.2012 – Weymouth – Portland Walk

Whilst pondering these things, it seemed very quick for us to come across a tiny halt called “Sandsfoot Castle”. Not much of it is left, just a few wooden beams, I can’t even begin to see where any passengers may have waited for a train! Unlike the other stops, this halt was about to bring us away from the gloomy part of the trail and out into the bright sunshine. “Sandsfoot Castle” halt is so called, probably due to the fact it is near the actual castle which sits along the Weymouth Coastline.

Our walk was not to include this castle, so we were unable really appreciate it. However, as the walk continued, we could view right across Weymouth Bay and “Sandsfoot Castle” through the bushes . It was easy to see why King Henry VIII would have ordered a castle to be built here, so that it would provide a defence for the Harbour. The castle has a spectacular view and could have seen any enemy ships for miles.

As we turned our attentions away from the view, or what we could see of it, we found that we were approaching another halt. Although we did not come across the halt sign for a while, the concrete risers either side of the pavement, seemed to give some sort indication that a station or halt was around. Sure enough through the undergrowth we could still make out the original platform for “Wyke Regis” Halt.

From 2012 – 14.10.2012 – Weymouth – Portland Walk

We walked away from “Wyke Regis” Halt and found that this would be the last one on this part of the trail. The path brought us out into the open and it felt really nice to be no longer surrounded by trees and bushes so we could really enjoy the shoreline. We decided to take a look over the edge of the coast path and we noticed some odd rods/beams sticking up from the beach. We began to wonder if these strange looking metal and stone rods were part of some kind of pier structure that once stood along the shore at one time. In fact we were correct, these were some of the original supports of the “Torpedo test pier”.

The deathly underwater torpedo was invented by Robert Whitehead and it was here in 1891 the “Whitehead Torpedo Factory” was built. Torpedoes were used widely during the two world wars as part of an underwater defence. All that is left today of the factory is a commemorative stone and a few stones of the test pier. The final Torpedo which was built in the factory was in 1969 and the factory eventually closed in 1994, the factory was demolished in 1997 for the housing development which is now standing in its place. It is hard to believe that in such a quiet suburb that all this took place all those years ago and as the sun was shining over the sea it made it even more difficult to imagine that torpedoes used to once rip through the bay!

We walked away from the old factory site and towards the Isle of Portland. Clearly we were still walking old Rodwell Rail line, the width of the path was good indication. Unlike other paths we have encountered in the past, this path was even and wide, definitely enough to take a single track rail. Paths we normally follow are narrow, uneven and even unpredictable! On the opposite side to the trail, we could see Chesil beach rising high out of the Fleet lagoon. The route passes over the Ferrybridge, the only place where the lagoon meets the sea. I have previously encountered about a year ago, but had not seen lagoon that the beach had created.

From 2012 – 14.10.2012 – Weymouth – Portland Walk

The rail trail was to bring us out onto Osprey Quay and out around the National Sailing Academy. The Academy is where some of our finest Olympic and Paralypmic Sailors have trained, we were so privileged to spot a Paralympian Sailing boat that was in dry dock, it could have belonged to the gold medalist Helena Lucas or even the Bronze Medalist team Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell! The route was a little tricky follow and the signs for the South West Coast path were a little hidden amongst in the car park.

Eventually we found our way and it led us out to “Portland Castle”. Unlike Sandsfoot Castle, Portland Castle looked very much intact. The castle is completely built from Portland stone and dates from 1540 and it even experienced some action with France and Spain, as well as the English Civil War, but from it the way it looks you I don’t think you can really see that (well from the outside anyway!)

The South West Coast Path, did a strange turn here, and was no longer a coast path and was to take us uphill. We were no longer on the Rodwell Rail Trail, but we were joining the “Merchants Railway”. Our walk was now to take us along this much older and abandoned rail line, along to the Portland Quarries. Unlike the walkers of today taking in the beautiful views, this rail line was for a more practical use, it was not a passenger line it was used for taking the Portland Stone from the Quarry to a Pier where it was to be shipped all over the country to be used for building. All along the path, we could see where the tracks may have once been.

From 2012 – 14.10.2012 – Weymouth – Portland Walk

This was obviously quite a network of lines once as we could see 3 stone bridges that were still intact but were only use to walkers these days and not steam engines. Just when I was beginning to feel that the path had brought us to a dead end, I discovered it had brought us to a large stone structure which was hidden beneath the ground. This was the “Verne” prison, a building which was originally in 1847 and over 2 years over 3 million bricks were laid by 180 prisoners to create their own jail cells! I don’t think prisoners today would be allowed to do that!

We caught up with the path once again which was take us past the famous Portland Stone Quarries. We knew we had truly reached the end of the line when we came across the old engine sheds on East Weares Cliff. There are some great plans for the sheds to be turned into an Educational Centre. The path continued took us past yet another prison, I don’t think it was the same one! when we reached a small path which took us down to the coast.

