A wander around Abingdon, Oxfordshire (looking for signs old and new)

A different destination for today's wander. Looking to go somewhere different from home, but not travelling too far, we decided to stop off at Abingdon in Oxfordshire for a few hours. Our wander started with a short and muddy walk along the Thames path, which was pleasant enough, but soon we ended up in the town, with scenery more fitting for my blog.

Starting off with what I originally thought was a bit over over-officious policing of the waterway, but then realised it had a more humourous tone to it.

Sign at Abingdon lock, River Thames, Oxfordshire

Sign at Abingdon lock, River Thames, Oxfordshire

In to the town now and pleasing to find not only an old sign / ghost sign on the Oxfam shop, but also two doorway mosaics there too. The sign reads

LANGFORD & SONS CORN & COAL MERCHANTS

Old sign for Langford & Sons Corn & Coal Merchants, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Doorway mosaic, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Doorway mosaic, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Following the doorway mosaic at the Corn and Coal merchants, I found another just a little further down the road. This shop threshold also had some ornate tile work.

Doorway mosaic, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Ornate tile work, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Good to see the sign for the FREE LIBRRAY is still in situ, even if the library itself is long gone.

Old sign for former Free Library, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Old sign for former Free Library, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

A short visit to the town, which we rounded off with a quick visit to the museum. These two pictures are from the roof terrace which is open upon request for a small fee.

View from the rooftop of the Abingdon Museum, Oxfordshire

Zooming in a little and the horizon is pretty much filled with what remains of Didcot Power Station.

Didcot Power Station from the rooftop of the Abingdon Museum, Oxfordshire

That's all for today. Thanks as always for reading. Comments welcome.

Wandering along the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Here's another collection of pictures from one of our summer breaks. This one features photos taken along the former railway line, the Camel Trail, at Padstow, Cornwall.

On arrival at our B&B we were greeted with this wonderful view of the Camel Estuary at very low tide, from the bedroom window. The Camel Trail is just the other side of the houses.

View from the B&B, overlooking the Camel Estuary, Cornwall

Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

The Camel Trail and Estuary, Padstow, Cornwall

Boats on the Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Boats on the Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Just outside Padstow is this wonderful iron bridge. Although sadly no longer carrying steam trains full of excited holiday-makers, or hauling trucks full of freshly caught fish, it has been converted into a recreational route for walkers and cyclists.

Iron bridge, Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

The view from the bridge is quite stunning too.

Iron bridge, Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Iron bridge, Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Iron bridge, Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Iron bridge, Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

The main reason for the bridge it would seem was to cross Little Petherick Creek.

Little Petherick Creek from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

A little way outside Padstow beyond the iron bridge, at low tide the views both ways along the estuary open out into wide expanses of sand.

Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Looking back towards the iron bridge on the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

Camel Estuary from the Camel Trail, Padstow, Cornwall

As usual, thanks for reading. Hopefully I'll get an opportunity for some more urban, suburban and coastal wandering over the coming weeks, with more posts to follow.

Wandering in and Around Bideford, Devon (part 2)

Happy New Year 2018. I don't really make New year's resolutions any more, but let's just say I have an intention to blog more than I did in 2017.

Following on from my previous Bideford post which covered a cycle ride along the Tarka trail, the second part will cover a few other aspects of Bideford, mainly the area to the east of the River Torridge, called East-the-Water. Once the only way to cross the river, this magnificent bridge is still in use today but fortunately the majority of the traffic is now carried by the Torridge Bridge (the A39) further to the north.

Old Bideford Bridge, Bideford, Devon

Looking north from the Old Bideford Bridge, the Torridge Bridge can just about be seen in the distance.

Looking north from the Old Bideford Bridge, Bideford, Devon

As we crossed the bridge to East-the-Water and wandered along the road, one of the first sights that greeted me was the wonderful ghost sign.

BRUNSWICK WHARF.

I. BAKER & SON

GENERAL BUILDING MATERIAL

&COAL MERCHANTS.

I. Baker & Son ghost sign in Bideford, Devon

Just along from the Brunswick Wharf building was the site of another former wharf, Queen's Wharf. Ripe for redevelopment it still displays the Queen's Wharf name on the pillars either side of the gate.

Queen's Wharf, East-the-Water, Bideford, Devon

This next picture was taken from the Tarka Trail, looking down into East-the-Water, just to the south of the Old Bideford Bridge. Presumably these buildings were also parts of a former wharf, but now looking a bit worse for wear and adorned with street art.

Street art, East-the-Water, Bideford, Devon

Originally built as a Collar Factory, and later as a furniture store, the building still bears its name and purpose.

