Crystal Palace Park to Dulwich Wood: The Natural Wonders of South-East London

January 6, 2019 London Wlogger6 Comments

A warm Wlogger welcome to you and thanks for joining me on my next walking adventure of the capital! My expedition today will see me explore South-East London as I begin at Crystal Palace Park and explore its stadium, lakes, green areas… and dinosaurs! I’ll then take a detour to Sydenham Wells Park go through Sydenham Hill Wood and to Dulwich Wood. I’ll end my journey at Dulwich & Sydenham Golf Club, which might seem like an odd place to end a walk… but all will be revealed later on! So let’s discover some of the lesser-known natural sights of London!

Screen Shot 2019-01-05 at 12.03.08.png — Crystal Palace Park to Dulwich Wood:

Located in South-East London, Crystal Palace Park is a Victorian pleasure ground used for cultural and sporting events.

The park was built by Sir Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace Company between 1852 and 1854. It was created as the magnificent setting for the relocated and enlarged Crystal Palace structure, which had been designed for the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park.

The breathtaking Crystal Palace (Source: Crystal Palace Museum)

The area was designed to impress, educate, entertain and inspire, eventually becoming an international attraction with its educational themes for the park covering discovery and invention. The Crystal Palace was a large glass and iron structure that was situated on the Sydenham Ridge and provided stunning views across London with the palace viewable from many location across the city. One of the main aims of the park and palaces creation was to display Victorian grandeur and innovation, and was financed when people paid to visit it.

After the park was officially opened on the 10th June 1854 by Queen Victoria, a number of displays, events and sporting activities were introduced as a way to increase visitor numbers. To coincide with the 1911 Festival of the Empire, the park was transformed with a railway being installed and buildings to represent the Empire which would remain there up until the 1940s.

However, on the 30th November 1936 The Crystal Palace was destroyed in a fire, after musicians waiting to play a concert noticed smoke coming from the floorboards, which reportedly began in the women’s cloakroom and spread to the central transept. The fire quickly spread through the dry wooden boards and the nature of The Crystal Palace – a huge open space with no fire breaks – meant that within a short time the fire was wildly out of control. The flames rose to 800 feet in the air with London sending 61 pumps and 381 firefighters to help tackle the fire. The cause of the fire was never discovered, but theories have included old and faulty wiring as well as a discarded cigarette falling between the floorboards.

It would’ve been amazing to have seen The Crystal Palace in all its stunning glory, as it looked simply magnificent. You can imagine had it been around today, it would’ve attracted the same number of tourists that landmarks such as The London Eye, The Shard, Buckingham Palace and more do. Something our Instagram feeds would be full of!

The destroyed Crystal Palace (Source: London Fire Brigade)

After the fire the park began a period of decline. There were plans talked about to recreate the palace, although these never materialised. During the Second World War the park became a place for military vehicle dismantling and later a site for bomb damage rubble.

When you enter Crystal Palace Park, one of the first sights you see is its renowned and spectacular National Sports Centre. Opened in 1964, the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre was designed by the LCC Architects Department under Sir Leslie Martin between 1953-1954 and is a Grade II listed building. Over the years the stadium has hosted football, cricket, rugby, basketball, American Football, and even Motor Racing. The main sport to be hosted there today is athletics with a capacity of 15,500, and 24,000 with temporary seating.

The site of the athletics stadium is on the same land as a football ground which hosted the FA Cup Final from 1895 to 1914. The owners of the ground wanted their own football club to play at their own venue, so this lead to the formation of Crystal Palace F.C. The South Londoners were forced to leave the stadium in 1915 by the military, and as a result played at the ground they play at today, Selhurst Park. The largest attendance for a domestic match there was between Aston Villa and Sunderland in the 1913 FA Cup Final, when 121,919 spectators went there.

A short walk down a hill from the National Sports Centre, you come to the picturesque lake area with beautiful trees and plants.

Crystal Palace Park near the Lakes and Ponds

One of the most iconic features of the park are the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs which are a collection of over 30 statues created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1807-1894) around 1854. The array of statues also includes the first ever attempt anywhere in the world to model dinosaurs as full-scale, three-dimensional active creatures.

The set also includes models of other prehistoric creatures, including plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs discovered by Mary Anning in Lyme Regis, and a South American Megatherium brought back to Britain by Charles Darwin on his voyage on HMS Beagle.

Known as the Dinosaur Court, the models represent 15 genera of extinct animals, not all dinosaurs. They are from a wide range of geological ages, and include dinosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and plesiosaurs mainly from the Mesozoic era, and some mammals from the more recent Cenozoic era.

The dinosaurs have been listed on the Historic Heritage List of England as Grade 1 monuments which is one of the highest and most important ratings. Many of the dinosaurs you see when you visit the National History Museum, the Oxford Museum of Natural History and other history museums in the UK are based on these specimens.

This was the first time I’d ever been to Crystal Palace Park and thus seen the dinosaurs, and they are incredible statues, and so critical to both the park’s identity as well as what they demonstrate for the world of natural history and science. One thing I’ve also thought is that it was very random having these in a London park, but knowing the story behind them makes sense!

Surrounded by the dinosaurs and as you weave your way around the park, there are some really lovely trees and woods, as well as a lake. Like with many of the parks I’ve explored across London, this one is full of splendour and tranquility.

I’ll now take a walk outside the lake area and walk across the park where once again you stroll through all the prettiness of the park which illustrates what a vast area of marvellous sights it is.