It was a truly dramatic part of the walk as we could see the stone cliffs towering above us. As we walked around, these cliffs are truly a challenge as we came across quite a number of climbers tackling them! It was hard to believe that once a railway cut through these rocks to bring tourists to Portland! We spotted the last remaining bridges that once spanned over the railway, you can see how the quarrying of Portland Stone has changed the landscape of Portland over the years

From 2012 – 14.10.2012 – Weymouth – Portland Walk

We reached a point in our walk where we needed to make a decision, to go on to Portland Bill or come off to walk into Portland. We felt that we were going to leave Portland Bill for another time. We decided to head inland, in doing so we passed by the Portland Museum, which was closed so we couldn’t visit it . We carried on into the little village of Easton, where we finally sat and ate lunch in the late afternoon .

We begun our walk back towards Weymouth from Easton, but via the roads and not along the coast path. It was not really that bad as the roads were not too busy on that Sunday afternoon. As we approached a main roundabout, I was rather struck by seeing what look liked a stone castle that was built on it – anyone with any ideas what it is? From a height we were walking I did spot the Olympic rings that had been adorning Weymouth in the Summer, it was so nice to see that they were still around . Taking a shortcut from the path we walking we briefly rejoined the old railway network which once fed the quarry.

We were nearing the end of the walk, particularly as we could see the sun was setting as we were walking. The sunset was reflecting on fleet lagoon making it eerily quiet and dark by the time we had reached there. We knew it was time to finish our walk for the day.

For all of walks photos please click on the photo below -

2012 – 14.10.2012 – Weymouth – Portland Walk

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Weymouth Walk – 13.10.2012

Think but of the surprise of His Majesty when, the first time of his bathing, he had no sooner popped his royal head under water than a band of music, concealed in a neighbouring machine, struck up ‘God save great George our King’.

Diary and Letters of Madame d’Arblay, vol 5, pp. 35-6

What a to do when George III went bathing in Weymouth in 1789! George III indeed made this English Seaside Resort of Weymouth extremely popular to visit during the C18th, and visitors have flocked here ever since. We were about to walk experience some of the South West Coast Path that surrounds Weymouth and enjoy the sea air, so we took our walk with a nice leisurely pace for a change.

It was not our first experience of walking over train tracks, but here along Weymouth Harbourside there are traintracks deeply imbedded into the road. The road and pavements are extremely narrow on this stretch and it was even more tricky to walk when there were cars parked on the pavement. I began to struggle to imagine a full size train trying to negotiate its way along this road with cars parked along it and not only that C18th buildings which have windows jutting out on to the roadside! I presume that trains still use this stretch of track during the summertime as we found a full size platform by the ferry terminal for boats to the Channel Islands…

As we left the terminal behind and started to walk across the car park to the other side of the “pier”, which gave us some unprecedented views across Weymouth bay. If we had a little more time here, the Weymouth Sealife tower has been built here and stands 53m (174ft) tall, which could have given us a even better view across Weymouth, Portland and the Jurassic coast. Instead we decided to turn away from the tower and walk towards Weymouth beach. Unfortunately we were unable to access some of the beach, which we did not realise, as it was being prepared for a Motocross competition that was taking place the next day.

From 2012 – 13.10.2012 – Weymouth Walk

To make up for the disappointment of not being able to walk on the beach, we reached a curious seashell shaped building, where someone had been creating sand sculptures. Not quite as large and grand as the sand sculptures we had spotted in Weston Super Mare, but nevertheless very clever. The symbol that had been left was the “Paralmypics GB” sign. Obviously as Weymouth had held the 2012 Sailing events for both the Olympics and Paralympics, I presume that this was left over from this! What a great tribute

It was nice to see that King George III has been immortalised in the town with a lovely statue. Not only that a replica of his original bathing machine was right in the middle of roundabout! This is so different from the baths we encountered in Weston Super Mare and Lord Churston Bathing House in Devon. It really seems that King George III did set a trend for bathing at the Seaside .

At least we were not stuck to find out the time on our walk, as we came across “Jubilee Clock” on the Esplanade as we walked on a little further. The clock was built in 1887 in the 50th year of the reign of Queen Victoria to mark her Golden Jubilee year. What a great tribute to the Queen and how great to know it is still standing over 100 years later. I did ponder if there was a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and her jubilee too, particularly as the statue to George III was also built in the 50th year of his reign.

