I was surprised and slightly alarmed when 30 people (23 Poly Ramblers and 7 guests) turned up at Westminster for my Charles Dickens walk on a mild but slightly drizzly Sunday morning. Luckily the combination of Covid and the New Year weekend meant that London was quieter than usual and hopefully the large group was able to hear at least some of what I said.
The start of the walk at Westminster marked Dickens’ burial place in Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey in 1870 and one of his early jobs as a parliamentary reporter. We strolled up the north bank of the Thames, pausing briefly to admire the Battle of Britain monument and then through Victoria Embankment Gardens and Whitehall Gardens. On reaching Hungerford Bridge we paused near the site of Warren’s blacking factory, where Dickens was forced to work at the age of 12, his father having been imprisoned for debt at Marshalsea. We headed up Villiers Street, had a look at Buckingham Street where both Dickens and David Copperfield had lodgings, and continued to the Strand and Wellington Street. Dickens edited his magazine All the Year Round here and had a suite of private apartments. Continue reading CHARLES DICKENS’ LONDON – WESTMINSTER TO FARRINGDON 2 JANUARY→
Despite the inclement weather and disrupted transport, a reasonable respectable eight members were in attendance for the post-Xmas ramble around Osterley Park and its environs. After meeting up at the temporarily closed Osterley Station, we headed past the permanently closed original station which is now a second-hand bookshop. Entering the park, we walked up to the redbrick Osterley Park House which was built for Thomas Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange in the City of London. Continuing over the M4 motorway and across a field with early signs of growing wheat, we reached Norwood Green. The aroma of mulled wine from the Plough pub led to an unscheduled stop for steaming mugs of warming alcohol and delicious homemade brownies provided by Lorna. Suitable refreshed, we joined the Brentford Arm of the Grand Union Canal and walked along the towpath to Brunel’s unique Three Bridges where three modes of transport cross in one place.
At the bottom of the Hanwell flight of six locks, we stopped for lunch at the Fox pub. The food was not to everyone’s liking but the beer tasted good. After another stretch on the towpath, we skirted Warren Farm. It could have been the site of QPR’s new training ground if it hadn’t been for the concerted opposition of some local residents, including one of our members who shall remain nameless!
A final length of road walking brought us back to our starting point after a pleasant few hours.
Ten Poly Ramblers met at Vauxhall Station on a cold day for the last walk of the year. We started in Vauxhall Pleasure gardens where, with the opening of Westminster Bridge in 1750, the aristocracy delighted in the musical temple orchestra and lamplit walks. We continued to the end of the gardens, continuing on the Vauxhall Walk turning into Lambeth High Street and crossing over the Lambeth Road to the Garden Museum housed in the former St Mary’s church. The museum has an abundance of garden memorabilia and a café which sadly was closed owing to staff sickness. The secretive ancient building next door is Lambeth Palace. We crossed Lambeth Bridge to turn into Victoria Tower Gardens alongside the Thames. At the end of the gardens, we paused to admire Rodans statue The Burghers of Calais before a café stop at the Jewel Tower at Danny’s suggestion. Geoffrey and I made use of our English Heritage membership with a visit to the top of the tower. Continue reading Sunday 19th December Vauxhall to Kings Cross→
We made our way from Brixton tube, crossing Electric Avenue, to Brockwell Park. We visited the walled garden, where we had an interesting chat with a volunteer and bought jams which are made from the fruit grown in the orchard. After passing the Triton clock tower and Brockwell Hall we crossed the road to Herne Hill station. Despite having told the participants we did not have time to stop at the Sunday market outside the station, the leader and several others succumbed to a delicious jam doughnut. Our next green space was John Ruskin Park, named after the famous writer, poet, philosopher and polymath who lived nearby. Near the exit we saw the portico of 170 Denmark Hill which still stands as a reminder of the eight houses cleared to make way for the new park at the beginning of the 20th century. We passed through Green Dale Fields and by Alleyn’s school before descending to Dulwich Village. Here we were able to learn about the famous actor and businessman Edward Alleyn from an info point and admire the almshouses and chapel he built in 1616. It had started to rain so we were pleased to get to our lunch spot at the café in the grade 2 listed Dulwich Park.
I was surprised to see that 14 people had joined me for my walk on such a windy, chilly and wet day. We started the walk from St Margarets in Hertfordshire (County of Opportunity) and headed uphill, then following the path through fields and up a pasture before reaching the A10 roundabout. We then entered the grounds of Haileybury College – opened in 1809 – where Stephen used to go to school. He told us how he used to climb down the drainpipe to go and have a drink at The Goat Pub. Stuart also went to Haileybury College but in Melbourne. After this reminiscing, we made our way towards Hertford Heath walking along the scrubby heathlands of the Roundings. We followed Roman Ermine Street (which ran from London to Lincoln and was extended to York) for a while, no longer straight and not a Roman in sight but we saw an elephant in a field. We arrived at The Goat pub, looking forward to a hot meal but, because of the Christmas Fair on the green which was starting at 13.00 and would be selling food, there was no food in the pub. While some Polyramblers ate their picnic in the cold, others had a drink and a packet of crisps in the pub. When we left, the stallholders were fighting the wind to keep their marquis from flying away and there was no food in sight. We continued our walk valiantly through the autumn colours of Golding’s Wood, walking under the A10 and through more woodland before arriving in Great Amwell. We went down to the Myddelton Monument urn island and followed the New River – passing Amwell Marsh Pumping Station – back to St Margarets.