BLACKMORES DEPOSITRORY

Blackmore's Depository ghost sign, Bideford, Devon

After a very wet day, the skies cleared in the early evening as we made our way down into the town for dinner, treating us to some lovely cloud formations. This first picture is taken from the west side of the River Torridge.

Looking down towards the River Torridge from Bideford, Devon

Looking south from the Old Bideford Bridge, Bideford, Devon

Looking towards the River Torridge from East-the-Water, Bideford, Devon

Looking towards the River Torridge from East-the-Water, Bideford, Devon

Once again, not having kept a meticulous record of where I took my photos, and my memory failing me, I am really not sure where these next two pictures were taken. Given the date they were taken, I am very sure they are in and around Bideford, but exactly where I cannot tell. If I had to guess then I'd say they were taken from the Tarka Trail as we cycled along it north from Bideford to Barnstaple and Braunton.

Somewhere along the Tarka Trail, near Bideford, Devon

Somewhere along the Tarka Trail, near Bideford, Devon

Thanks for reading. This is the last of the two posts I'll be doing on Bideford. I still have some archive material from last summer to post, so that will probably feature next, but hopefully I'll get an opportunity to explore more this year and post accordingly.

A Lunchtime Urban Wander around Hammersmith (flyover, mews and stinkpipe)

Just before I finished work for the Christmas break, I was working up in London for a few days. One of those days was the classic, cold-but-crisp December days where it seemed a crime to sit in the office and eat my sandwiches over a hot laptop filling the gaps between the keys with crumbs, so off I went in search of some space ...

There is something simultaneously ugly and beautiful about the underside of a flyover, almost a little like no-man's land. It also reminded me a little of J.G.Ballard's Concrete Island.

Beneath the Hammersmith flyover, London

Beneath the Hammersmith flyover, London

Despite this building being quite unique, it took more than a little research to reveal its purpose, although I probably could have guessed. Allowing a clear view along the Thames, it's used a starting box for rowing races.

Hexagonal starting box, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London

As anyone who has read this blog for a while will know, I have been through various phases of things I'm interested in. More recently it's been doorway mosaics and ghost signs, but several years ago it was London mews, or mews-style dwellings. I can't remember the last time I shared any picture of London mews, but here's one I am very sure I have walked past before but never previously photographed.

Mulberry Place, Hammersmith, London

Mulberry Place, Hammersmith, London

I've seen these structures many times before, but never really stopped to consider what thy might be. It is in fact a stinkpipe, or stenchpole, built in Victorian times to allow gas to escape from underground sewers. Many are quite elaborate in design as well as functional.

Stinkpipe, Hammersmith, London

Now I know what these intriguing structures are, stinkpipes are something I may return to at a later stage when I have more to share. In the meantime, and much to my surprise, there seems to be plenty of reading material available on these, firstly in this wonderful Londonist blog post, and also of course in physical format ...

A late afternoon wander along the River Thames from Battersea to Putney, London

Well, I am doing a pretty poor job of posting to my blog this year. Theoretically I have more time now as am working closer to home, and only rarely staying away from home, but my spare time seems to be getting eaten up with other interests.

Firstly I am still hunting down 1970's and 1980's punk, post punk and new wave vinyl that I used to own as a spotty teenager which now, as a 50 something, I am desperately trying to find again. Plus there are records that passed me by at the time which I'm discovering for the first time, wondering how I missed them first time around. Punishment of Luxury for example ... this was precisely the sort of music I was listening to in the late 1970's and early 1980's post punk movement but somehow never came across them until this year.

I've also discovered Netflix. Well, this isn't so much of a discovery as we've had it for over a year now, it's more of an addiction to several Netflix series, like House of Cards, Gotham, Hemlock Grove, Jessica Jones, Daredevil and Luke Cage. I used to tut at the kids as they binge-watched their way through series after series, but now I can see why.

Finally, I changed jobs back in April and am now working out of a pleasant, semi-rural, business park. The environment is tranquil but means my lunchtime wanders are restricted to the river. This isn't to say that the wanders along the river are not enjoyable, but they don't have the opportunity for the seemingly endless discovery that my urban wanders through London gave me.

So, where does all this rambling leading me? I guess it's just a reason for my posts being somewhat sporadic this year, but I do have some recent pictures to share. These were all taken late on a sunny, winter afternoon along the River Thames in London, as we walked from Battersea to Putney.

River Thames, looking towards Lots Road power station

River Thames, looking west into the setting sun

River Thames, looking west into the setting sun

This was the night of the super moon but unfortunately my phone pictures don't really do it justice.

River Thames, looking east towards the rising super moon

River Thames, looking east towards the rising super moon

River Thames, looking east towards the rising super moon

So, that's all folks. Hopefully my next post will not be too far away, but you never know what my next distraction may be.