A short wander around Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill, London

Only a brief post today, but hopefully the few pictures make up for the lack in quantity. I had the opportunity to venture south of the river last week, and actually quite far south, to a part of London where I'm pretty sure I've never been to before, Forest Hill, The purpose of the visit was to go to the Horniman Museum, but I did manage to find a little time for some wandering.

As we left the Overground train station, I caught sight of a couple of ghost signs, but alas they would have to wait for another day. What particularly struck me about this part of London was the sheer abundance of parks and other green spaces. These three pictures are all taken in Horniman Gardens, looking back towards London.

View from Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill, London

View from Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill, London

Bandstand, Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill, London

We did walk down through the gardens into Dulwich, but as you can see from the last photo the day was beginning to close, so unfortunately no pictures of that part of the wander. Another time perhaps.

An Urban Wander from Shoreditch to Islington, London

With the evenings firmly in the grip of winter darkness, it's very difficult to manage to do any urban wandering after work, but fortunately this week I had some time on my hands during daylight hours. For this particular Urban Wander, I have returned to one of my favourite haunts, Shoreditch, from where I drifted northwards until I hit the Regents Canal. The whole of Shoreditch and surrounding area is home to a wide range of ever-changing street art. Here are just a couple of examples that I'd either not seen previously, or not photographed before.

Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1

Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1

I'm not quite sure what this fabulous old building is used for now, but pretty sure it's no longer the Haggerston Branch of the Shoreditch Library.

Former library, Shoreditch, London N1

This ghost sign is not as old as many I've seen in this area, but I like it all the same.I can make out some of the writing, but not all of it.

Medallion
Homes

? Borders Limited
? Orford Road
Walthamstow

Ghost sign, Mill Row, Hoxton, London N1

Now we come to the part of the wander where I turned my attentions to the Regents Canal, walking from Kingsland Road to Islington. The first thing that struck me about this canal was how busy the towpath was. I really had to pick my timing to get some of these pictures to avoid the passing pedestrians and cyclists. Secondly, I had stumbled across a district in London that was new to me, De Beauvoir. I only really saw it from the canal, and like so many other places I only scratched the surface, so have made a mental note to return.

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

This ghost sign on the former Rosemary Works building, or rather two separate ghost signs, is across the canal from the Thomas Briggs factory above. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to decypher any of the words.

Rosemary Works, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Rosemary Works, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Back to the Thomas Briggs factory once more, which seemed to have something interesting on every facade.

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1 

Conscious that I was running out of time, I made my way quickly along the canal towpath towards a chimney tower I could see in the distance. Initially I thought this was the one on the Diespeker building that I'd been to before, but was pleased to discover this was in fact another one at Eagle Wharf. Unfortunately the weather was rather overcast and I'm sure this tower would look much better with a blue sky background. Next time maybe.

Eagle Wharf, de Beauvoir Town, London N1

So this next chimney tower is the one on the former Diespeker marble works.

Diespeker Wharf, Islington, London

Having now run out of time, as I left the towpath near Islington, the sun had finally managed to burn through the early morning mist, allowing me to get at least one photo with a blue sky. This is an abandoned pub, just off the canal in Islington.

Abandoned pub, Islington, London

    

An Urban Wander around Paddington and Edgware Road, London

Still very much inspired by the world of Psychogeography, my Urban Wanders around London continue as and when I can find time, and if the weather allows. This week I only managed a brief drift around the Paddington and Edgware Road areas. The gray skies were not filling me with optimism but I was pleased with my haul for the day.

Most of the Paddington Basin area has now been redeveloped, leaving few traces of its past, but there are a few reminders of its more industrial past here and there.

Old canal side buildings, Paddington Basin, London

Old canal side buildings, Paddington Basin, London

Heading west from Paddington, across the Regents canal, I crossed the Edgware Road and made my way down Church Street with its various Friday market stalls. I had walked down this road before but, as often happens, I spotted things I'd never seen before, like this piece of street art.

