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.

In Search of Space, in Hook

Well, not as promised, but possibly as expected I have once again neglected my blog. I have recently started a new job and the first couple of weeks have been a little hectic, getting used to my new commute, and orientating myself around the work. I had hoped to travel by train, but after the first week it became clear that it would take twice as long as driving so reluctantly I have abandoned public transport and taken to my car.

I've managed a couple of lunchtime wanders from my new work location in Hook. The first couple of wanders were simply to stretch my leas and get some lunch, and were not particularly inspiring, but more recently I found a footpath that I'd spotted on google maps, and discovered a more rural setting, and as the title of my blog insists, some space. I only managed a short wander, but this route definitely calls for a bit more exploration, in both directions.

Anyone who has read my blog before will know that I'm a bit of a sucker for railway bridges, especially ones no longer in use, and whilst this one is most definitely in use, carrying the main line between Basingstoke and Waterloo, the bridge is an old brick arch, which is very much to my liking.

Railway bridge across Holt Lane, Hook, Hampshire

Railway bridge across Holt Lane, Hook, Hampshire 

Farm track off Holt Lane, Hook, Hampshire 

Railway bridge across Holt Lane, Hook, Hampshire

Tomorrow I'm off to London, so with a bit of luck I'll get an opportunity for some early morning urban wandering before my meeting, so maybe this week will see another blog post ... but then again maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see.

In other news, I am desperately trying to find time and energy to read a book I got for my birthday last year called Timekeepers, How The World Became Obsessed With Time, by Simon Garfield, partly because I want to finish reading the book, but also so I can start on a more recent purchase, Post Punk Then and Now.

  

Walking, woods, edgelands and metro-land (summer holiday reading)

A bit of a change of style for my latest post, but still roughly on the same topics. I am, I must admit, a very slow reader, and I go through stages of reading lots and then perhaps don't pick up a book again for a few months. My reading list however over the past few weeks, including some time on holiday where I truly managed to shut off and relax for a while, needless to say had a wandering and psychogeographical element to it. 

Richard Mabey - The Unofficial Countryside

Robert MacFarlane - The Old Ways, A Journey on Foot

Richard Mabey - A Good Parcel of English Soil

Roger Deakin - Wildwood, A Journey Through Trees

The Unofficial Countryside was, amazingly to me, written back in 1973. A forerunner perhaps to the much more recent Edgelands by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts, The Unofficial Countryside chronicles the countryside outside of recognised national parks, the areas between towns and the official countryside, the edgelands. Growing up myself in a London Metro-land suburb in the 1970's, many of the descriptions are familiar to me and left me with a strong urge to revisit the playgrounds of my youth. It brought back in particular one vivid memory of a road bridge on the West End Road at Ruislip Gardens, over the Yeading Brook, just next to the tube station, beneath which there were two small tunnels which carried the brook under the road. You had to climb over the small bridge wall to access the brook at that point, and I'm sure 40 years later that access is almost certainly much more restricted. I remember one of the tunnels was straight and you could clearly see light at the other end. The other had a bend towards the right in it, and it took some courage for a 7 or 8 year old to brave walking into the darkness. Happy days though.

A Good Parcel of English Soil is one of the short books published as a series to commemorate 150 years of the London Underground. This book took me back to my childhood even more than The Unofficial Countryside. Its descriptions of parks, territories, gangs (of a much more innocent nature than today's) was spot on and could have been straight out of my after school and weekend exploits around Ruislip. It's also inspired me to visit areas of Metroland like Chesham, Rickmansworth, etc., that I've never been to. I just need to find the time. I was so impressed by the first book in this series I have just ordered the box set.

Robert MacFarlane's Old Ways didn't bring back any memories in the same way as Richard Mabey's books did, but it did inspire me to get out and about, and take more notice when I'm walking in non-urban areas. I rarely give a thought as to the age or purpose of a footpath, byway or bridleway when I'm walking or cycling along it.

I'm still only halfway through Wildwood, so will possibly comment on that one another time.

