More vintage petrol pumps

Since my last post I have been out and about within the UK, although that all changes tomorrow when I go to the Netherlands for the rest of the week. My main trip last week took me down into Kent, a county I visited frequently as a child as my grandmother lived in Deal, but it's not somewhere I've been to much since. As a bonus for me, I was travelling by train rather than driving, and I was also taking the slow train. I did consider going via London and using the high speed link down to Ashford, and whilst that probably would have been a bit quicker, I was keen to travel cross-country, at least on the journey there, partly inspired by the book On the Slow Train. My journey was in four legs and took me from Newbury to Reading, Reading to Redhill, Redhill to Tonbridge, and finally Tonbridge to Ashford. I have travelled to Reading countless times, and Redhill a couple of times before, but the journey from Redhill was all new. A lot of the track seemed to be in cuttings, or so tree-lined that the view was obscured, but when the track did open out, the unrestricted views of the Sussex and Kent countryside were stunning, especially the oast houses, which are a distinctive memory from my childhood. On my return journey, time was a little tighter so I took the train to Victoria, crossed London by tube to Paddington, and then headed home from there, quite tired and looking forward to the weekend.

Determined to get some more exercise this weekend, I set off on another 30 mile bike ride, in search of new sights, roads and trails. My ride took me out through Ashmansworth, Faccombe, Linkenholt, Upton, Wildhern, and then back up through St. Marybourne, Stoke and Crux Easton. During the ride I was looking for something out of the ordinary to photograph. Don't get me wrong, the scenery was spectacular throughout most of the ride, but this disused petrol pump, on the Finkley Road to the north of Andover, fitted the unusal requirement quite nicely.

Vintage petrol pump, near Finkley, Andover

Vintage petrol pump, near Finkley, Andover

    

An unexpected weekend treat on the River Kennet

What a great weekend we've just had here in the southern UK. More spectacular weather, and fortunately I found the time to enjoy it. My original plan on leaving work in London on Friday afternoon was to pay a visit to Harrow-on-the-Hill, but on leaving the office and heading towards the tube, I could not bear the thought of squeezing myself in, even for the relatively short distance, and then having to get a later, busier train home to West Berkshire. So, my plans changed and I left my search for space to Saturday and Sunday.

On the Saturday I managed a 35 mile mountain bike ride down to Whitchurch, where I was forced to stop and seek comfort in coffee and cake after having managed to fall of my bike earlier in the ride.

After having eaten myself better, although sore and bruised, I continued my ride down towards the staggering beautiful Long Parish (which has a couple of excellent looking pubs that I need to make a note to visit some time), and then headed back up through The Wykes, St. Marybourne and Crux Easton.

So Saturday was my planned space but I had some bonus space on the Sunday when I managed to fit in a walk along the River Kennet, looping back along the Kennet and Avon canal before watching one of the boys playing football. This particular walk west from Newbury is one of my all time favourites. I love the way the transition from road, to rough road, to gravel track, to muddy lane, to footpath happens. It always reminds me of the line in the Neil Young song, Thrasher, "Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand". The only thing that spoilt the image was the sound of the traffic thundering along the A34 bypass. If only the railway line that used to run over this bridge was still running (admittedly it only went as far as Lambourn, but the sentiment is the same).

Disused railway bridge on the Newbury to Lambourn line

River Kennet, just west of Newbury

 River Kennet, just west of Newbury

River Kennet, just west of Newbury 

River Kennet, just west of Newbury

So that's it for this week I suspect. I am going to be finding some space in Kent later in the week so check back on or after the weekend to see what I found there.
    

A lunchtime stroll through W2 (aka more London mews)

Well we seem to be having a bit of a late summer here in the south of the UK. The last few days have been wonderful and the forecast for the weekend looks good (I'm hoping to fit in a visit to the coast, but will have to wait and see what else is happening). On Tuesday evening this week, I managed to fit in a walk after work around the area between Paddington and Hyde Park. I came across some incredible mews that I'm pretty sure I'd not seen before, or if I had I had not paid them much attention. Walking through them as the night drew in was quite something, and in fact quite spooky in one place where I actually came across some horse stables in Bathurst Mews. I made a mental note to revisit again but during the day, and was fortunately able to do this the following lunch time, between meetings. I took about 20 pictures but these 6 below are my favourites.

The first picture is of an unnamed alleyway which runs between Hyde Park Garden Mews and Hyde Park Gardens. This is the view looking north through the alley.

