A couple of brief Urban Wanders in and around Kensington, London

Well, another few weeks of radio silence. No one specific reason, just lots going on. Rather than this blog post being on a specific topic, it’s going to ramble around a bit.

First up are a couple of pictures I took a few weeks back of one of the disused platforms at Kensington Olympia station. I have blogged about Kensington Olympia station before, and whilst it’s still quite busy for both passengers and freight, the motorail is long gone and the station would seem to be a shadow of its former self. However, this post paints a slightly different, more colourful picture. The southbound platform has now been relocated slightly to the west, over one of the former lines, but the old platform has been left standing and is now home to the Kensington Olympia Community Kitchen Garden.

Kensington Olympia Community Kitchen Garden, London

Kensington Olympia Community Kitchen Garden, London

These next two pictures were taken at varying stages of an evening out. The first is the bar of the Bombay Brasserie in Gloucester Road, where I caught up with a former colleague and had an excellent curry.

The bar at the Bombay Brasserie, Gloucester Road, London

The second is of a classic car in a streetlamp lit mews I spotted whilst wandering back.

Unidentified mews, somewhere in Kensington, London

And finally, for some reason this week I found myself wandering through Paddington station around 11am, and saw on the overhead announcement boards, a train going to West Ruislip, a destination which is more usually associated with the line out from Marylebone. I vaguely remembered reading something about this a while back, so a few minutes of internet research later proved that firstly my memory was not playing tricks on me, and this is in fact what’s known as a Parliamentary train, or ghost train. I did not have time to take any pictures but there's plenty of information here. Not quite a bucket list activity but I am curious to travel along the line between Old Oak Common and where it joins the main line from Marylebone.

Oh yes, and my mid-life crisis (aka obsession with finding all the vinyl I used to have as a teenager) is still in full swing. Recent (re)purchases include Coming Up For Air, by Penetration, Starry Eyes by The Records, and Ghetto, by The Wall, to name but a few.

I do need to find time to get back into some serious Psychogeography but that will need to wait for a while as next week is already beginning to look a bit manic.

;    

An Urban Wander around Westbourne Grove, London W2

With time enough for a short lunch break one day last week, and still very much inspired by Psychogeography, I paid a visit to some familiar ground and, as always seems to be the case, found a few new things which caught my eye. Starting at the Beany Green café in Sheldon Square, where they make one of the best Flat White coffees I've had, I headed off towards the Westbourne Grove area.

Beany Green Café, Sheldon Square, Paddington, London W2

First up was this quaint, little mews, Bott's Mews, not far off the Westbourne Grove itself.

Bott's Mews, London W2

At the far end of this mews there are paths leading off both left and right. I have walked along the paths before but for some inexplicable reason never seem to have noticed the actual mews before. Maybe because I've never looked at it from this direction before. 

Bott's Mews, London W2

Bott's Mews, London W2

As I drifted along Artesian Road, I caught sight of an old and new sign for Courtnell Street. It wasn't until I had crossed the road and lined up the picture, that I realised that in addition to the ghost sign of the road name, there was also a ghost sign in the glass of the windows too.

ORDERS PROMPTLY DISPATCHED

Ok, so the last word is missing so I have guessed that maybe that's what it would have once said.

Ghost sign in Courtnell Road, London W2

On the other side of the building was more writing,

WINES BEERS

Ghost sign in Courtnell Road, London W2

This next ghost sign is in Powis Mews. I have previously walked along this mews and spotted a ghost sign at the other end, but this was the first time I'd seen this one. This is harder to read than its counterpart at the other end of the mews, but is also for

LEVERWTT & FRYE

Ghost sign in Powis Mews, London W2

No shortage of restaurants, pubs and cafés in this part of around London. Most of them I have never been into, including these two, but they both look good from the outside.

Wildflower Café, Chepstow Road, London W2

The Tin Shed, All Saints Road, London W2

Pub sign, Westbourne Park Road, London W2

Possibly the world's most technically sophisticated toilet which seems to have its own built-in telephone exchange.

Toilet-cum-telephone exchange, Bishop's Bridge Road, London W2

Initially I just thought this was a ghost sign for Alexander Street itself, but beneath that there's also an even older ghost sign for what the road was previously called.

SUTHERLAND
TERRACE

Ghost signs, Alexander Street, London W2

Westbourne Park Passage, London W2

I also noticed quite a few old cars dotted around the streets of W2 and W11. The Citroen is my favourite.

Morris Minor, London W2

Old Citroen, London W2

Old Volvo, London W11