    

Travelling by arm chair

Odd week this week. Unfortunately only the very smallest of opportunities to partake in any urban wandering, and that was after work, when it was dark, cold and wet. I has hoped the few days of milder weather we had a week or so back was a sign that spring was finally on its way, but we seem to be back into deepest winter again this week. These short wanders took me around the Paddington area and to some familiar mews, but I didn't hang around there too long as it was bitterly cold.

So, my entry today is more a series of observations that a write-up of an urban wander. Firstly I think I'm slowing down. What do I mean by this? Well, I've noticed that I no longer stand up before the train pulls into Paddington to make sure I get off first and beat the crowds, but instead I stay in my seat until almost everyone else has alighted, and then miss the crowds at the other end of the process. I can't say this is something I have made a conscious attempt to do, but just something that seems more aligned to my mindset these days.

On the rare occasions I stay over in London instead of making my way back to the countryside, I am always a bit concerned about whether I over-indulge in the hotel breakfasts. If I've been out for a meal the night before I generally don't need a cooked breakfast the morning after, but if it's there, all laid out neatly in front of me, I find it hard to resist. However, I do try and have some fruit and cereal to balance this off, so not feeling too guilty, and even less so when the two girls opposite me were having coke with their cooked breakfast. I Used to drink quite a lot of fizzy drinks as a kid, but haven't done so for years and years now, but even I am not sure I had coke for breakfast.

I'm up in London again next week, in a couple of different locations but am not sure that either the weather forecast, or my work schedule will allow me to wander very much. So much to do, so little time.

On a more positive note however, the inability to get out and about in the evenings has meant that I have managed to find time to catch up on some of the recorded TV programmes. In particular I'm working my way through the final episodes of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys series 3, as he continues to navigate his way around Britain using George Bradshaw's guide book. These short, episodes are just about enough to fill the odd half-hour between other activities, and as with many things these days provide me with more places to add to my "to visit" list. This week it's been the Scottish West Coast, so not something I could quite manage in a lunchtime or after work one evening. I've also been enjoying the BBC series, Heritage: the Battle for Britain's Past, which includes some incredible archive footage, and also some great moments of architectural sadness as witnessed by the demolition of so much Victorian architecture, all in the name of progress.

    

Rural cycling - Hampshire/Berkshire borders

The awful weather at the end of last week, plus the imminent nearing of the end of the financial year, meant that any plans for another Urban Wander last week were put on hold. Well, actually that's not strictly true as I did wander the streets of London after work, but it was wet and dark, so needless to say I have no pictures of that wander.

I did however force myself to get out on my mountain bike today, and despite the cold, damp and foggy start to the day I ended up having quite a satisfying 18 mile ride, and have hopefully burnt off some calories following last night's gastro-extravaganza at a friends house. As I mentioned though, the weather was not too great so I had pretty much given up hope of taking any photos, but a bit of brightness on the homeward leg allowed me to get this quick shot of the Hampshire-Berkshire boundary post. I was pleased that I didn't have any litter in this picture, which is sadly more than I can say for many of the lanes I cycled down, which were strewn with fast food wrappers, paper coffee cups, sandwich wrappers, crisp packets, and tin cans. To make matters worse, the hedge rows had been recently trimmed  and a lot of the litter was now shredded and sodden, making it a near impossible task for the parish litter wardens to clear it up.

County Boundary post between Hampshire and Berkshire

Also this week, on the days I have taken the train into London, I have been wondering more and more what it would be like to travel the other way which would involve taking the train to Taunton instead of London. In recent times I think I've only been west on the line as far as Hungerford, although more years ago than I care to remember we travelled from Paddington to Castle Cary for the Glastonbury Festival, but I don't remember much about the journey.

In other news, as a self-confessed slow reader, I am still working my way through both Brendon Chase and Lights Out for the Territory, although have not found enough time to make a lot of progress this week.

