The Hollington loop

One of our favourite walks we can do from home is something we call the Hollington loop which leaves Woolton Hill and takes us up through Highclere (now famous because of Downton Abbey), through some wonderful copses and on to Hollington Lane before heading back towards Woolton Hill. It takes about an hour and a quarter depending on how sticky the mud is underfoot. My favourite part of the walk is pictured below. This is an open area somewhere between Ireland's Copse and Long Copse. I've often seen deer in this area but I think today we were a bit too noisy, making the most of a child free atmosphere to catch up on various things.

So, this was a great start to the day. Unfortunately things went a bit downhill after that with my son's football team being totally out played this afternoon, but hopefully a learning experience. Back home now though and looking forward to a nice hot bath followed by beef casserole, and maybe a glass or two of red.

Only 15 working days left until the Christmas break for me, and to be honest it can't come soon enough. Not because I particularly look forward to Christmas as such, but more because I need a decent break from work which has been manic, often pointlessly so, over the past few months. My vintage postcard advent calendar is up again this year - take a look and see what's behind each window throughout December.

Thanks to BBC radio 6, 6music, I have "discovered" a band called Public Service Broadcasting and have just downloaded as many of their tracks as I could find. Basically they take 1940's/1950's audio recordings and set them to a soundtrack ... can't recommend them enough !!

    

Urban Wandering: Oldbury Place, London W1

Despite the train chaos in and out of Paddington today, caused by flooding and landslides in Somerset and Devon, I managed to escape for an hour at lunchtime to make the most of the beautifully crisp, clear day. I tramped my way through some pretty familiar territory around Marylebone High Street but stumbled across a small street I must have walked past many times but never explored, Oldbury Place. I particularly liked the curve of the street as it opened up to reveal a broader area, not quite a square though. Unfortunately the area was full of parked cars so no pictures of that I'm afraid.

Oldbury Place, London W1

I also liked the contrast of the orange (perhaps rusty?) roof girders against the blue sky that greeted me as I made my way down the street and looked right just before it curved away.

Oldbury Place, London W1

 Oldbury Place, London W1

 

    

Autumn leaves

After delivering one of my kids to a football match last weekend on the outskirts of Reading, between Sulham and Tilehurst, I managed a short walk before kick-off. The ground was wet underfoot, and impassable in places, so I had to be careful where I trod. I'd never been to this area before so it was quite a pleasant surprise. The only downside was that the M4 motorway could be heard despite being a mile away.

 Autumn, near Reading

Autumn, near Reading

Autumn, near Reading

Urban Wandering: London mews, W11

Given that Wednesday was foggy pretty much right up until lunch time, I wasn't too optimistic that if I did manage to get out at all, then there would be only overcast photo opportunities. However, as I was leaving the office the fog lifted a bit and I managed to enjoy at least some of my lunchtime stroll in the sunshine.

Having wandered down the Labroke Grove the night before for dinner, I passed some interesting looking mews and other small roads which I made a note of to visit the next day. The majority of these I had not seen before, and as always was more than pleased to discover some new, hidden, London treasures.

Looking out from Boyne Terrace Mews, London W11

 Looking out from Boyne Terrace Mews, London W11

The mews below, Horbury Mews was probably my favourite find of the day. What I particularly liked about this mews was the "T" shape, which you can't really see in the pictures, but at the end of the mews, just below the plaque, it opened out slightly. The second picture below shows the right hand side.

 Horbury Mews, London W11

 Horbury Mews, London W11

This road is actually a walk as opposed to a mews but nevertheless another beauty, and from the tranquil scene and cobbled streets, it's hard to imagine that it runs parallel to the busy Holland Park Avenue .

Ladbroke Walk, London W11

Ladbroke Walk, London W11

Ladbroke Walk, London W11

 

These next 2 photos are of a completely new place to me. The area had quite a village-like feel to it, abd a bit of post visit research showed that it has quite a history. There is still for example a kiln on or near to Pottery Lane, but I didn't see that during my walk.

Penzance Place, London W11

Pottery Lane, London W11

The final picture is of Pembridge Mews. Unfortunately there was scaffolding and workers' vans along this mews, so the only picture I managed to get was this one, but I've made a note to return again.

Pembridge Mews, London W11

I realise now that this blog has become almost exclusively dedicated to my London lunchtime strolls, and has not seen me talk about my bike rides, music listening or reading habits much of late. So, to address that, I managed to get out on my bike today for the first time in over a month. The 19 miles felt like hard going but it was good to be out again. Musically I've been listening to Porcupine Tree and Killing Joke.

Is it Christmas already?