Unnamed alleyway between Hyde Park Garden Mews and Hyde Park Gardens, London W2

The next 2 photos are of Bathurst Mews. From the east, Bathurst Mews is entered through a small tunnel covered with foliage, and opens out into a wondefully cobbled road, lined with private benches and potted plants and trees. At the western end, as the mews turns south to rejoin the road, are the various stables which spooked me the night before. The odd car, delivery and maintenance vehicles drove along the mews but I managed to get these photos between the traffic.

Looking west along Bathurst Mews, London W2

The eastern entrance to Bathurst Mews, London W2

 The next photo is of a place as opposed to a mews but has the same feeling so I included it here. The bright white of the house at the end against the perfect blue sky came out quite well I think, and I love the lamp in the foreground.

Clarendon Place, London W2

The final 2 pictures are of Hyde Park Gardens Mews. Another wonderful London mews within a stone's throw of busy, main roads and offices, but walking along it I felt I could have been anywhere.

Looking east along Hyde Park Gardens Mews, London W2

The eastern entrance to Hyde Park Gardens Mews, London W2

    

Couldn't help noticing that the amazon adverts above came up with Francis Bacon's studio in Reece Mews, which is in a mews in an area familiar to me but one which I don't think I've ever visited. Maybe I can visit and report back on that one over the next couple of weeks, although next week I will be finding space in Kent, and the following week in mainland Europe ... so stay tuned folks.
 

A big cat in Regent's Park ?

After a manic day in the London office last Wednesday, despite the grim weather I was determined to escape after work and find some space. Wednesday's trip started from Spring Path in Hampstead, which gets a mentioned in the London's Lost Rivers book which I'm half way through, in relation to the River Tyburn. My wanderings took me through a couple of small alleyways and eventually down through Belsize Park, Primrose Hill and on into Regent's Park. The first photo was taken from the top of Primrose Hill overlooking the city. The weather had improved slight;y by this time, but the photo is not one of the clearest, which I'll put down to the moody weather.

 With all the recent news about a lion being spotted in Essex, I couldn't resist taking this photo of a wild cat wooden sculpture in Regent's Park.

And further along the route I came across a wooden sculpture of a fox.

Something I always forget about Regent's Park is its size. A couple of times I thought I was about to reach the edge, but was surprised to find yet more park to walk through. Without a train to catch this additional escape time would have been a bonus, but I was worried about missing my train home, so the last few minutes throug hthe park were somewhat hurried, then straight on to a bus back to Paddington in time to get my train.

    

On escapes nearer to home, I have managed quite a few bike rides since returning from holiday. Yesterday I cycled up towards Combe Gibet, near Kintbury. My post holiday fitness still leaves a lot to be desired but I did achieve a personal best on one of the hill climbs, although I should point out that I am still a long way off the rest of the pack ... something to aim for though I guess. At the moment I'm not sure what escapes I can manage next week, particularly as the evenings start drawing in and the opportunity to walk in the light after work becomes restricted.

Another London

We were fortunate enough to get some complimentary tickets to the Another London exhibition at the Tate Britain, so on Saturday we made our way into London for a day out. The tubes were pleasantly crowd-free, as we made our was around on the Circle line from Paddington to Victoria. From there it was only a short walk, through what was now surprisingly warm sunshine, despite the weather forecast. The exhibition had some incredible pictures from 1930 through to 1980. Great images of "british-ness" that you simply don't see any more, for example streets filled with bowler-hatted mean going to work in the city. In fact come to think about it, most of the photos included some for of head gear, whether that be a top hat, a bowler hat, a cloth cap, or a scarf.

After the exhibition we caught a bus to Kensington where we, thanks to some more free vouchers, we grabbed some lunch (we are not normally this frugal, but following our California blow out are taking things easy this month now). The food was ok, not brilliant, but unfoftunately just as we finished eating, the heavens opened up, and torrential rain came down, all mixed in with some thunder and lightening for good measure. We were quite "museumed out" after the exhibition of the morning, so after deciding not to go to any more, we caught a bus to get out of the rain. Although I know my way around London reasonably well, the bus we caught took us to somewhere I don't think I've ever really been ... Wandsworth. I had no idea what to expect but it almost had a village feel in places, but not quite so much as Battersea did, which was definitely a surprise to me. Plenty of scope for future visits I think, if only to check out some of the restaurants in Battersea Square, which confusingly seems more of a triangle than a square.