A distinctive part of the park you always see no matter where you stand and which can be seen from many vantage points in the capital is The Crystal Palace Transmitter tower which is a broadcasting and telecommunications station that serves Greater London and the Home Counties. Built in 1956, it’s the 5th tallest structure in London standing at 219 metres (719 ft). In terms of coverage it’s the most important transmitting station in the country, with nearly 12 million people receiving output from it.

I’ll now leave the park and head to my next destination today, Sydenham Wells Park! This cute little green area is named after the medicinal springs which were found in Sydenham in the 17th Century, when Sydenham was still in Kent. In 1901 the park was opened to the public and is one of nine parks in the borough to have a Green flag award, which is the benchmark national standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the UK.

The park is right near many houses and you do get that community feel that this park is at the centre point of the area which is popular with families and people looking for a place to relax with their thoughts.

My journey will now take me from Sydenham Wells Park onto both Sydenham Hill Wood and Dulwich Wood, which are located right next to one another. Together they are the largest part of the old Great North Wood, which was an ancient landscape of woodland and wooded commons which once covered the high ground between Deptford and Selhurst

With both of the woods adjacent to one another, I first visited Sydenham Hill Wood which is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. In 1732 an oak-lined formal avenue, known as the Cox’s Walk, which leads from the junction of Dulwich Common and Lordship Lane was formed by Francis Cox. It connected his Green Man Tavern and Dulwich Wells with Sydenham Wells Park.

The old Nunhead to Crystal Palace railway once passed through the wood and you can tell where part of the line used to be, especially the footbridge which goes over the woods and used to have the tracks underneath it.

The Old Train Line Would’ve Passed Under the Footbridge

The woodland is home to more than 200 species of trees and plants, as well as rare fungi, butterflies, scarce bees, woodpeckers, wasps, stag beetles, other insects, hedgehogs, birds and woodland mammals.

Walking through the woodlands reminds me a lot of my walk through Highgate Wood as you feel like you’re nowhere near London’s hustle and bustle. It’s a very magical place to explore as with every corner of the woods you find something new which amazes and pleasantly surprises you, whether it’s a pretty species of tree, or a cute stairway, there’s an abundance of beauty.

Right next to Sydenham Hill Wood is Dulwich Wood, which is privately owned by the Dulwich Estate. Back in the Middle Ages, the Manor of Dulwich belonged to Bermondsey Abbey having been given to the Abbey in 1127 by King Henry I. The Dulwich Estate was surveyed in 1542 after Henry VII dissolved the monasteries. The wealthy Edward Alleyn in 1605 bought the Manor of Dulwich from the Calton family who had owned it since the dissolving of the monasteries.

Weaving your way between the trees and plants adds quite a bit of mystery when you walk through the woods, which is quite small, though there are many different pathways you could take, each taking you to a different woodland wonder.

Once you come out of Dulwich Wood, you’re able to get a glimpse of the London skyline, but to truly appreciate and see it, you need to take a stroll to the neighbouring Dulwich & Sydenham Hill Golf Club. A walk to the top of the balcony of the clubhouse provides a breathtaking panoramic view of London!

From across the golf course you get to see all the well-known and iconic London skyline landmarks including The Shard, The London Eye, Canary Wharf, The Walkie Talkie, The Gherkin, St Paul’s and more. One amazing aspect of my walks is that I’ve seen this exact same view of the London skyline from so many different perspectives, from Stave Hill, to Alexander Palace, to Hampstead Heath, and it’s always awe-inspiring and glorious. It really is a fitting and perfect place to end my walking adventure today!

View from Dulwich & Sydenham Hill Golf Club

Zoomed-in View from Dulwich & Sydenham Hill Golf Club

Well that’s all from me on my walking adventure which has seen me discover some of the natural gems of South-East London from Crystal Palace Park, to Sydenham Wells Park and Sydenham Hill Wood, to Dulwich Wood, with the stunning London skyline view to finish with!

Thanks for joining me and in the meantime you can follow all my walks on Twitter and Instagram, and don’t forget to sign up to my blog too so you don’t miss a post! Also why not have a read of my other walks which explore all over London, from north to south, to west to east via central, there’s something there for you! 🙂 Here are the links to them all below for you!

Victoria to Green Park

Marble Arch to Mayfair

The Shard to Monument

King’s Cross to Hampstead Heath

Leadenhall Market to Old Spitalfields Market

Waterloo to The London Eye

St Paul’s Cathedral to Moorgate

Mile End Park to London Fields

Hyde Park Corner to Italian Gardens

Little Venice to Abbey Road

Regent’s Park to Soho Square

Clapham Common to The Albert Bridge

Grosvenor Gardens to Knightsbridge

Holland Park to Meanwhile Gardens

Hackney Downs to Springfield Park

Tower Bridge to Stave Hill

Shoreditch to Islington Green

Highgate to Finsbury Park

Ravenscourt Park to Wormwood Scrubs

Covent Garden to Southwark Bridge

Putney Bridge to Barnes Common

Westminster Abbey to Vauxhall Bridge

Sources: (not the food sauces)

Information about Crystal Palace Park: Crystal Palace Park

Information about The Crystal Palace: The Crystal Palace Museum

Information about the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs: Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Information about The Crystal Palace Transmitter Tower: The Big Tower

Information about Sydenham Wells Park: Lewisham.Gov

Information about Sydenham Hill Wood and Dulwich Wood: Wild London

Putney Bridge to Barnes Green: Meandering along the River Thames

December 9, 2018 London Wlogger20 Comments

A very good day to you all and thanks for joining me on my next walk across the capital! Today’s expedition sees me begin at the picturesque Putney Bridge before walking through Bishop’s Park and then to the home of Fulham Football Club, Craven Cottage. I’ll then take a stroll along the Thames past Hammersmith Bridge, through Chiswick, over Barnes Bridge and to Barnes Common with my journey ending at Barnes Green! Time to grab those walking boots and start the adventures!

