An Urban Wander from Battersea to Chelsea

Following on from my Urban Wander from Vauxhall to Battersea this post focuses on the second part of the drift which took me from Battersea to Chelsea. As mentioned in the previous post, the weather made a significant improvement in the afternoon giving a much greater opportunity to take some decent pictures. 

The first picture was taken in Battersea Park, on the southern side of the Thames. I think I have been to Battersea Park just once before, and many, many years ago, so it was like a brand new adventure for me.

Street lamp in Battersea Park, London

We crossed back over the River Thames across one of my favourite bridges, the Albert Bridge, where I seem to have become slightly obsessed with street lamps.

Street lamp with Albert Bridge in background, Battersea, London

This next photo is the view looking west from the Albert Bridge. The two chimneys in the background are on the Lots Road Power Station which I covered in a recent Urban Wander around Imperial Wharf and have also become a recent, mild obsession, inspired by a book I picked up recently called London's Lost Power Stations and Gas Works. If you enjoy industrial architecture then I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Crossing the Albert Bridge, looking towards Lots Power Station

Once over the Thames it was street lamps once more that caught my eye, although the Battersea Power Station is starting to make an appearance in the background.

Street lamp, with Battersea Power Station in background

Street lamp on the Chelsea embankment, London

As we walked along the embankment, Battersea Power Station came into view in all its glory, and this picture is a double whammy with the gas holder in view as well, although the flappy bit of the phone cover struck again with a light darkening towards the top of the picture.

Battersea Power Station

Looking across the road instead of the river briefly we have the magnificent pumping station on the Chelsea Embankment.

Chelsea Embankment Pumping Station, London

Focusing back across the river, Battersea Power Station is once again in full dominance, this time with the Chelsea Bridge.

Battersea Power Station, London 

Battersea Power Station, London 

Battersea Power Station, London 

Another small diversion off on to a side street, Paradise Walk, revealed some fascinating mews-like streets and houses.

Paradise Walk, London SW3 

Paradise Walk, London SW3

And this was further demonstrated by finding an actual mews, Clover Mews.

Clover Mews, London SW3 

Clover Mews, London SW3

Overall this was a great day out and I really felt like I'd made the most of the weekend. I feel there's still a lot more exploring to do around Vauxhall, Stockwell and Battersea, but that will have to wait for another day.

    

An Urban Wander from Vauxhall to Battersea

My latest Urban Wander is split into two. The first chronicles my drift from Vauxhall to Battersea, the second part will cover Battersea to Chelsea. I've separated them for several reasons, firstly the weather experienced on the two different sections of the wander make them look like two separate explorations, secondly there are about 25 pictures in all and probably too much for a single post, and finally I'm running out of material to share as I've not been able to get out anywhere this week so far, although I'm hoping that will change tomorrow when it looks like we are finally due a break in the miserable weather we've been having.

So, after spending an hour or so in the Tate Britain, we headed across the Thames and into Vauxhall, one of the boroughs in London that I've not really explored much before. It was a really cold and windy day and we wandered around looking for somewhere to grab some warming food, when we came across Harleyford Road Community Garden, just off the main road and sheltered from the wind. A nice enough garden in itself, but was was more interesting was that there was an open doorway leading through the ground floor of what seemed like the ground floor of residential flats or houses, which lead through into Bonnington Square. It had a bit of a Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe feeling about it. Coming out into Bonnington Square was not quite Narnia, but impressive nevertheless.

Bonnington Square also had its own gardens with some interesting sculptures.

Bonnington Square Gardens, Vauxhall, London

My favourite was this hand, balanced on a pergola.

Sculpture in Bonnington Square Gardens, Vauxhall, London

After a brief walk around the gardens, we headed out along the Vauxhall Grove towards Battersea and eventually found somewhere to eat, a small vegetarian café called the Bonnington Café. They were closing in 10 minutes so we were lucky to get in, but I have to say the food was excellent. Just a shame we only had time to try the excellent soup. We will be back.