A truly frustrating and bewildering week at work last week. By the time I finished work on the Wednesday I had pretty much given up hope of doing anything meaningful after work, but decided I needed a walk to calm me down and revive my senses. It was a pretty cold night but as I was walking I found myself drawn to the bright lights beaming from the grounds of the Natural History museum in South Kensington. Initially I just thought it was the Christmas lights in the trees that were lighting up the night sky, but on closer inspection I found this to be an ice rink. Personally I don't like ice skating at all and find it a bit boring, but that's probably because I've only ever done it in a sterile indoors environment, whereas even I was impressed by this sight.

Ice rink at Natural History Museum, London

The following day I managed to escape the madness and get out for half an hour at lunchtime, making the most of the sunny weather, and managed to discover a new mews, Albion Mews, London W2. I think I caught this particular mews at one of the best times of year, with some foliage, but not too much to obscure the views, and some wonder autumn colours.

Looking into Albion Mews, London W2

Looking back out from Albion Mews, London W2

Looking back out from Albion Mews, London W2

Looking back out from Albion Mews, London W2

As with many London mews, this could really be anywhere and hard to believe it's not far from the Bayswater Road. Of the four pictures of the mews, my favourite has to be the last one with the blue house and the bike.

Autumn

A strange few days and weeks since my last post. I've been to India with work, managed a few, on-road bike rides, completed a couple of autumn walks, and been out both nights on two consecutive weekends ... so the latter may not sound like much, but it's reminding me of how old I am feeling. But let's stick with the positive things, and celebrate Autumn.On Saturday we visited a National Trust property and grounds called The Vyne hust to the north of Basingstoke, Hampshire. Despite being ,e,bers of the National Trust and despite the property being about 30 minutes from where we live, this was the first time we'd ever visited. As we approached the entrance we were "greeted" by 3 deer running across thr road in front of us. After parking up, we chose the brown walk which took us about 2.5 miles through the woods.

Autumn walk through The Vyne, near Basingstoke, Hampshire

 Knarled tree, the Vyne

On Sunday we headed out towards Calne, which is in Wiltshire between Marlborough and Chippenham. It's a place we have driven through on several occasions but we'd never managed to stop there. A strange town, although perhaps no more strange than many towns, in that it had a striking contrast between the old village green, the old castle, the disused canal and railway, and the modern supermarkets with their enormous car parks. We wandered around the old streets and bridleways, looking (in vein) for signs of the old railway station, but we did find traces of where the old railway went on it's way from Calne to Chippenham.

Autumn walk, just outside Calne, Wiltshire

    

In other news, I wnet CD shopping after work last week and picked up a veritable bevvy of new (well old) and exciting music. A 49 track double CD compilation by The Seeds is high on the playlist at the moment. I also picked up the first two Human League albums, Reproduction and Travelogue before Martyn Ware and Ian Craig left to form Heaven 17. Some great tracks on these two, and in my opinion far better than anything they did when they became famous.

Waterways in the Test Valley, and Little Venice

Unfortunately this week has been a bit of a work related blur, with very little time to myself. I did manage to get out and about last weekend, on the day where it wasn't wet and windy, and completed a 41 mile bike ride loop down to Barton Stacey and back, exploring some villages, quite country roads and tracks that I'd not encountered before. When I left the house it was sunny but just a little chilly, but as the morning crept on, the weather became near perfect for cycling. I stuck mainly to quiet roads, with a few excursions off road, stopping every now and then to take in the scenery and soak up the ambience. The ride took me across several rivers where anglers were fishing for trout.

Somewhere in the Test Valley

Sunday was a complete wash out, and apart from wathcing the eldest son play football, and lose miserably, I cannot remember what else I did. As I mentioned earlier this week at work has been manic, and although I had hoped to go out in search of space last night in London, the rain and an invitation to some leaving drinks changed my plans. My only escape was at lunchtime today when I managed a half-hour walk around Little Venice before it started raining again. This first picture below is a curious little street called Bristol Gardens. It's on a slight hill, as can be seen by the slow but sure, continued elevation of the shop fronts. All the shops are in a similar style and immaculatly presented.

 Bristol Gardens, London W2

The second picture is of a couple of barges in the Paddington Basin, just off the main stretch of the Grand Union canal. I walk this way fairly often, but today was struck by these particulary barges. Just a shame that the Westway flyover spoils the view and the ambience.

Grand Union Canal, Paddington Basin, London W2

    

Not sure what this weekend has in store for me, other than a trip to Winchcombe tomorrow and another hour or so on the football touchline on Sunday afternoon. If I'm lucky and the weather holds, I'll try and get out on the bike on Sunday morning.