An Urban Wander around Putney

After I had finished my short, urban wander around Southfields, I drifted in a northerly direction in search of the Thames. with no real idea of where I'd end up. My wander took me eventually to Putney, which is another area of London I'm not over familiar with.

First up I came across a ghost sign above a shop

THE EXCHANGE

which perhaps was originally some sort of merchant or corn exchange.

Ghost sign in Putney, London SW15

As I drifted around with no real purpose, I was pleasantly surprised to find an area with a village-like feel to it. The next few pictures are of Quill Lane, a narrow car-free street of terraced houses.

Quill Lane, Putney, London SW15

Quill Lane, Putney, London SW15

Quill Lane, Putney, London SW15

As I left Quill Lane and made my way down Cardinal Street I came across what appears to be a former shop, or maybe a former pub, on the corner of Lifford Street.

Former shop or pub on the corner of Lifford Street and Cardinal Street, Putney, London SW15

Once again my memory has let me down and I can't quite remember exactly where this road was. It's somewhere between Cardinal Street and the Putney High Street, but another beautiful, car-free road.

Somewhere in Putney, London SW15

As I made my weary way back to the tube station, I stopped to take a couple of pictures of the station architecture. I'm not sure these photos do it justice as it definitely looked better in real life.

Putney Bridge underground station, London SW15

Putney Bridge underground station, London SW15

The view inside the confines of the station itself were however more impressive, or rather more unusual. These are some sort of track machinery running along the train lines.

Putney Bridge underground station, London SW15

Putney Bridge underground station, London SW15

An Urban Wander around Southfields

Looking at the stations towards the edges of the London Underground map, I realised that there were several that I'd never alighted at. Not the terminals at the end of each line, but the stations one or two stops from the end. Southfields on the District line to Wimbledon was one of these stations, so determined to put that right, I boarded at Earl's Court, and took the tube over the river, alighting at Southfields to start an urban wander.

Almost as soon as I exited the tube station I came across this wonderful ghost sign on the breast of a chimney. With a bit of research, I discovered that the word in the middle is TOUT and forms part of EN TOUT CAS, who are a tennis court supplier. Above this is WORLD and below is LAWN TENNIS.

Ghost sign, Southfields, London

I knew of a fairly prominent, mosaic ghost sign in Southfields, the Nourish and Flourish one, and from a distance thought I'd found it but on closer inspection it was a completely different one, now overlooking a petrol station forecourt.

UNITED SERVICE TRANSPORT Co. Ltd.

Ghost sign, Southfields, London

Eventually I found the Nourish and Flourish one, on what used to be a factory for Frame Foods.

Ghost sign, Southfields, London

As my drift around Southfields came to an end, I came across a site of abandonment and demolition not far from the Nourish and Flourish sign. I have no idea what's planned to fill this space, but am hoping it keeps the style of the older buildings in the area.

Demolition, Southfields, London

My wander didn't actually end in Southfields. I walked from here to Putney but I will feature that as a separate post as there are too many pictures for a combined post.

A Rural Wander along the Hockley Viaduct, Winchester, Hampshire

Having spent the day down near Hamble, and wanting to avoid the M27 and M3 on the way home, we ended up on the outskirts of Winchester and came across this former railway viaduct, the Hockley Viaduct, that I'd often seen from the M3 but never been up close to before. This magnificent viaduct is to the north of Winchester and used to carry the line south from Newbury, past Burghclere and Highclere, which I have blogged about previously. The weather was decidedly gray on arrival, but fortunately brightened up towards the end of our wander. 

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Probably my favourite picture in this batch. I have fond memories of telegraph poles from my childhood where my Gran used to live alongside a railway, in a road called Telegraph Road which was, of course, lined with telegraph poles.

Telegraph Pole on the Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Such a shame it's no longer an operating railway and that you can instead hear the roar of the M3 running close by, but at least it's still accessible and is now a cycle path, affording wonderful views like this.

View from the Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Signal on the Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

We weren't quite there on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, but pretty close. Hard to believe that 16,000 trains used this route in the 12 months leading up to D-Day.

D-Day memorial plaque on the Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

A final view of the viaduct as we made our way back home.

Hockley Railway Viaduct, near Winchester, Hampshire

    

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

    

An Urban Wander through Kilburn

After finishing my Urban Wander around Hampstead I drifted in the vague direction of Paddington to make my way home. Spotted a couple of ghost signs along the way. The first one is slightly curious in that it appears to perhaps have been recently revealed as the paint flaked away. However the paint above it appears new, so perhaps it has been recently pained but deliberately leaving the old sign visible.

LADIES
GENTS
TAILOR

 Ghost Sign, Kilburn, London

A bit further down the same road, there is almost nothing remaining of this ghost sign - I wonder what it once said.

 Ghost Sign, Kilburn, London

Having walked around Hampstead for over an hour, and then down to Kilburn, my feet were beginning to ache and I needed to get back to Paddington to catch the train back to the country pile, so hopped on the tube at Kilburn Park. Couldn't resist a quick snap of the station before I went underground though.

Kilburn Park tube station, London

As well as the more than impressive outside of the London Underground station, the inside had a great skylight above the escalators.

The view looking up from the escalators, Kilburn Park tube station, London

    

An Urban Wander around Hampstead, London NW3 (part 2)

Reasonably hot on the heals of part one of my Urban Wander around Hampstead is, as you might expect, part two. This part of the wander features the landscape as I drifted in a south westerly direction in a loose attempt to get back to Paddington. I could easily have spent hours here, looking at each street, alleyway, lane, yard, house and doorway in more detail. The selection below is by no means exhaustive and has whetted my appetite for a return visit, hopefully with a more striking sky.

Ginsberg Yard, Hampstead, London NW3

Golden Yard, Hampstead, London NW3

 Golden Yard, Hampstead, London NW3

I'm always a bit of a sucker for outdoor stairways. Shame about the over exposure on this one but I was taking the picture in to the weak sun. Somehow the view from the top of the stairs didn't look so appealing.

Flight of Stairs, Hampstead, London NW3

Narrow passageway, Hampstead, London NW3

  

A cheeky peak into someone's garden, from the road of course.

View into garden, Hampstead, London NW3

Narrow street, Hampstead, London NW3

Alleyway, Hampstead, London NW3

Holly Berry Lane, Hampstead, London NW3

My favourite of this part of my drift. I'm not sure whether these doors had all been recently painted, or just well looked after, but they were a striking sight on this rather dull day.

Brightly coloured doors, Holly Walk, Hampstead, London NW3

 Holly Walk, Hampstead, London NW3

Holly Walk, Hampstead, London NW3