Old House in Vauxhall Grove, London 

From where I was sat in the café I could see what looked like a very feint ghost sign on the former Bonnington Square Bakery, but as sometimes happens, when I load a picture up from the phone onto the computer, the picture contrast seems to adjust itself and reveals the lettering better than it appeared in situ.

BAYS

FOR QUALITY

???

DAREN

BREAD

WEDDING & BIRTHDAY

???

Ghost sign in Vauxhall Grove, London

Leaving the quiet back streets of Vauxhall we headed on towards Battersea. Naturally I couldn't resist taking pictures of the power station, but the gasometer and gas tower were also both quite impressive, although a shame about the dreary sky (there's a much better sky in the second installment of this post).

Gasometer and gas tower, Battersea, London

 Gasometer and gas tower, Battersea, London

Gasometer and gas tower, Battersea, London 

Battersea Power Station, London 

Battersea Power Station, London 

 Battersea Power Station, London

    

An Urban Wander around Kings Cross

Regular readers may remember my first Urban Wander around Kings Cross back in the summer when the weather was simply glorious. Today's urban wander could not have been more different. There were moments of blue sky and sunshine, and I was fortunate enough to be able to get some pictures, but the wind was blowing ferociously.

First up here's an old sign for 

Robert Porter & Co Ltd

Some suggestions on the web that this may have been a brewery at one time.

Old sign in Crinian Street, Kings Cross London

Of all the disused London Underground stations I've seen, this is probably one of my favourites. Unfortunately the howling wind meant that the frayed edge of my iPhone cover kept flapping across the lens, so please excuse the blurry black towards the top of the picture.

 York Road disused London Underground station, Kings Cross

As anyone who's been anywhere near Kings Cross recently will know, the whole area is undergoing a massive redevelopment. The next few pictures all show various aspects of this.

 Redevelopment at Kings Cross, London looking south from Stable Street

This next picture shows some before and after. On the left we have the about to be renovated buildings, and on the right is the former grain store, now occupied by the College of Arts and Design.

 Renovation in progress, Stable Street, Kings Cross, London

Massively disappointed by the over exposure on this picture. There's actually a ghost sign on the building which reads

COAL OFFICE

but alas this does not show very well at all in the picture.

 Old Coal Office, Kings Cross, London

Leaving the main hub of the redevelopment, my wander took me along the canal towards Camden, which presented some good photo opportunities along the way.

 Looking south towards the Kings Cross redevelopment

As my drift continued I came across one of my latest, mild obsessions, a gas tower.

 Gas tower on the Regent's Canal

Continuing along the Regent's Canal is the St. Pancras basin, just before the canal flows under the main line out of St. Pancras station, carrying trains to the continent.

 St. Pancras Basin, London

 Walking beneath the train line out of St. Pancras

I featured this water tower more prominently on my previous wander around Kings Cross, from much closer up, but I though this view of it across the canal was worth sharing.

 Old water tower, Kings Cross, London

    

Another Urban Wander around Hammersmith

Despite the gloomy weather today, I was determined to get out of the office for some air, and a quick wander around. I'm running out of new places to explore within easy walking distance of the office but did manage to fund somewhere new today, although parts of the wander crossed previous drifts.

The first photo is of a ghost sign for  

PRINCESS CHRISTIAN HAMMERSMITH DAY NURSERY

I must have walked past this before but had never noticed it before. Maybe it's been recently uncovered?

Ghost sign, Hammersmith, London W6

The next few photos are all of the arches beneath the Hammersmith and City underground line on the stretch between Goldhawk Road and Hammersmith tube stations. Presumably when first built, these arches were left open, but now the majority of them seem to be occupied by various trades.

Arches beneath the Hammersmith and City Line, London W6

Arches beneath the Hammersmith and City Line, London W6

Arches beneath the Hammersmith and City Line, London W6

Arches beneath the Hammersmith and City Line, London W6

As my wander drew to a close I cam across two mews that were new to me. Again unfortunately the poor weather does not show these mews in their best light.