Screen Shot 2018-12-06 at 13.33.27.png — Putney Bridge to Barnes Green

My walk starts in West London at Putney Bridge which is the second bridge on the site. The first was opened in 1729 which at time was known as Fulham Bridge. The bridges development came as a result of both demand from the public and then Prime Minister Robert Walpole for a bridge to cross over the Thames.

Previously, the only way to go from one side of the bank to the other was by a ferry crossing. The deciding factor for Walpole was when he had to attend a debate at the House of Commons but found that the ferry was unattended on the opposite side of the river, with the ferryman in the nearby pub drinking! Despite trying to get the ferryman’s attention, Walpole was unsuccessful and had to get to Parliament the longer way round. This prompted the decision to build the first bridge in Putney.

The bridge was made out of wood with 26 arches to connect Putney and Fulham, and it was the first bridge to be built over the Thames since London Bridge. The original bridge was also once a toll bridge which in its first few years netted £1,500 per year in tolls, which in today’s money would be £130,000. In 1877 when all the bridges in London were taken into public ownership, the toll was removed. This was also prompted after it was purchased by The Metropolitan Board of Works in 1879.

The second bridge and the stone one we see today was designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette and completed in 1886. The bridge is 700 ft long and 43 ft wide, with it being opened by King Edward VII and the Princess of Wales on the 29th May 1886.

View from Putney Bridge of the Tube Bridge

Putney Bridge has the distinction of being the only bridge in Britain with churches on either side of it. On the north bank is All Saints’ Church with St Mary’s Church on the south bank.

The bridge has been quoted many times as the starting point for The Boat Race between Oxford University and Cambridge University since 1845 when the course was revised. However, the actual starting point is a little further upstream!

I have to say Putney Bridge is one of my favourite bridges in London as the design of it is so elegant and grand, perhaps because of the stone it’s made out of makes it look more picturesque than the other bridges over the Thames. I also really enjoy the view you get from either side with the tubes going over the river on one side, something not normally accustomed to London as you always relate the London Underground with being… underground! Whilst on the other side the trees along the embankment and beautiful clear, crisp water that flows into the distance.

View from Putney Bridge of Bishop’s Park

I’ll now leave Putney Bridge and make my way to the neighbouring Bishop’s Park which sits right next to the bridge. Opened in 1893 by the chairman of the London County Council Sir John Hutton, the Grade II listed park was formerly owned by the Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England as Lords of the Manor of Fulham. This had been given to the Fulham District Board of Works on condition that it be laid out and maintained for public recreation.

The meadows had been protected from flooding as a result of the creation of an embankment by the river which was built between 1889 and 1893 by Joseph Mears, who was the father of Joseph Mears and Gus Mears, the founders of Chelsea Football Club.

I do really love the walk along the Thames near the embankment, it’s so pretty with so much character with the river, path, trees and open fields all on display when you walk through it. Also as I mentioned in my last walk of Covent Garden to Southwark Bridge, I do enjoy branches hanging over the wall with the water in sight!

The Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England sold off the house and gardens in 1894, with the house being demolished in 1897. The gardens were preserved and opened as an extension to Bishop’s Park in 1900 as a result of the extension of the river walk.

The park today has a vast area of playground facilities and a beautiful pond with perhaps the cutest and colourful small footbridge you’ll see! (You’ll notice the difference in the leaves for the pond photo, as on the day I did the walk this area was closed off, the photo here was one I took back in April!)

Screen Shot 2018-12-07 at 19.42.16.png — Bishop’s Park

Just outside Bishop’s Park you find my next stop on my walk, Craven Cottage football ground! The stadium has been the home of Fulham Football Club since 1896 with a capacity of 25,700. Before it was the residence of Fulham FC, there was a cottage built on the site in 1780 by William Craven, the sixth Baron Craven. Before this the surrounding areas were woods which made up part of Anne Boleyn’s hunting grounds.

The writer of The Last Days of Pompeii, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, lived in the cottage until it was destroyed by a fire in May 1888. Some other rumoured former tenants at the cottage included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jeremy Bentham, Florence Nightingale and even Queen Victoria, although there is not much evidence of this!

The area was abandoned following a fire before it became the home of Fulham FC who had had eight previous grounds. The old cottage is still present in the stadium today at the corner of the pitch.

After a walk down a small alley by the stadium, I rejoin the sublime riverside walk along the Thames which will lead me to Hammersmith Bridge! This is one of the most satisfying and relaxing walks by the Thames given that it’s so quiet with natural beauty of the trees on the other side of the bank.

Just before you reach Hammersmith Bridge you pass by the Harrods Furniture Depository which was built on an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for larger items which couldn’t be stored in the world-famous Harrods department store in Knightsbridge. The current building that I walked past dates back to 1914 and was built by architect W.G.Hunt.

The building which has Grade II listed status is no longer owned by Harrods but has retained many of its original features. In 2000 it was converted into a residential estate with 250 townhouses and penthouses known as Harrods Village. Looking out on the Thames and Hammersmith Bridge isn’t a bad view!

