DC Editor Adam writes…
As regular Daily Constitutional readers and some London Walkers will know, on my days off I like to stride out and walk London. I'm a big fan of the Capital Ring orbital walking route and I love to walk the Thames. Many of the pictures and ideas that end up on this blog are born out of my rambles.
On Wednesdays here on The Daily Constitutional, I'll be sharing some snaps, random observations and the odd bit of trivia picked up along the routes of my wanders.
A gentle 10-miler to start 2017! From my Front door in East Finchley, North London…
The Archer statue (above) is by Eric Aumonier and is the subject of one my very favorite London myths – the myth being that the Archer has no arrow because it lies at the end of the tunnel at Morden (also in statue form) some 17 miles 528 yards away. Sadly, only a myth - there never was an arrow statue at Morden.
The tunnel was once the world's longest.
For earlier Aumonier-related posts click HERE (East Finchley) and HERE (Fleet Street).
Onwards… via a bleak Hampstead Heath…
… with an always exhilarating view of London…
The coots behaved accordingly on the pond…
For more Hampsteading from The Daily Constitutional click HERE. And HERE.
Onwards… Down through Kentish Town to the Regents Canal for the Ascension of St Amy…
… and the January sun struggling manfully…
Meanwhile, somewhere downstream from Ophelia…
Then the drizzle kicked in on the unlovely Edgware Road…
… and it was heads down for Kensington and an unlikely setting for a set of goal posts behind the palace…
Does a Prince William XI take on a Prince Harry XI after dark?
By the time I hit Kensington, the sun had finally lost its battle…
My "downstream from Ophelia" reference in the pic above (scroll back up), was a nod to Millais' famous painting of Shakespeare's tragic character from Hamlet. Here's the plaque for the painter at 2 Palace Gate…
(You can view the painting…
… at Tate Britain.)
Then, a sentimental detour, to an old London residence of mine in Elvaston Place…
The trick is to count the door buzzers. Most have only one, being single occupancy dwellings. My old front door had several…
… broken up into studios and bedsits decades ago. I lived right at the top.
During WWII, No. 31 Elvaston Place is said to have been a brothel – "Mrs Fetherstonhaugh's Private Hotel".
It was such a great place to live (long LONG after the scandalous days of WWII), particularly with the proximity of the museums at nearby South Kensington.
Onwards… Even though the schools had gone back, there was a queue at the Natural History Museum - perhaps fans were saying goodbye to Dippy on the last day…
…as he's off on tour. Tour details at www.nhm.ac.uk
A quick reminder of Dippy the Diplodocus…
(And an earlier Natural History Museum photoblog HERE.)
Ten miles from my starting point and here's my destination, the V&A…
… for a look at the Records & Rebels 1966 - 1970 exhibition…
… on which I'll report in a later blog.
Here's my route…
On the next Big Walk Wednesday I'll be going further yet – East Finchley to Crystal Palace!
A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
