Urban Wandering: Imperial Road Gas Holders, Fulham, London

Just a short blog post today to share some pictures from a few weeks ago of one of my favourite urban features, gas holders. These relics of industrial architecture used to be common place but now more and more of them are being cleared for re-development. This particular gas holder is the only one remaining from the Imperial Gasworks, near Fulham, which according to the National Grid website, is gasholder number 2 and the oldest in the world. The series of 4 photos follows my approach towards it heading south-east along Imperial Road. I have visited this area before and blogged about it in An Urban Wander around Imperial Wharf but the colour of the sky and the evening sun made the magnificent structure look even more impressive and imposing than usual.

London remains strewn with several former power stations and gasworks. Most people will be familiar with Battersea Powerstation, and also very likely the Bankside Power Station (now the Tate Modern) but for anyone interested in reading more about these wonderful structures, I can highly recommend London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks by Ben Pedroche.

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Thanks for reading this post. Any comments are very welcome and appreciated.

An Urban Wander from Deptford Bridge to Greenwich, London

Having stayed up in London one or two nights per week on-and-off for the past few years, since changing jobs it's quite a rarity I get to London these days, and staying over is even more unusual. However, there was a very special reason we were visiting the capital ... to see The Orb at the Royal Festival Hall, for an ambient evening with them and some of their friends, one of who was Youth who I'd last seen at the Stroud Leisure Centre in 1982 as part of Killing Joke (but that's another story). Whilst the majority of this post will be about the Urban Wandering we did the following day, I couldn't resist sharing just a couple of pictures from the evening.

The Orb, playing live at the Royal Festival Hall, April 21st 2017

The Orb, playing Little Fluffy Clouds live at the Royal Festival Hall, April 21st 2017

Anyway, enough of the ambient-dub diversion, and on to the urban wandering. I've been to Greenwich plenty of times before but never really to the nearby Deptford Bridge, nor to the parts of Greenwich we ended up wandering around. My only real association with Deptford was through the 1970's record label Deptford Fun City, which was the label who released the very first single by Squeeze, Packet of Three, and also a vast array of records by Alternative TV who I have only recently discovered.

Our wander started from just outside the hotel where we stayed for the gig and soon we were into areas of London I'd never seen before but started firing up my psychogeographical yearnings once more.

First up we have the former Mumford's Greenwich Flour Mills. I had seen this before but only ever from the Docklands Light Railway. Whilst this has now been converted into some fairly luxurious apartments, it's good to see that the exterior architecture and signage remains in place.

Mumford's Greenwich Flour Mills, Deptford Bridge, London

Deptford Bridge is an area of contrasts. It's undergoing a fairly major redevelopment with flats being built everywhere, so I guess it's only a matter of time before this property is updated. If you ever wondered why your internet connection was a bit slow, then this may be the reason why.

Derelict building, Deptford Bridge, London

Trying to find a way to walk along the side of Deptford Creek we cam across more abandonment, this time in the shape of a former pub, The Thames.

Abandoned pub, Deptford Bridge, London

Abandoned pub, Deptford Bridge, London

After wandering through some more of Deptford Bridge, we headed back into Greenwich. I have deliberately not included any pictures from the more usual parts of Greenwich, although I did try and take a shot of the entrance to the foot tunnel but there were so many tourists posing there to have their picture taken I gave it up as a bad job. Instead we continued on along the bank of the Thames, past the Cutty Sark towards Greenwich Power Station, which I was very surprised to find is still in use today. Those of you who have read my previous blog posts will know that at one stage I was slightly obsessed with power stations and gas works, driven mainly by the fantastic book, London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks by Ben Pedroche. The power station is quite magnificent and can be seen from a good distance away.

Looking towards Greenwich Power Station from the west

Sitting beneath the shadow of the power station, but predating it by centuries is the Trinity Hospital and Alms Houses, originally built in 1613, rebuilt in 1812 and still in use today providing sheltered accommodation.

Greenwich Power Station and the Trinity Hospital, Greenwich, London

Trinity Hospital, Greenwich, London

The next set of pictures are all of the former coal jetty attached to the power station. Despite trying a variety of angles I couldn't quite get the picture I was hoping for.

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

Greenwich Power Station, London

Coal jetty, Greenwich Power Station, London

A little further along the Thames from the power station is the former Harbour Master's Office, still displaying the signage.

Former Harbour Master's Office, Greenwich, London

Not as if anyone needed it, but there are reminders of Greenwich's maritime heritage everywhere. Here we see a quaint little row of houses in Union Wharf.

Union Wharf, Greenwich, London

Union Wharf, Greenwich, London

You may have noticed the sky becoming increasingly duller in each photo, and sure enough it started to rain so we headed back for the warmth of Greenwich itself. Having completed a circuit around the

power station, this is the view from the back. And as a bit of a bonus there was a sundial on the back of one of the Trinity Hospital buildings. Alas however the sun was not shining.

Greenwich Power Station, Greenwich, London

Sundial on the back of Trinity Hospital, Greenwich, London

As we headed back into Greenwich the heavens really started to open so pictures are few and far between, but I was determined to take this one despite the rain running down my neck into my shirt.

Canary Wharf through the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London

As way of reward after battling our way through the rain, we treated ourselves to spot of lunch at the really rather wonderful Champagne et Fromage in Greenwich. I have to confess that initially we only went in there to get a hot drink, get out of the rain, and plan the next part of our day, but having seen the food we simply couldn't resist.

