Three short Urban Wanders around Kensington and Hammersmith

Thursday 16 January 2014

Three short Urban Wanders around Kensington and Hammersmith

Hot on the heels of my first Urban Wander of 2014 around Imperial Wharf this write-up combines three shorter, separate wanders around the Kensington and Hammersmith areas.

My first wander was around Kensington Olympia. This is an area I have wandered around many times, sometimes for the sole purpose of looking around, other times simply passing through en route to another place. However, it's one of those places that always seems to offer something new. The first few photos are of a mews just to the north of Kensington Olympia station.

Russell Gardens Mews, London W14

I've always liked the architecture of Olympia, and this view from the bridge over the railway lines at the station has to be one of the best. It's a bit of a shame about the advertising hoardings in the foreground but little I could do about that.

Kensington Olympia, London W14

The final photo from this part of the wander is of a disused platform at Kensington Olympia station. The station now only has one track running through the centre of the two main, platformed tracks, whereas I assume in the past that there were two tracks which ran between the platformed tracks. What seems to have happened is that the southbound platform has moved in towards the centre by a line, leaving what was the original southbound platform in a state of abandonment. Also, although unfortunately not part of this photo set, there is the old motorail terminal on the other side of the station which has now been converted into a car park.

Disused platform at Kensington Olympia station

Part two of my wander was along the river, early(ish) in the moning. I've been fascinated by this building for a while but only today did I manage to get a half-decent opportunity to photograph it. The building is the former Harrods Furniture Depository building which was used to store items that were too big for the Knightsbridge shop. Today it has been converted into residential use. The sign is still visible, so I'm counting this as a ghost sign as well.

Harrods Furniture Depository

My third and final venture was another short lunchtime wander. Once again I found myself walking along some very familiar streets, but once again I stumbled across a small road that I'd not noticed before. The weather was near perfect and I was particularly pleased with the way the street lamp came out in the first photo.