From 2012 – 13.10.2012 – Weymouth Walk

The esplanade of Weymouth seemed to be missing something to me, a pleasure pier. Unlike the other seaside resorts we had visited such as Ventor, Hastings, Paignton and Weston. I wondered if this was due to the harbour and stone pier that had been built in it’s place? However, we were soon to find a building known as the “Pier Bandstand”. This lovely Art Deco Building, has been beautifully restored, however as I went onto the beach could see it did not really go anywhere and is really just the entrance building and no longer a pier .

The pier was built in 1939 after a competition was held by the Royal Institute of Architects with a total of 26 entries. V.J.Venning’s design was chosen and the pier was finally opened on 25th May 1939. The pier was 200 feet in length, but accommodate up to 2,400 seats in the bandstand. In the later years the pier included amusements and a restaurant, but by the mid 1980s the actual bandstand was too expensive to maintain and was finally demolished. Despite a project for the pier to be restored completely for the 2012 Olympic year it arrived pass, what a great shame.

I should not have doubted whether there was a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II jubilee in Weymouth, because, as we reached Greenhill Gardens, their was a wonderful display in the flowerbed reading -

“The Queen’s Jubilee
1952 – 2012″

The gardens even had a floral clock, which is working order. So different from the floral clock which is no longer in operation in Weston Super Mare at least I can now imagine what that could have looked like . Just before we left the gardens, we encountered a line of beachhuts, they looked freshly painted to me and they were still in use.

From 2012 – 13.10.2012 – Weymouth Walk

I wandered onto the beach for a while, but I did not venture to dabble my toes into the sea while I was there, unlike the gentleman who was brave enough to take a dip! As I turned to go back up the esplanade I noticed a small plaque which had been put up, to celebrate the twinning of Weymouth & Portland and Holzwickede. I am not quite sure as to why this little plaque is so hidden?

I clambered back up onto the promenade to continue on. It was not long before we came across another set of Beach huts. Unlike the other huts, these were not of the traditional design, they seemed have a design more reminiscent of the 1950′s, and even had their own area with a dedicated paddling pool and sandpit. They certainly were a lot larger almost a small chalet if you ask me

We felt it was time to head away from the seafront just for a while. Our main reason, was to stop and find somewhere to have lunch. Just behind the beachhuts was Lodmoor Country Park, well there is a lot more in this area, the Sealife Adventure park amongst other things! However, we only felt we had time to briefly look at the Country park after lunch. I do admit to rather enjoyed watching the “Rio Grande” miniature railway, which goes around some of the park. Hopefully this little railway not suffer the same fate as the Weston Super Mare Miniature Railway.

From 2012 – 13.10.2012 – Weymouth Walk

We retraced our walk back into town to explore the other part of Weymouth. As we walked through the town I spotted a little sign which stated that one of the buildings was a former inn built in the Tudor times. I think I was more fascinated by the fact it was built near the former Medieval Friary. As we walked away from the inn and crossed the bridge to the other side of the harbour, we spotted the “Kings Arms” which was so called after the visits of George III to Weymouth and is still going today unlike the Milton Arms . Following the harbourside, it took us past the RNLI station and it was here we had a choice of direction to take. Either to walk on to the “stone pier” or to Nothe Fort. We felt we wanted to look at the Fort.

We climbed the steps to Nothe Gardens and it was definitely worth it, we were rewarded with some lovely views across the other side of the bay! As we walked to Nothe Fort we discovered it was closed, so sadly we will need to go back to discover more. However, from my brief visit I can see why this Victorian fort was built in this very domineering position over the bay, especially as some of the remnants of the defences from WWII can still be seen! I do wonder why no fort had been built previously since Weymouth has such a history of shipping? I think of the Napoleonic forts I have seen in the past like the Berryhead fort.

Because the fort was closed, we decided to leave the gardens and walk along the stone pier. As we started to make our way out onto the pier, we found a commemorative stone dedicated to the “Earl of Abergavenny”.

“Ill-fated Vessel! – ghastly shock!
At length delivered from the rock,
The deep she hath regained;
And through the stormy night they steer;
Labouring for life, in hope and fear,
To reach a safer shore – how near,
Yet not to be attained!” William Wordsworth

The “Earl of Abergavenny”, was a ship that was captained by William Wordsworth’s younger brother John Wordsworth. After two successful trips to China, sadly on 5th February 1805 the ship sunk with over 250 passengers including her Captain John Wordsworth. The wreck in Weymouth bay was visible for many years afterwards.

As we turned back towards Weymouth to complete our walk, I looked up towards Nothe Fort and had a complete surprise a Beacon! I am quite pleased, as this means only another 3,399 to find on my walks, I better keep a keen eye out . We eventually reached town and just before we completed our walk, I spotted a blue plaque – “William Thompson – Naturalist and pioneer of underwater photography”. I am impressed with Mr Thompson’s idea of underwater photography, particularly as this was in C19th long before the modern technology of today!

For all the days walk -

2012 – 13.10.2012 – Weymouth Walk