Visited: September 16, 2018
Sometimes London amazes me that you can feel like you're still so close to the center of it all and then be off the beaten track in the woods so quickly. Hampstead Heath, Richmond park, arguably even parts of Hyde park. Another one? Barnes Green, Commons and the London Wetlands.
Picking up almost exactly where I left of last week at Hammersmith Tube stop, I set off for what was billed as a walk through the country by the same book I used to plan my walk last week, 33 Walks in London That You Shouldn't Miss by Nicola Perry. It was a warm and sunny day in London, prefect for a long walk
While the walk started in Hammersmith, and I got a little taste of the High Street and Flyover, I didn't see much there save for the St. Paul's Hammersmith Church and Green. I didn't go in but it looks like another lovely church. It's also attached to St. Paul's Centre which is an event centre I'm sure closely associated with the same community.
After a quick sit down and snack in St. Paul's Green I walked over to Hammersmith Bridge and was quickly enough in Barnes, part of Richmond upon Thames. You can almost feel the vibe change the moment you cross the bridge. Even though there are still plenty of cars, it almost feels like you've left London and are headed into the countryside. Something I'm sure it was back in the day. Immediately after crossing the bridge I descended steps and was walking down by the Thames on the Northwest side of the bridge.
Almost straight away you fell like you're getting away from it all. Very similar to the stretch of Putney embankment I walked last week, this was a quiet (even quieter in fact) stretch of path along the side of the Thames. This week the tide was in fact out so the river was very low when I started. I even walked down a ramp (maybe boat lunch ramp) to dip my hand in the water. I hope I didn't catch anything, it's not the best kept river after all these centuries. Low tide is gross in my view. The river looks like crap and all the dirty banks are exposed. Stupid Moon - just kidding we love you as you helped create life - just stop receding away from us ok?
Leg O Mutton
From there is was good ole' Leg O Mutton, and odd name for a smallish wetland/park area which is most taken up by a large pond filled with birds of various types.
There was a path around both sides of the pond and it was very quiet with maybe a dozen people there that I passed.
From there it's back onto the main path down towards Barnes High Street.
It's at this point that you really start to feel like you're in a small town. Filled with local shops like a butcher, a cheese store, unique clothing stores, a honey store(!) and more, you feel like you've stepped out of greater London all together.
The walk down the high street isn't that long, maybe only 10 minutes and you quickly end up at the opposite end which leads into Barnes Green. Barnes Green is a lovely park with a pond filled with swans, geese, ducks and more as well as a lot of benches and green space around. It was filled with people of all ages from children right up to retired folks.
At the other end of the green is Barnes Common, a 120 acre common with good tree coverage and its very own 'hidden' cricket ground. Admittedly the cricket ground is somewhat hidden, but since it's displayed on the map of the common it's easy enough to find. I could even hear some yelling in the distance making it obvious I was in the right area. The only trick was finding the path in as it's totally surrounded by thick tree coverage. I snuck through thick set of brush (which was clearly not the path) startling a small dog who barked aggressively at me.
Below Photos: A swan showing its stuff in Barnes Green; a lone plane breaks the silence in Leg O Mutton, Entrance to Barnes Green and The Hidden Cricket Ground.
The WWT London Wetlands!
For the second week in a row I passed by the WWT London Wetlands. Last week from the East side, this time I walked in from the official entrance on the West side where you can also find the Wetlands Visitor Centre. I'm still amazed that such a large city has tied up so much prime land for parks and outdoor space and this spot is special. It's filled with all types of birds, fowl, reptiles, sneaky mammals and nestle up along the Putney Embankment on the East side you can walk through the Wetlands and off to a wonderful walk along the Thames on the other side.
Unfortunately it was already 17:00 when I got there so the visitor centre was closing down for the day but apparently you can do a lot in the centre and it's worth the visit. I wandered around in the area of the centre for 10 minutes or so and there's clearly a lot to see there so worth a visit!
From there it was back out to take a quick peak at Olympic Studios which was originally a cinema, then a television studio, then a recording studio and finally back to a cinema now. Most noteworthy is how this out of central London studio was used by many famous musicians including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, putting it on par potentially with Abbey Road Studios.
Finally it was time to call it a day and walked back up Castelnau Road, which is a busy street filled with walled villas heading up to Hammersmith Bridge. Retracing my steps over a now higher tide Thames I jumped on the tube and heading back to mine for a relaxing evening.
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