An Urban Wander around Brentford, London

Every time I think I'll devote some time to writing a new blog post I seem to get sidetracked. Most of the distractions are good and generally related to some of my favourite past times like mountain biking, walking, going to gigs, searching for vinyl records and reading ... which reminds me that I should mention my latest read before launching into today's post. Based on my enjoyment of Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain, by John Grindrod, and also based on my own childhood of growing up on the outskirts of London in the 1970's living on the edge of the greenbelt, I ordered another of his books, Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt. 

The pictures in this post were taken a couple of months ago when I was staying up in London for work. My usual hotel near the office was priced well beyond the reach of any reasonable expenses policy, so I ended up staying a bit further out of the centre, in Brentford. I have driven past Brentford on the way into London in the past, but have never stopped and don't really know much about it, other than their football team has an annoying habit of beating my football team, but let's not dwell on that.

As I walked from the bus stop to my hotel for the night, I already suspected a different experience than my usual London overnight stay. The lane I took from the main road towards the hotel quickly became a footpath and cycle path, leaving the noise of the road behind and opening out into park land. As I approached the hotel I could see the dome of the Great Conservatory of Syon House, architected by Charles Fowler in the 1880s and restored to its former glory in the 1980s.

Great Conservatory, Syon House 

I'm assuming the turreted building was some sort of gate, or guard house, for the main house.

The actual house of Syon House, London home of the Duke of Northumberland, with grounds re-designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown, looked wonderful in the late evening sun. Just a shame that there was a transit van parked outside to spoil the view.

Syon House in the late evening sun

The late evening sun and a liberal spread of light cloud, made for some great views and photo opportunities.

Late evening sun in Syon Park

After my evening stroll around Syon Park I headed into Brentford in search of dinner. I knew the Grand Union canal went through Brentford, but was not quite sure what to expect. Being a keen walker, and having walked on parts of the London Loop, the Grand Union Canal Walk, and the Capital Ring I was impressed by the available options on this sign ... almost a walker's paradise.

Walker's paradise signpost , Brentford Lock

Brentford lock itself remains an impressive engineering feature, but the residential areas around it left me a little cold.

Brentford lock

Brentford lock

There was however still some sign of industry of days-gone-by further down the canal.

I'm not quite sure what this building is, or was, or whether the ornate, floral metalwork was original, restored or new. Either way it made a pleasant change to the canal side flats.

This was not the first time I'd seen a mile post for Braunston. I had seen one previously during a Suburban Wander from Harefield to Moor Park following the London Loop where I had suggested it was "in the middle of nowhere" but was quickly and quite rightly corrected by a reader saying otherwise, so I won't make that mistake again.

Mile post for Braunston

The grade II former toll house is now a museum.

Former toll house, Brentford Lock

These next 2 photos were taken the following morning as I made my way back to the bus stop. I had seen the former railway bridge the previous night but it was too dark for a photo. These former railway arches used to carry the Brentford Branch Line, or Brentford Dock Line, from the GWR line at Southall down to Brentford Dock. The bridge across the road is long since gone, but the railway arches still remain, although a bit too orange for my liking. A bit of internet research suggests this line could be re-opened.

Railway arches carrying the former Brentford Dock line

Railway arches carrying the former Brentford Dock line

Here are a few links to some of the books and walks I referenced earlier on in the blog post.

    

Thanks for reading. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated. Hopefully my future posts will not be so few are far between.

An Urban Wander from Hammersmith to Shepherd's Bush, London

Once again last week I was fortunate enough to be able to get out and about for a quick, lunchtime wander. Determined to try and go somewhere I'd not been before, which is becoming increasingly difficult within a lunch hour's stroll from the office, I headed out towards Loftus Road, home of Queen's Park Rangers. I'm not a QPR fan, although technically I should support them as I grew up in Ruislip which was just a couple of miles from where QPR used to train, and more importantly, Stan Bowls lived in my road. However, football nostalgia was not the purpose of my visit.

First up we have a  couple of pictures Sinclair Mansions, between Goldhawk Road and Shepherd's Bush. I particularly liked the brickwork and the arches on these buildings. The more modern look of the area can be seen in the far distance, as one of the office buildings near the Westfield shopping centre.

Sinclair Mansions, London W12

Sinclair Mansions, London W12

If I'm honest I didn't find very much that was inspiring on my wander, which I suspect was more to do with my mood than the environment. I'm sure, as is often the case, should I return I would see plenty of interest What did catch my eye though was these old Public Baths in Lime Grove on my way back, which are now re-purposed for residential and/or office use.

Hammersmith Public Baths & Wash Houses, Lime Grove, London

Pleased to see that the original signage is still intact though, although the signage above the doors, which I'm guessing would have said "Men" over one door and "Women" over the other, has been removed. Curiously there's a third door .. I wonder what this one would have read.

Hammersmith Public Baths & Wash Houses, Lime Grove, London

So, not actually that many pictures considering the wander was about an hour, but hopefully the pictures I did take are of interest.