Lunch at Champagne et Fromage, Greenwich, London

An Urban Wander along the Gloucester Road in Bristol

It wasn't until my phone storage had become full, and I was forced to upload my pictures to my PC, that I realised I did have a few other blog-worthy pictures to share. A few weeks ago we visited one of our kids who's at university in Bristol. Living just off the Gloucester Road now, we walked from his new house down the hill and into the city. The weather was a bit overcast so I didn't take anywhere as many photos as I would have had the weather been a bit brighter. The few pictures I did take however are of a recent passion of mine, doorway mosaics. I'm constantly, and pleasantly, surprised at just how many of these are still intact, and have not been destroyed as part of some modernisation scheme. This is a particular sore point for me at the moment as recently we visited the centre of Nottingham, again paying a visit to another of our kids at uni, and had cause to go to the Victoria shopping centre. I knew at one stage it was the location of a station but it wasn't until I returned home and did a quick internet search that I realised just how magnificent it was, and what a travesty it was to have bulldozed it in the 1960's to be replaced with a shopping centre. There's a good article on it on the BBC news site and a curiously intriguing book called Nottingham Victoria: The story of a slum, a station and a shopping centre. Sorry, I digress and seem to have become a bit melancholy, so back to the more upbeat purpose of this blog post, doorway mosaics.

Doorway mosaic, Gloucester Road, Bristol

Doorway mosaic, Gloucester Road, Bristol

So, just a short post today, but hopefully I'm back on the path to more regular blog postings.

    

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.

    

Doorway mosaics from Guernsey and the Isle of Wight

Once again it's been far too long since I've updated this blog. I thought it had perhaps been a couple of months but was somewhat surprised to discover that it was in fact way back in April, so pretty much four months. Rest assured I have been urban, rural and coastal wandering during this time, but I have been very busy outside of that, moving from being a long-term, permanent employee to a freelance consultant, setting up my own company, landing my first contract, etc., and have just not found the time to blog.

I've amassed a fair number of photos from my wanderings over the past four months and have been considering how best to lay them back here. I think that rather than producing what might come across as a travel diary, I'll focus on common themes covering several locations. So without any further delay, here's my first post for a while and it features doorway mosaics from Guernsey, Isle of Wight and Somerset.

Doorway mosaic, St. Peter Port, Guernsey

Doorway mosaic, St. Peter Port, Guernsey

This was probably the most impressive doorway mosaic I saw in Guernsey but unfortunately there were a couple of black bags of rubbish in the doorway. It was quite a bust street and I would have felt a little conspicuous taking the bags out to get a better picture.

Doorway mosaic, St. Peter Port, Guernsey

On to the Isle of Wight now. This was the first time I had been to the Isle of Wight since I was at junior school, far too many years ago to reveal. The whole place really felt like stepping back in time, to a 1970's England, in the days before out of town retail parks, and where high streets still had shops other than charity shops. And in terms of doorway mosaics I suspect I only scratched the surface, I felt the island had many more to offer.

I'm not sure that this first one from Cowes is strictly a mosaic, but it's close.

Doorway mosaic, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Doorway mosaic, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Doorway mosaic, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Doorway mosaic, Newport, Isle of Wight

In other news, I have been managing to find some time, although again not as much as I'd like, for reading. Two of my recent reads include A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit, and the wonderful Common Ground by Rob Cowen. I really cannot recommend the latter enough.

    

An Urban Wander from Primrose Hill to Kings Cross via Camden

Interrupting my suburban wandering along the London Loop Recreational Walk I had an opportunity to visit the area around Primrose for a couple of hours before an appointment. The Primrose Hill area has always been a bit of a favourite of mine, although I don't think I've ever really posted any pictures of it, apart from one possibly from the top of Primrose Hill overlooking London. So, with an opportunity to put this right I set about with my hand-me-down phone whose camera is unfortunately nowhere near as good as my old phone.

Painted houses, Chalcot Crescent, Primrose Hill, London NW1

I hadn't ventured very far but was already in need of sustenance when I stumbled across this wonderful café, Chloe's Espresso, on the bridge crossing the railway line out of Euston. The road is actually a continuation of Regent's Park Road but cars are prevented from accessing this part of it, making it an interesting pedestrian thoroughfare linking the distinctly upper class Primrose Hill with the more edgier Chalk Farm and Camden.

Chloe's Espresso, Regent's Park Road, London NW1

Chloe's Espresso, Regent's Park Road, London NW1

I've walked along this stretch of the Regent's Canal plenty of times before but had never looked at it from above.

Regent's Canal, Primrose Hill, London NW1

Quite a contrast looking from the bridge in the opposite direction, across the railway lines, towards Camden.

Camden from bridge over the Regent's Canal, Primrose Hill, London NW1

This wheel is not going anywhere, unlike it would seem the rest of the bike. Unless of course this is an installation.

Art installation or unfortunate cyclist?

Having wandered around Primrose Hill, poking my way through as many different streets as I could find, I dropped down on to the canal tow path and made my way towards Camden.

Former wharves lining the Regent's Canal, Camden, London NW1

Former wharves lining the Regent's Canal, Camden, London NW1

The old and the new, Regent's Canal, near Camden, London NW1

Always a bit of a sucker for a gas holder, mainly through reading London's Lost Power Stations and Gas Works I was pleasantly surprised that the former Kings Cross gas holders have been kept and have been incorporated into the design of these new apartments.

Gas holder, Kings Cross, London

Gas holder, Kings Cross, London

And so another urban wander reaches its end. Despite this one being through some fairly familiar territory, I once again saw it with new eyes inspired by Psychogeography.