Between Wandsworth and Battersea we walked along the Thames, apart from when we were annoying diverted back in land (one of the most frustrating aspects of the Thames path is that it often strays away from the side of the river). We did get to see the London Heliport though, which I never even knew existed, so that was a bonus. We were also treated to the sight of a freight train on the London Overground line, as it crossed the Cremorne Bridge, heading south. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo, but instead took one from the other side of the bridge after it had gone across.

Boats moored by the Cremorne Bridge (aka Battersea Railway Bridge)

Despite the heavy downpour in the afternoon, we had a great day out, and got back home to catch some of the Reading Festival highlights on BBC 3 before taking our aching limbs off to bed.

Sunday was a different story, and with a much better weather forecast I decided to embark on a bike ride, looking to get some miles under the belt, rather than gruelling hill climbs. In the end I seem to have managed both, cycling out west towards Hungerford, through to Little Bedwyn and Froxfield, and then back via Littlecote, Chilton Foliat and Kintbury, covering 36.7 miles. It was a great ride, but I think I probably need to invest in some new padded shorts as I'm feeling a little tender today.

    

Post California blues

I've now been back from California for a week, but my holiday already feels like it was weeks ago. This past week at work has been especially manic, with interminable budget planning and re-planning, multiple iterations of management reports, and of course the email mountain I returned to. However, I did manage a couple of escapes during the week, both in London and at home. My London escape took me out to the Westbourne Park area again, mainly because it's close to the office, but also because there are still some areas within it I've yet to explore. Of particular interest is that I've come across roads with Russian names ... Moscow Road and St. Petersburgh Place. Some further research is needed here I think to find out what's behind this. But for now, here are a few photos I took on the walk.

Apartments on Moscow Road, London

 I'm always amazed at how many cobbled streets there still are in London. This one, just off the Moscow Road, looked stunning and was almost like stepping back in time.

Chapel Side, off Moscow Road

Chapel Side, off Moscow Road

Below are a few books which cover more of London's less known, quirky and long gone places.

    

Closer to home I have managed to get out on my mountain bike 3 times since returning from California in a desperate attempt to burn-off all the french toast, burgers, steaks, etc. My performance however has not returned to its pre-holiday status, and on some rides I am way off my personal best time.

California Dreamin'

Having spent the past 3 weeks in California, I must admit to being slightly shell-shocked on my return to the UK. My body clock is all over the place which, combined with the mini-heatwave we appear to be having, is causing me no end of sleeping problems. It's about 6:45 am here on Sunday morning, a time which I never knew existed, and I must have been awake since 4 am. I'm also trying to adjust my body's expectation with regards to being fed ... no more huge american breakfasts for a while, but somehow a bowl of Cornflakes is not the same.

I do love visiting the US, and San Francisco in particular which, along with Boston, are the only 2 places I have ever visited outside the UK where I could seriously consider moving to. For our first week we hired a mountain cottage in a place called Midpines near Mariposa. Temperatures reached 100 degrees most days, which meant that we had to get up early to do any form of serious walking in the Yosemite Valley. Our second week took us to a house about 10 miles from Santa Cruz, in a place called Aptos. The weather here was considerably cooler, with refreshing sea mists most mornings. Our final week was spent in San Francisco where we had an appartment in the Castro district. Needless to say I have 100's of photographs which I could share, 10's of descriptions of fantastic day trips, restaurants, etc., but for now I'll stick to the briefest of summaries and 3 of my favourite pictures, 1 from each of the 3 weeks.

 Half Dome, Yosemite, California

Santa Cruz beach

 Golden Gate Bridge, looking back across to San Francisco

I now have to face up to the reality that I return to work tomorrow. Although many of my team and colleagues have also been on leave, I am sure my email count will be in the hundreds. I also need to do some exercise and the Californian cuisine has taken its toll on my waistline.

Having said I won't go into any more detail about my trip, I will however relate the visit I paid to what I consider to be the world's best record shop Amoeba on the Haight in San Francisco. I visited it on a business trip several years ago and was a bit concerned that it may no longer be there, or may be a scaled down version, but I was not disappointed and it was still there in all its glory. I didn't have a great deal of time to browse but was very leased to pick up a copy of Dr Strangely Strange - Kips of the Serene which I'd been looking for for a while, plus a few CDs by the Charalambides.

    

More holiday tales, and various other musings in my Search for Space will follow.