Right next to the Harrods Furniture Depository, I come across another one of the capital’s stunning bridges, Hammersmith Bridge! Like with many of London bridges, the structure we see today isn’t the original one. Designed by William Tierney Clark the first Hammersmith Bridge opened in 1827 and was the first suspension bridge over the Thames. By the 1870s the bridge was no longer strong enough to support the weight of the heavy traffic and in 1884 a temporary bridge was put up to allow more limited cross-river traffic while a replacement was constructed.

The current Hammersmith Bridge was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette with it being opened by the Prince of Wales in 1887. At 700 feet long and 43 feet wide, it cost £82,117 to build with it being built by Dixon, Appleby & Thorne. The bridge has not been without its structural problems and has been closed on numerous occasions as a result of the weight and volume of traffic across it, something that wasn’t anticipated when it was built given that it’s not within central London.

This has led to serve weight restrictions on the bridge with only one bus in each direction permitted on the bridge at any one time. Consequently, as a result of this problem, there have been substantial improvements to it in 1998, 2000, 2016 and 2017.

One of the unique aspects of Hammersmith Bridge is that it is the lowest bridge in London with a water clearance of just 12 feet at high tide, which makes it prone to flooding. The bridge was originally painted green before changing its colours to pale pink, however, in 2000 it reverted back to its original green colour, something I think makes it so distinct!

On the ends of the bridge, there are seven coats of arms including the Royal Arms of the UK in the centre, the coat of arms of the City of London; Kent; Guildford; the original coat of arms of the City of Westminster, the coat of arms of Colchester, and Middlesex.

There aren’t too many suspension bridges in London over the Thames as many of them are built with stone, so this makes Hammersmith Bridge much more special than the others, as it has a real grandness and presence about it. It’s not just the colour I love, but how historical and powerful the pillars are on it. It also looks much longer than all the other bridges in London which again adds to its uniqueness and awe-inspiring nature. The view across the water and onto the banks adds to the wonderful splendour of the bridge as you see the river meander its way around.

A short walk from Hammersmith Bridge takes me to Furnival Gardens which had an active fishing trade until 200 years ago with the creek eventually being filled in in 1936. The parks name derives from scholar Dr Frederick James Furnivall, who founded what is now the Furnivall Sculling Club in 1896.

Just by the gardens my walk takes me past many small alleyways through Chiswick with the Thames on my left and houses on my right, and a pathway in between. It really is a journey that keeps on giving and provides me with so many reasons why I love London so much and also why every area is so different.

One of the amazing aspects of London are its hidden gems which includes its cute little houses, and there are many of these to see on my walk as I go through Chiswick. Each and everyone I’d love to live in, as they all look like they’re from a fairytale!

There aren’t just the small cute cottages on my journey, but the real grand estates which have perhaps the quirkiest and coolest front gardens ever which overlook the Thames, with the road in between them and the house.

Opposite some of the rows of houses you can walk out on the river when the tides out and get a better view across the water giving you a different perspective of it, and it’s eerily quiet with only the sound of trickling water due to the quiet residential area.

At the end of the houses a walk along the Thames will take me onto my next destination, Dukes Meadows.

Chiswick River Walk

Located in Chiswick, the delightful Dukes Meadows was purchased from the Duke of Devonshire in 1923. A seaside-type promenade and the bandstands were opened by Prince Albert, Duke of York in 1926. In 1998 a group of local people formed the Dukes Meadows Trust which has the aim to protect the park. When you enter the park there are two ceramic markers which were installed in 2002.

I absolutely love this walk through the park past the open spaces, trees, bandstands and besides the Thames as it’s a woodland of natural mysteries and like many of my walks you don’t realise you’re still within London. When we think of the Thames Path and walking along it, we might normally think of Embankment or the Southbank but there are so many more marvellous walks and sights to enjoy when you continue to take a stroll out of Central London to explore its outskirts.

At the end of this part of Dukes Meadows my walking route takes me to Barnes and the eye-catching Barnes Bridge. Followed by Hammersmith Bridge and preceded by Chiswick Bridge, Barnes Bridge is a Grade II listed structure which opened in 1895.

The original bridge on this location was constructed in 1849 with a design created by civil engineer Joseph Locke, whose bridge had two pairs of cast iron arch spins, considerably similar to Richmond Bridge which was also designed by Locke. In the same year the bridge was opened to the railways. However, during the latter stages of the 19th Century concerns were raised over the suitability of cast iron bridges following the collapse of one, and this prompted the construction of the new Barnes Bridge. The new bridge was designed by Edward Andrews and constructed by Head Wrightson on behalf of the London & South Western Railway, opening in 1895.

An aspect that makes Barnes Bridge unique is that it’s only one of three bridges in London which combines pedestrian and rail use, with the others being Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridges and Fulham Railway Bridge. It’s actually quite a surreal experience walking alongside the railway as normally in London we’re used to walking next to the cars so it has an odd feel about it. Once you get to the end of the pathway on the bridge you’ll find Barnes Bridge Station which has connections to Hounslow and London Waterloo.

Like with all the views from London’s bridges, this one doesn’t disappoint and with the houses next to the river it really does have the feel of a seaside town, and you’d expect to see some coloured changing huts or deck chairs! I have mixed feelings on the design of Barnes Bridge as it’s not the most pretty of London’s bridges, but it does have a lot of character and I love the fact it is one of a few that has a railway you can walk next to!

My walk today will leave Barnes Bridge Railway station and take me to Barnes Common, and whilst I take a stroll there I passed more sweet little cottages, with the most vibrant colours.