    

An evening drift around Kensington, in search of mews

With time on my hands after work one evening this week, and my passion for London Mews reignited, I set out on a Psychogeography inspired, Urban Wander around Kensington in search of more. This first mews I have passed plenty of times before, but usually in the dark, so it never really presented itself as a good photo opportunity, and also I had never ventured within, so a good excuse to put that right. This is not a conventional mews, being more of a courtyard, with garages beneath the two and three storey houses, linked by metal stairways, and balconies beautifully decorated with flowers in window boxes and hanging baskets. It’s not quite a gate community but the entrance barrier, which fortunately I managed to avoid in my photos, makes it look a little intimidating. Maybe next time I’ll be brave enough to venture further within, and climb the stairs to the first floor. I did try to see if I could see this mews-cum-courtyard from the other side but without any luck.

Kensington Court, London W8

Kensington Court, London W8

 Kensington Court, London W8

Kensington Court, London W8

Next we come to Cornwall Mews, with its magnificent arches and urban topiary. I say magnificent in relation to the arches as they seem disproportionately large in comparison to the mews houses, although perhaps more in keeping with the grandiose style of the houses on the outside of the mews.

Cornwall Mews, Kensington, London W8

 Cornwall Mews, Kensington, London W8

 Cornwall Mews, Kensington, London W8

Cornwall Mews, Kensington, London W8

A little further beyond Cornwall Mews was this delightful little passageway, open only from dawn to dusk, which as it was approaching dusk as can be seen from the photo below, was quite handy and offered a good photo opportunity.

Narrow passageway, Kensington, London W8

This whole area seems to have an abundance of mews and I found a few more as I made my way back.

Unidentified mews, Kensington, London W8

Unidentified passageway, Kensington, London W8

Unidentified mews, Kensington, London W8

And as I headed west from Kensington, into the sunset, I managed to capture this one.

Sunset over Kensington, London W8

Finally on this wander, I cam across this curious, red-striped house, which I’m fairly sure was not painted in such a manner last time I walked past it. I’m sure there’s a story behind it.

Red striped house, Kensington, London W8

A Wander Along the River Thames from Benson to Shillingford, Oxfordshire

Apologies for the absence of posts over the past couple of weeks, it's all been a bit manic for various reasons that I won't go into here, but I'm back now with some tales from the river bank. The River Thames between Benson and Shillingford, Oxfordshire to be precise.

This first picture was taken looking from the Shillingford Bridge towards Benson. Just out of sight is the excellent Waterfront Café where we stopped for tea and cake before our walk.

River Thames, near Shillingford, Oxfordshire

Looking from the Shillingford Bridge in the opposite direction, the river bends around, sweeping past one of the many boat houses along its banks.

Boat House on the River Thames, near Shillingford, Oxfordshire

There aren't many bridges crossing this part of the River Thames, but we decided to cross here as it seems that the actual Thames path did not follow the bank of the Thames but instead veered in land a little.

Shillingford Bridge over the River Thames, Oxfordshire

I came across this curiosity beneath one of the arches of the Shillingford bridge. I'm not sure whether this table tennis table is just here for storage or whether it's actually supposed to be used here. The height warning sign on the entrance perhaps indicates that it could be used.

Anyone for table tennis?

The final picture on this short wander is of a beautiful, purple boat . If you look closely you can see the ruin of a much larger boat immediately behind it.

River Thames beyond Shillingford

    

An Urban Wander around Maida Vale and Little Venice, London W9

With yet another sunny lunchtime on my hands, I braved the midday heat for another urban wander around the Maida Vale area of London.

First up we have some wonderful street lamps. Well, actually they are not street lamps but more likely lamps to light up the entrance to the various houses along this tree-lined road.

Street lamps, Maida Vale, London W9

This next picture is one of a set of two mews which are either side of Maida Vale underground station. At first I didn't think they were similar but on closer inspection they are almost identical apart from the colour of the brickwork, suggesting that the entrance to Elgin Mews North may have been restored recently. I think the church that can be seen framed by the archway is St. Mark's on Hamilton Terrace.

Elgin Mews North, Maida Vale, London W9

Maida Vale underground station looking slightly squat and awkward between its larger, neighbouring buildings.

Maida Vale underground station, London W9

Maida Vale underground station, London W9

And on the southern side of Maida Value underground station is Elgin Mews South.

Elgin Mews South, Maida Vale, London W9

I particularly like the foliage above the doorways and windows. Just a shame that the view down the mews is, temporarily, spoilt by some renovation work.

 Elgin Mews South, Maida Vale, London W9

Heading back towards Paddington, it's always a wonderful walk along side the Grand Union Canal. I probably could have taken hundreds of pictures of the barges.

Barges on the Grand Union Canal, Little Venice, London W9

Barges on the Grand Union Canal, Little Venice, London W9

Barges on the Grand Union Canal, Little Venice, London W9

Barges on the Grand Union Canal, Little Venice, London W9