Grove Mews, Hammersmith, London W6

Grove Mews, Hammersmith, London W6

Astrop Mews, Hammersmith, London W6

Astrop Mews, Hammersmith, London W6

Stay tuned for more urban wandering, with hopefully some brighter weather.

Three short Urban Wanders around Kensington and Hammersmith

Hot on the heels of my first Urban Wander of 2014 around Imperial Wharf this write-up combines three shorter, separate wanders around the Kensington and Hammersmith areas.

My first wander was around Kensington Olympia. This is an area I have wandered around many times, sometimes for the sole purpose of looking around, other times simply passing through en route to another place. However, it's one of those places that always seems to offer something new. The first few photos are of a mews just to the north of Kensington Olympia station.

Russell Gardens Mews, London W14

Russell Gardens Mews, London W14

Russell Gardens Mews, London W14

I've always liked the architecture of Olympia, and this view from the bridge over the railway lines at the station has to be one of the best. It's a bit of a shame about the advertising hoardings in the foreground but little I could do about that.

Kensington Olympia, London W14

The final photo from this part of the wander is of a disused platform at Kensington Olympia station. The station now only has one track running through the centre of the two main, platformed tracks, whereas I assume in the past that there were two tracks which ran between the platformed tracks. What seems to have happened is that the southbound platform has moved in towards the centre by a line, leaving what was the original southbound platform in a state of abandonment. Also, although unfortunately not part of this photo set, there is the old motorail terminal on the other side of the station which has now been converted into a car park.

Disused platform at Kensington Olympia station

Part two of my wander was along the river, early(ish) in the moning. I've been fascinated by this building for a while but only today did I manage to get a half-decent opportunity to photograph it. The building is the former Harrods Furniture Depository building which was used to store items that were too big for the Knightsbridge shop. Today it has been converted into residential use. The sign is still visible, so I'm counting this as a ghost sign as well.

Harrods Furniture Depository

 My third and final venture was another short lunchtime wander. Once again I found myself walking along some very familiar streets, but once again I stumbled across a small road that I'd not noticed before. The weather was near perfect and I was particularly pleased with the way the street lamp came out in the first photo.

Pembroke Walk, Kensington, London W8

Pembroke Walk, Kensington, London W8

Pembroke Walk, Kensington, London W8

    

Urban Wandering around Imperial Wharf, London

Well, firstly a belated Happy New Year to readers of this blog. When I started this post I was surprised to see that I had not posted since the middle of December, so already almost a month ago. I have actually been doing a reasonable amount of Urban Wandering this year but not really found the opportunity to post about any of it yet. My favourite wander of the year so far was to Imperial Wharf, near the Chelsea Docks.

I arrived at Imperial Wharf by London Overground, travelling just two stops from Kensington Olympia which is within walking distance of my office, so just about enough time to squeeze in at lunchtime. As I left the station the first sight which greeted me was this fantastic, old power station which used to provide the electricity for the London Underground. It's now a listed building and is earmarked for redevelopment.

Lots Road Power Station, Imperial Wharf, London

The planned redevelopment will create shops, restaurants and residential apartments, including two tower blocks on this piece of wasteland. A shame really as the whole area seems already full of new buildings and very little of its original architecture is remaining. Fortunately there are publications such as London's Lost Power Stations and Gas Works which show the site as it was in the industrial heyday and map its decline.

Wasteland near Lots Road Power Station, Imperial Wharf, London

Wasteland near Lots Road Power Station, Imperial Wharf, London

As I skirted around the perimeter of the power station, its size and elegance became more impressive.

Lots Road Power Station, Imperial Wharf, London

This side of the power station is curious in that whatever was attached to it just seems to have been hacked away.

Lots Road Power Station, Imperial Wharf, London

Continuing further down Lots Road past the power station was another fantastic building, the Thames Water Pumping Station.

Thames Water Pumping Station, Lots Road, London

Finally on this Urban Wander I found myself in front of this impressive gas holder at the former Imperial Gas Works.

Imperial Gas Works, Imperial Wharf, London

    

Thanks for reading my first post of 2014and check back regularly for more tales of Urban Wandering and other Psychogeography related musings.