I also passed this old building which I would’ve thought used to be a pub, which is now a residential house!

Before I get to Barnes Common I walk through this little secret path which has water flowing underneath it.

Walking along it I come to a really picturesque community park called Vine Road Recreation Ground which highlights all the colours of the season and somewhere to take a moment to relax whilst you watch the world go by.

Just out of Vine Road Recreation Ground and on the edge of Barnes Common you come across something I’ve not seen much, a double level crossing with two sets of barriers! It might not be the most exciting of sights, but I thought it was quite cool and unique, once again something new on my walks of London!

At 49.55 hectares (122.4 acres), Barnes Common is one of the largest protected common lands in London and is made up of nationally scarce lowland acid grassland, meadows, secondary woodland, reed-beds, and rough grassland with heath. The area is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Nature Conservation Interest, and managed by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames with assistance from the Friends of Barnes Common.

The entire area is so magical and enchanting as you weave your way between the trees and along the small pathways onto the open green spaces. We really are truly lucky to have such a beautiful area within our capital and it’s quite the contrast to the touristy areas that people associate London with. It’s commons and woods like these which are one of the main reasons I love exploring and discovering new parts of London as there are many people who would’ve never been to areas like this when they’ve been to the capital. That’s why it gives me wonderful satisfaction in taking these photos and showing you all stunning sights like these!

My final stop on my walk is Barnes Green which is right next to Barnes Common, and to get there you go over this lovely little bridge over a river, which is a personal favourite of mine when I explore a park.

Cute River besides Barnes Commom and Barnes Green

I fell in love with Barnes Green the moment I stepped into it as it really has that village feel about it with the lovely pond at the heart of it. You sometimes forget that even though somewhere is in London, it can still have that picturesque and homely feel about it that you normally find in a countryside town. At the centre of any of village is its green and pond, and Barnes certainly has that!

Well that’s all for today’s walk which has seen me explore three of London’s bridges, Fulham & Hammersmith, Chiswick and Barnes! Thanks for joining me and I hope you enjoyed reading about my walk as much as I did doing it and taking photos of its sights!

In the meantime you can catch me on Twitter and Instagram and don’t forget to sign up to my blog too! Also why not have a read of my other walks which explore all over London, from north to south, to west to east via central, there’s something there for you! 🙂 Here are links to them all below for you!

Victoria to Green Park

Marble Arch to Mayfair

The Shard to Monument

King’s Cross to Hampstead Heath

Leadenhall Market to Old Spitalfields Market

Waterloo to The London Eye

St Paul’s Cathedral to Moorgate

Mile End Park to London Fields

Hyde Park Corner to Italian Gardens

Little Venice to Abbey Road

Regent’s Park to Soho Square

Clapham Common to The Albert Bridge

Grosvenor Gardens to Knightsbridge

Holland Park to Meanwhile Gardens

Hackney Downs to Springfield Park

Tower Bridge to Stave Hill

Shoreditch to Islington Green

Highgate to Finsbury Park

Ravenscourt Park to Wormwood Scrubs

Covent Garden to Southwark Bridge

Sources: (not the food sauces)

Londonist: History of Putney Bridge

Friends of Bishop’s Park: History of Bishop’s Park

Fulham FC: History of Craven Cottage

British Listed Buildings: History of the Harrods Furniture Depository

Londonist: History of Hammersmith Bridge

Parks & Gardens: History of Furnival Gardens

Dukes Meadows Park: History of Dukes Meadows

Barnes Village: History of Barnes Bridge

Barnes Common: History of Barnes Common

Ravenscourt Park to Wormwood Scrubs: Colourful Autumnal London

November 11, 2018 London Wlogger16 Comments

Welcome one and all as I take another stroll across the capital! For my walk today I’ll be embracing the colours of Autumn as I explore Hammersmith & Fulham and Acton to really get into the spirit of the changing of the season. I’ll begin in Ravenscourt Park, go past Acton Green Common and Acton Park before ending my journey at Wormwood Scrubs. So grab the coat, scarf and walking boots!

Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 14.41.32 — Ravenscourt Park to Wormwood Scrubs Park

I start my walk in Ravenscourt Park which is an 8.3 hectare (20.5 acre) public green area in the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Its origins date back to the medieval manor and estate of Palingswick (or Paddenswick) Manor which was first recorded on the site in the 12th century. The name still has significance to the area today with a Paddenswick Road near Ravenscourt Park.

Back in the 13th century the Manor House within Ravenscourt Park had a moat surrounded by it which today forms part of the lake that is within the park. Whilst in the 14th century the Manor was occupied by King Edward III’s mistress Alice Perrers.

In 1650 the Manor House was rebuilt and in 1747 renamed Ravenscourt after it was sold to Thomas Corbett with the name Ravenscourt probably deriving from the raven on his coat of arms.

Ravenscourt-Park-postcard — The Ravenscourt House (Source: Friends of Ravenscourt Park)

Private owner George Scott who was a builder and philanthropist bought the Ravenscourt House in 1812 and a leading landscaper by the name of Humphry Repton helped to lay down the gardens in the estate. Park plans in 1830 indicated that there were 78 houses within the park which had risen to 330 by 1845. The Ravenscourt House was also the first public library in Hammersmith in 1889.

George Scott’s family sold the estate to a developer in 1887 with it being acquired by the Metropolitan Board of Works. A year later in 1888 a public park was laid out by J.J. Sexby with the management of the park transferring to the London County Council in 1889. In 1941 the building suffered severe damage during the Second World War. However, in 1965 the park was owned by the Greater London Council and finally the London Borough of Hammersmith in 1971.