    

Urban Wandering: the Great Wall of Marylebone

Despite being somewhat disappointed today that after a clear blue morning, lunchtime was overcast, I decided to venture out regardless for a bit more urban exploration. My wanderings today took me across from Paddington towards the area adjacent to Marylebone station. Whilst of course Marylebone station looks rather grand from the front, what I've always liked about it is the perimeter wall to the east of the station, that flanks the rail lines as they head on up through West Hampstead, Buckinghamshire and further afield.

The eastern perimeter wall of Marylebone Station, Boston Place, London.

 

Ghost street sign, Boston Place, Marylebone, London.

I wonder if these muse style houses in Boston Place opposite the great wall were perhaps railway worker's houses at one time.

Old houses in Boston Place, Marylebone, London.

Alleyway off Huntsworth Mews, Marylebone, London.

Still with a great thirst for my rekindled passion, I have now finished Merlin Coverley's Psychogeography. I won't say I found it an easy read, but it was full of information that I can see myself returning to as I get deeper into the subject. I've now moved on to my next psychogeography related books, and following some sound advice have decided to read them simultaneously as one requires a bit more concentration than the other. The first of the two books is Brendon Chase, by Denys Watkins-Pitchford, which is children's story written way back in 1944, and referenced in Edgelands which I have also recently finished reading. As you might imagine, written back in 1944 it's not particularly politically correct by today's standards, but so far it's been a great read and almost makes me wish that all the passive entertainment of games consoles, mobile phones and DVD's were not so readily available, and kids had to go out and explore more. My second book, the one requiring more concentration, is Lights Out for the Territory, by Iain Sinclair. I have only read the first few pages of this, and was tired at the time, so this is definitely one to read with my morning cup of tea, as opposed to my bed time cocoa.

    

A New Year's Resolution ... of sorts

First of all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to the handful of readers who regularly look at this blog. As usual, this blog is for things that don't really fit on to my vintage postcards blog or my vintage magazines blog. You'll fund all sorts of things here, from my (slight) obsession with London mews, to mountain biking, books, music, the great outdoors, and all sorts of other things.

Apart from the dream of turning my vintage and music hobbies into multi-million pound businesses, I only made one New Year's resolution this year which was originally to try and do something new or different every day, but already I have downgraded that to weekly. Hopefully I'm not being too ambitious here as this covers everything from visiting new places, eating in different restaurants, trying a new beer, reading a new book, etc. Three days into the New Year and I have met my first week's target on New Year's Day when we took a walk with friends up on to the Wayfarer's Walk and did a 6 mile loop coming back across Coombe Gibbet. The pictures below are a few I took along the way, and whilst the sun was shining for the most part, the ground underfoot was incredibly soggy.

Musically I've been quite active over the Christmas and New Year period, mainly thanks to my Christmas present of a Sonos Bridge and Sonos Speaker. It was a genuine surprise for which I was very gtareful, and the sound quality is amazing. I've really had a hugely varied playlist but a few standout albums this week have been The Orb - The Dream, Small Faces - The Autumn Stone and Public Service Broadcasting - The War Room.

      

Unusually I did not get any books for Christmas this year, so will have to scout around some of my favourite secondhand bookshops in the next couple of weeks. I'm also planning to continue my visits to new places in London when I get the opportunity during lunch breaks and after work. Hopefully more posts to follow with more London mews, alleys and side streets.

More tales from the saddle, plus some more London mews

Wow! This year is racing by. I can't quite believe that we're almost at the end of April already. As expected, but not as hoped, my postings in this blog are not quite as regular as I'd have liked. Nevertheless I have some musings to share from events over the past few weeks.

The weather has been all over the place in recent weeks. Following the fantastic hot spell we had in March, we have definitely returned to having all seasons in the same day, with snow, hail, rain and sunshine. This has to some extent prevented my continued exploration of London mews, although I was fortunate enough to capture this one in the sun on my walk into the office. Just to the left of the covered entrance to the mews is a two storey building with the remains of a painted sign on the wall. If you look closely you can just make out the words coal, coke and wood, so I'm guessing this was some sort of coal merchant.