Street art, Church Street, London NW8

These next two photos show the changing times of the street. The first picture shows the former Duke of York pub, now a Halal food restaurant, but still preserving the original pub sign.

Old pub sign, Church Street, London NW8

Further down Church Street I spotted this old sign for a sweet shop, appropriately perhaps now sitting above a vintage shop.

Old shop sign, Church Street, London NW8

    

Waterloo Sunrise

Last week I had the chance to take a trip out of Waterloo station into Surrey. The day was fresh, but the skies were cloudless and the sun was glorious. Also I was heading in the opposite direction to the rush hour commuters, so even though it was only 9am, the station seemed unusually quiet. Although definitely not a Waterloo Sunset, bringing back memories of the wonderful Kinks song, it was reasonably close to a Waterloo Sunrise.

Entrance to the London Underground, Waterloo station, London

I assume this array of tubing is some sort of ventilation system, possibly coming up from the underground below. On a grey day this would probably be a fairly ugly structure, but today with the clear blue sky in the background and the sun reflecting off the silver tubing, this was transformed into something quite beautiful.

Industrial architecture, Waterloo station, London

Further down the platform I saw the London Eye just peeking out above the top of the station, and nicely framed by the roof supports. A shame about the bin in the first shot though.

London Eye from Waterloo station, London

And a shame about the lamp post in the second shot.

London Eye from Waterloo station, London

    

An Urban Wander around Fulham, London SW6

There is a whole area of streets in Fulham, just to the south of where I sometimes work in London, that I've yet to explore fully. I'm slowly making my way around some of them but each time I go there's always more to see.

First up we have a picture of a couple of doors. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly which road this was but somewhere between Margravine Cemetery and Lille Road ... I think.

Doorways, Fulham, London, SW6

I couldn't find anything on this building to tell what it may have once been, but the chimney tower suggests some sort of industrial past. It's boarded up now, with demolition in progress signs, but hopefully only the interior is being ripped out and the building will remain.

Disused building, Mendora Road, Fulham, London SW6

Disused building, Mendora Road, Fulham, London SW6

I always enjoy finding a new ghost sign, and this one was no exception. It also seemed quite unusually placed, being on the penultimate house as opposed to the end house in the terrace. May be the final house is a later addition.

Est. 1853

J.C.PLATT

AUCTIONEER & ESTATE MANAGER

THE BROADWAY

HEAD OFFICE HAMMERSMITH

Ghost sign, Fulham, London SW6

Ghost sign, Fulham, London SW6

    

An Autumn Urban Wander around Warwick Avenue, London

October has been a very busy month and I don't really seem to have managed to get out and about to enjoy Autumn as in previous years. Even my mountain bike riding has hit a low period, although I did manage a 17 mile ride today, my first in almost a month. Our weekends have been packed with other great stuff, so nothing to complain about there, but work pressures have meant that getting out at lunchtime has become near impossible of late, and instead I have been sat over a hot keyboard with a sandwich in hand, pondering the completion of yet another mega-urgent spreadsheet or powerpoint request. Faced with this rather dismal reality, I forced myself out one day last week and managed to get some autumn in at last.

A bit overcast today, so not as many people sat outside having lunch as normal. This little canal boat café is on my to do list but will have to wait for another day.

Canal boat café, Little Venice, London W9

I've always loved this little parade of shops in Formosa Street, which have a village-like feel.

Formosa Street, London W9

A shame about all the cars, but a stunning tree with its autumn foliage nevertheless. In the background on either side you can juts make out the iconic entrances to Warwick Avenue tube station.

Warwick Avenue, London W9

I took this picture purely for the lamp. I would have liked to get a bit closer but did not want to intrude on the privacy of the chap sat at the table outside the pub, enjoying a lunchtime pint. 

The Warwick Castle pub, Warwick Place, London W9

This is a view looking the other way along Warwick Place, with the Warwick Castle pub on the left. I've not been there for a while, but when I have the food and drink was excellent.

Warwick Place, London W9