The park’s café today is the old stables of the manor and is certainly one of the grandest café’s in London! The park also has a variety of facilities including football pitches, tennis & basketball courts and a playground.

The old Manor stable is now the park’s cafe

Walking through the park you really get a sense that the season is changing with an array of beautiful colours, all of which look like a watercolour painting and many different shades of yellow, brown, red, orange and gold. When you look at the vast area of the park as well as the lake which used to be the Manor’s moat, you can get a feeling of how the grand estate would’ve looked. The lake is something to behold and matched with the trees colours, it makes for the perfect picture, or painting!

It’s now time to leave the tranquility of Ravenscourt Park to go in search of more pretty autumnal colours in my next stop Acton Green Common. Located next to Turnham Green tube station, the 5.9 hectare (14.5 acres) common is quite unique given that it’s split into two, with a road and crossing in between it.

The Acton Green Common has a place in history as part of the site of the Battle of Brentford during the Civil War when on the 12th November 1642 the Royalists under Prince Rupert surprised them and beat the Parliamentarian army under Lord Essex.

I do love the symmetry where you have trees either side of the pathway and as far as you can see there are trees across the green. Once again the crisp orange colouring comes out perfectly with the sun shining on them which really does brighten up the park. Also the lengthening shadows illustrates the sun is getting lower and winter is on its way.

I’m now going to make my way out of Acton Green Common and onto yet another lovely green space, Acton Park. One aspect you get when walking around Acton is that the trees aren’t just confined to the parks as they can be seen across the roads and houses!

Acton Park first opened to the public in 1888 as a commemoration to the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria and in 1945 the park’s allotments were converted into temporary houses for ex-servicemen.

In London we’re so lucky that nearly every area has some kind of green space where you can relax in the peace and quiet of a park setting. Also it’s not just the grass areas which I love, but the variety of trees are also so remarkable, big ones, tall ones, small ones, thin ones, the list is endless and all have their own distinct look and personality. You really don’t get this when you walk around some areas of central London, so you do have to go off track into the London boroughs to see all of natures glory.

It’s now time to leave Acton Park and move onto my final autumnal destination, the quite unique Wormwood Scrubs! Based in the North-Eastern corner of Hammersmith & Fulham, the area is the largest open space in the borough at 80 hectares (200 acres) and is one of the largest commons in London.

The park has been open to the public since 1879 and was even the home of Queens Park Rangers Football Club in the late 1888s.

Its history dates back to the early 19th century when the entire district of Hammersmith & Fulham was open fields with several areas of common land. In 1812 a 77 hectare (190 acre) area known as Wormholt Scrubs was leased by the War Office from the Manor of Fulham. The area was used to exercise cavalry horses which until then had used Hyde Park, Belgrave Square and Regent’s Park. In 1878, 55 hectares (135 acres) of the land became known as Wormwood Scrubs after being bought by the War Office.

In order to create metropolitan exercising ground for the military, in 1879 Parliament passed the Wormwood Scrubs Act. This act enabled the military to expel civilians from the area whenever they were training, but allowed civilians free use of it when they were not. The military were banned from building any permanent structures other than rifle butts on the open land.

The area gained the reputation of being one of the duelling grounds of London with several duels being fought there. The scrubland played a part in the 1908 Olympics with the marathon’s final stages going through it on the route from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium in White City.

In 1910 Wormwood Scrubs gained a significant contribution in aviation history when pioneering airships took flight from an improvised landing ground. Four years later in 1914 all air related activities on the scrubs passed to the authority of the Admiralty with the area remaining an emergency landing ground until the 1930s. During the Second Wold War, the scrubs hosted the military department called The Chief Cable Censorship Department, an outstation of the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park.

Back in 1986 local birdwatcher Lester Holloway set up a campaign to save Scrubs Wood which was under threat from plans by British Rail to turn it into a cleaning depot. The campaign would succeed with an area of the nature reserve known as ‘Lester’s Embankment’ in 1987.

There has been many conservation efforts undertaken on the area with the park home to over 100 species of birds, 250 species of wildflowers, bats and lizards.

The entire area really is something to behold, as it’s a vast area of meadowland with hardly anything around it, there aren’t too many trees or houses, just scrubland and long grass. I have to say it’s one of the first times my walks have taken me to such a place and it’s eerily quiet when you’re stood in the middle of it as there’s literally no one walking through or by it. This is one of the reason why I love exploring London as you come across such weird and wonderful places like this which you’d not normally come across, or even know about.

Well that’s all from me today folks! I hope you enjoyed discovering some of West London’s best green areas which showcased the colours of autumn so amazingly well, which I’m sure you can agree are looking absolutely golden at the moment! I’ll be discovering more of beautful autumnal London next time!

In the meantime you can catch me on Twitter and Instagram and don’t forget to sign up to my blog too and have a read of my other walks, from river ones to park ones, there’s something there for you! 🙂

Sources: (not the food sauces)

Friends of Ravenscourt Park: History of Ravenscourt Park

Parks and Gardens: History of Acton Green Common

Ealing.Gov: History of Acton Parks

London Borough of H&F: History of Wormwood Scrubs

Highgate to Finsbury Park: Exploring Hidden Highgate Gems

November 4, 2018November 10, 2018 London Wlogger33 Comments

Hello there! Thanks for joining me on my next outdoor adventure as I explore the best walks of the capital. Today’s stroll begins in Highgate’s Waterlow Park, takes me past the Highgate Cemetery and onto the woodland wonders of Highgate Wood. I’ll take a detour up to the renowned Alexandra Palace and finish the walk at Finsbury Park. So let’s get going!