Chilworth Mews, London W2

Chilworth Mews, London W2

In other news, I've been able to get out and about on the mountain bike, in between hail storms. The picture below was taken yesterday morning on a bridleway between Boxford and Donnington, just outside Newbury, Berkshire.

Brideleway between Boxford and Donnington, near Newbury

On the music front, I went to see Wilko Johnson a couple of weeks back and it was great to see the local venue completely packed. The music was pretty good but I have to say the interaction with the crowd was pretty non-existent. In comparison to The Pretty Things who I saw at the same venue a couple of weeks earlier, Wilko was definitely a runner up.

As I have alluded to in previous blog posts, I am the world's most easily distracted reader. I have however now finished 11 Minutes Late and am now just starting to read On the Slow Train Again. Both these books are fantastic reads about the nostalgic days of Britain's golden railway age, its demise through neglect and the Beeching cuts, and a celebration of what's left and what has been preserved.

    

Bike rides and bubble baths

I'm almost coming to the end of the half-term break that I decided to take off. We've been to Shaftesbury for the day, visited granny, been up to the Picasso and Migrations exhibitions in the Tate Britain, and otherwise just generally chilled and relaxed. I did managed to get out on the mountain bike a couple of times, and have just returned from a pleasant 15 miler today. It was quite grey and overcast, and the 2 pictures below don't really do justice to the scenery ... even the snowdrops on the right-hand side of the path in the first one look a bit muted.

A bridleway near Great Gasson Copse, Hampshire

A bridleway near Great Gasson Copse, Hampshire

Musically this week has been a bit quiet. I have listened to the odd radio 6 broadcast, and whilst not doing that I listened to Peter Hammill - And Close As This, and by complete contrast Coil - And The Ambulance Died in His Arms.

I finally finished reading On the Slow Train and have now just started reading Eleven Minutes Late: A Train Journey to the Soul of Britain. In fact, I'm now beginning to feel a bit cold after having arrived home all hot and sweaty from my bike ride, so it's time to indulge in a bubble bath and read another chapter.

    

Hyde Park in the snow

This week I spent three days away from home, working up in London. Work was hectic as usual, involving even more random requests than usual. There was however the added bonus of a couple of social occasions to ease the pain and to let off some steam. To clear my head on the Friday morning I decided to walk some of the way to my off site meeting, and ventured out across a beautiful, snowy Hyde Park. Hard to believe that this tranquil scene is in fact in central London.

Snow in Hyde Park, London, Feb 10th 2012

Last night I ended up working until 2am to clear out my inbox and to make sure those in the office next week have minimal reasons to contact me whilst I'm on leave next week. Fingers-crossed it will work as I really need a break after being "cheated" out of my Christmas break by man-flu. Plans for next week will depend on the weather but will hopefully involve a couple of day trips, catching up on some reading, hopefully including my latest purchase Eleven Minutes Late now that I've just finished On The Slow Train. The latter was a great read but made me feel very sad, and to be honest at times quite angry, that what was once a fantastic rail network of incredible engineering, architecture and spleandour is now merely (sub)functional, expensive and overcrowded. The book does describe some routes where you can get the feel of railway travel in days gone by, so a few day trips or weekends away to add to my ever growing "to do" list.

    

An evening in Greenwich

Well, once again it's been a while since I've written anything in this blog. Work has been busy, and I've been out and about quite a bit, so unfortunately this one has fallen a bit by the wayside. Fortunately though I have had the opportunity to find some 'space'. I've managed a couple of really great bike rides recently, bought some great new CDs, and been on a couple more London walkabouts.

Firstly then, I'll talk about my recent excursion to Greenwich. I was dithering about whether to go after work as the day was particularly hot and sticky, and some of the tubes weren't running, but I persevered nevertheless and am very glad I did. It's been a while since I went there so, once I'd left the Underground and joined the Docklands Light Railway, the journey was pleasurable. On arriving at Greenwich I went immediately to Music and Video Exchange where I picked up a handful of great CDs. I had hoped that it would have cooled down a bit after this, but as I walked up the hill towards the Observatory this proved not to be the case. Still, the views were worth it.