Screen Shot 2018-11-03 at 15.11.27 — Highgate to Finsbury Park

I do love it when my walks start with a picturesque entrance and Waterlow Park in Highgate provides just this, with a very welcoming park gate which says to me ‘Come on in’.

The park’s history dates back to the 16th century where the area was known for its affluent residents, many of whom built homes and fine gardens, some of which are now within Waterlow Park. One of the attractions to the residents was that the air was cleaner than other parts of London.

A walk through the park illustrates just how peaceful it is and that with every turn there’s something of glorious green to see!

You’ll never struggle to find a spot to sit, or to grab a photo of the park.

Another one of the attractions of people moving to Highgate in the 16th Century was the plentiful water supply from the park’s three historic ponds which are still fed by natural springs. I always think a park isn’t complete without a pond or a lake, there’s something very satisfying about hearing the trickling of water in a tranquil park setting.

At the head of the park and sitting grandly on the top of the hill is Lauderdale House which was the home of the Earl of Lauderdale in the 17th Century. The house today is a delightful cafe where you can stop for a spot of tea or light lunch, with a view overlooking the glorious grounds of the park. The garden area of the house is commonly noted as one of the very early examples of terraced gardens in Britain. It really doesn’t feel like a park, more that you’ve wandered into someone’s estate and garden!

During the 17th Century there was a home within the park for the poet Andrew Marvell where a bronze plaque within the park dedicated to him stands. Another resident in the park was prolific architect and park designer Sir James Pennethorne who unsurprisingly helped with designing some of the elements of the park.

From 1856 English philanthropist and Liberal Party politician Sydney Waterlow lived within the park and soon acquired the neighboring properties to create his own mini-estate, with Lauderdale House being let out as Convalescent homes for medical professionals.

However, Sydney Waterlow didn’t stay long at the estate and it remained empty and deteriorated for a number years until he presented it to the London County Council in 1889 and it was termed as ‘a garden for the gardenless’. So if you didn’t have a garden, you could enjoy it as your very own one. The council named it after Sydney and ensured that all the historic features within it remained.

It’s time to leave Waterlow Park and as a you head out you take a stroll past Highgate Cemetery. Established in 1839, the cemetery is split into the West and East Cemeteries with approximately 170,000 people buried in and around the 53,000 graves.

Spanning 15 hectares (37 acres) in size, the cemetery was acquired by The Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust in 1975 with them acquiring the freehold to both the East and West Cemeteries by 1981.

Some of the notable people within the East Cemetery include the tomb of Karl Marx, the ashes of the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, William Foyle (co-founder of book store Foyles), Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton, 1st Baronet (Scottish physician known for his work in the treatment of angina pectoris), Patrick Caulfield (painter and printmaker known for his pop art canvasses) and Roger Lloyd-Pack (British actor).

Within the West Cemetery notable people buried there include Julius Beer (Owner of the UK newspaper The Observer), James Bunstone Bunning (City Architect to the City of London), Charles Cruft (founder of Crufts dog show), the parents, wife and brother of Charles Dickens, Lucian Freud (painter, grandson of Sigmund Freud, and elder brother of Clement Freud), Bob Hoskins (actor), George Michael (singer), and Jean Simmons (actress).

Additionally, there are the graves of 318 Commonwealth service personnel with 259 from the First World War and 59 from the Second.

It’s now time to move on to my next stop on today’s walk, Highgate Wood! To do so I get to walk through Highgate and experience what a pleasant area it is, with it having a real village feel about it. With cute little houses, village greens and not a great deal of traffic, you forget you’re still in London!

Now this is one true hidden gem of London that I’m about to explore! Lying between East Finchley, Highgate Village and Muswell Hill, Highgate Wood is a 28 hectare (70 acre) ancient woodland.

Highgate Wood appears within the Ordnance Survey map of Middlesex in 1886 which illustrates the area’s illustrious history. Predominately an oak, hornbeam and holly wood, there are more than 50 tree and shrub species within the woodlands. The wood is also home to the rare deciduous tree with brown berries, known as The Wild Service Tree or the Sorbus torminalis.

The woods aren’t just home to trees and plants, but 71 different species of bird have been recorded there, as well as foxes, grey squirrels, seven species of bats, 180 species of moth, 12 species of butterfly and 80 species of spider!

There have also been prehistoric flints found within the wood with excavations from Romano-Britons found which indicated that pottery materials were produced from local materials between AD 50-100.

The wood hasn’t always been well maintained or looked after with The City of London Corporation’s not being sympathetic to the historical origins. After they acquired it asphalt paths were laid, ornamental trees planted and dead wood removed and burned, with it being managed as more of an urban park than an ancient woodland.

In 1968 the Conversation Committee of the London Natural History Society became concerned after the planting of exotic conifers which were seen as inappropriate for an ancient woodland. Consequently, this type of planting programme was halted and hasn’t been used since.

Since then the management of the woodland has been more considered with little human interference. It’s listed as one of only eight Green Heritage Sites in London and is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conversation. The woodland is currently a registered charity managed and funded by the City of London.

Walking through the woodland it does remind me of the Children’s rhyme a ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ as it has that fairytale and adventurous feel you’d find in a storybook. With loads of campfires and logs for sitting on across the park, it really is a wonderful place for children to explore and to be introduced to the wonders of nature. It’s very easy to get lost within all the amazing trees and when you look up & across all you see is leaves and branches, something you don’t get to enjoy that much everyday. For as far as you can see, there’s nothing but the glorious woods and every time you take a stroll around it there’s something new and enlightening.

Having already discovered the breathtaking Russia Dock Woodland, Highgate Wood is certainly up there with it!

The wood isn’t just trees and plants, but a walk to the end of it takes you to a large open green field used for football and cricket.

As much as I’d love to spend all day in the woodland, I’m now going to head off to a place which gives you a truly wonderful view of London, Alexandra Palace.

Known as ‘Ally Pally’, the palace was designed by Owen Jones, John Johnson and Alfred Meeson, and first opened in 1873 on Queen Victoria’s 54th birthday. The spectacular celebration for the opening included concerts, recitals and fireworks. However, just 16 days later a fire broke out in the Palace destroying the structure.

It wasn’t until two years later in 1875 that the new Alexandra Palace was opened to the public with it containing the new Henry Wills organ, one of the largest in Europe at the time. The palace also has the honour of having marksmen from the Alexandra Palace Rifle Society representing Great Britain in the 1908 Olympics where they won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

During the First World War the palace was used as a Belgian refugee camp and later as a German and Austrian internment camp.

One of the most significant events occurred on the 2nd November 1936 when the world’s first regular high-definition public television broadcast took place from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace. A blue plaque is present to commemorate this and the TV mast is still there today. 1936 also saw the park become free for the public to use as a result of the 1900 Alexandra Park and Palace Act.

During the Second World War the palace was once again used by Belgian refugees with the transmitter tower being used as a decoy for enemy aircrafts.

The palace’s grounds were the home to horse racing until the racecourse was closed in 1970. In 1980, for the second time, a fire broke out across the palace burning a large part of the building. Substantial restoration began after the fire and it was reopened in 1988.

The palace was recognised in 1996 as a building of special architecture and historic significance with it receiving a Grade II listing. The venue has hosted a wide range of events including numerous concerts, Master Snooker, the World Darts Championship, Antiques Fairs, beer festivals, award ceremonies and a firework display every Bonfire Night.

One of the most prominent aspects of the palace and one that I thoroughly enjoyed is the stunning view you get of the capital from it. It’s such an awe-inspiring view across London of some of its most well-known landmarks, and great to experience them from another angle on my walks, having seen them on Hampstead Heath as well as Stave Hill! It always amazes me just how much you can from just one area of the capital and perfectly demonstrates that all of London’s landmarks are in such close proximity to one another!

Behind the palace is a pretty little lake and cafe, so it you require a bit of down-time and relaxation, it’s ideal for just that!

I’m now going to begin a stroll to my final destination on this walk, Finsbury Park by heading down the hills on Alexandra Palace!

Once I’ve left there I walk down Priory Road through the quaint Priory Park.

The walk takes you along the road past the houses and Finsbury Park station until you get to the gates of the park.

Opened in 1869, the 46 hectares (110 acres) park was designed by Frederick Manable. Based in Harringay, it was one of the first of the great London parks laid out in the Victorian Era. The park was originally landscaped as a woodland area in the Manor of Brownswood and part of the woodland called Hornsey Wood which was cut back to be used as a grazing land in the Middle Ages.

In the 18th Century a tea room was opened where Londoners could enjoy the woodlands. These tea rooms were developed into larger buildings known as the Hornsey Wood House (Tavern). The area was also home to boating, shooting and archery, before the tavern was demolished in order to make the area into a park. Once the park opened, the pub across the park along the Seven Sisters Road called itself the Hornsey Wood Tavern after its original one! However, the tavern would close in 2007 with the area being developed.

In the 19th century Londoners began to demand more open green space, something which had become even more common in Paris. To counteract the increasingly urbanisation of London, in 1841 the people of Finsbury petitioned for a park to be developed to help eradicate the poor conditions in the city. The first plans for the park were drawn up in 1850 with its name originally being called Albert Park. However, it was renamed Finsbury Park and opened in 1869.

The park played a role in both the First and Second World Wars with it being the location for pacifist meetings in WWI, and used as military training grounds and hosting anti-aircraft guns in WWII.

Through the 1980s the park went into a decline and when its owner, the Greater London Council was wound up, Haringey Council took over the ownership of it. Luckily in 2003 the park was awarded £5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund which helped with significant renovations to improve its facilities to enable the park we see today. The park is commonly known as the ‘People’s Park’ due to its strong community feel.

Well that’s all for this week’s walk of the capital which has seen us take a trip through Highgate’s park and woodlands, the spectacular architecture and views of Alexandra Palace, and the fabulous Finsbury Park.

Thanks for coming along on my walk and in the meantime you can catch me on Twitter and Instagram and don’t forget to sign up to my blog too and have a read of my other walks! 🙂

Sources: (not the food sauces)

Waterlow Park: History of Waterlow Park

Highgate Cemetery: History of Highgate Cemetery

Highgate Wood: History of Highgate Wood

Alexandra Palace: History of Alexandra Palace

Finsbury Park: History of Finsbury Park

London Wlogger

Walking blogger exploring London's hidden gems, sights and history!

Tag: Nature Walking

Crystal Palace Park to Dulwich Wood: The Natural Wonders of South-East London

Putney Bridge to Barnes Green: Meandering along the River Thames

Ravenscourt Park to Wormwood Scrubs: Colourful Autumnal London

Highgate to Finsbury Park: Exploring Hidden Highgate Gems