View over Docklands from Greenwich Observatory

View over Docklands from Greenwich Observatory

Book-wise, I've not really been reading very much apart from dipping in and out of Hippie by Barry Miles, and continuing to work my way through Seasons They Change whenever I can find the time and energy.

On the music front I've been listening to a lot of acid folk, inspired by the books mentioned above. My current favourite of that particular genre is Heron - Upon Reflection.

A great day for gardening

Once again I find that I have neglected this particular blog for way too long, so I hope to make up for it today with a few shots from the garden. I'd like to say it was because I have actually been gardening but alas I've been suffering a bit with a bad back, so much so that today I went to a Chiropractor for the first time ever. Bizarrely I feel taller after just one session and the root cause of my lower back pain seems to start much higher up in my neck where I am very tight. After some light prodding, cracking and massage I do feel better. I may even try and get the grow bags planted this weekend as the tomatoes and courgettes are beginning to get a bit leggy.

Poppies and Geraniums

Potatoes continue to do well

Broad Beans in full swing

Artichokes getting squeezed out and deprived of light

Apart from enjoying the garden, my musical tastes have once again been inspired by a book. This time it's Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk, where I have been introduced to bands and artists such as The Holy Modal Rounders, Bonnie Dobson and Pat Kilroy, to name but a few.

  

Literary entertainment this week has been provided by Crash by J.G.Ballard

  

Exercise, reading and music

I know it's a horrible cliché but if there was one thing anyone could give me it would be more time. I have finally managed to upload a couple of pictures from the weekend's visit to the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire, but seem to have had precious little time for much else, particularly exercise.

As you can see from the blue slies in the pictures above, the weather was perfect for a winter walk. Unfortunately it's been considerably more dreary following the weekend and I now have a wet and windy drive to the airport ahead of me as I'm off to Germany for 3 days.

My travel profile has reduced dramatically over the past 12 months, but one of the perks of travel is that I do get time on the plane to read and listen to my iPod. I've just started 'News From Nowhere' by William Morris so can hopefully make some good progress through that, and have also transferred my recent CD purchases to my iPod. I've actually managed to listen to a couple of them and 'Hot Rats' by Frank Zappa is particularly good.

My New Year's exercise plans have already fallen by the wayside. Hopefully though I'll be able to get out on the mountain bike again this weekend.

A Night in Front of the TV

It's very rare that I do this, as there's generally nothing but dreadful celebrity/reality drivel to watch, but last night I sat in front of the log burner and watched TV all evening. Starting with the final episode of Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar, I then watched James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause from 1955, which I'm pretty sure I've never seen before, despite it being a classic. Following this came the excellent Fahrenheit 451 from 1966 based on Ray Bradbury's novel, set in a world where books are banned, and any found are burned. I read the book many years ago when hitch hiking through Europe but until last night had never seen the film. I finished the evening by watching the last few remaining overs before lunch, of the first day of the final test match against Australia in Sydney. England managed to get a wicket just before lunch, but for me the highlight was David Lloyd eulogising about none other than John Peel favourites, Half Man Half Biscuit. It was reassuring to wake up this morning to see that we'd taken another 3 wickets during the afternoon session. I'd love to stay up again tonight to watch it but alas have to get the early train into London tomorrow so may have to settle for an early night instead.

I managed yet another mountain bike ride today, one every day this year so far, which was a pleasant 15.5 miler up on to the Wayfarer's Walk. The weather looked gloomy when I left but as I climbed higher the sleet turned to snow, and apart from the bitter coldness in my toes, it was a great ride.

Alas the day has now taken a turn for the worse as my wife's laptop has decided to play up. Following a series of delldock.exe, GfxUI and .net framework errors it has now frozen :-(