Walking on a disused railway viaduct.

Saturday 4th January 2020

Viaduct Way, Winchester.

About 2.6 miles, around an hour, mostly flat and good surface.

The main event of this little walk is the Hockley Viaduct, which was built in the late 1880s by the London and South Western Railway(LSWR) to provide a link over the River Itchen and water meadows, from the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway(DN&SR), to the LSWR's main line. The DN&SR was originally intended to continue down the east side of the Itchen to Southampton, but had run out of money at Winchester. The viaduct crossed the valley to link the DN&SR to the LSWR, which still runs down the west side of the valley.

View Larger Map

I started off at the South Winchester Park and Ride Car Park, exiting up the ramp onto Otterbourne Road and walking down to the roundabout and then crossing Hockley Link to pick up National Cycle Route 23 by the railway bridge (Sheep Wash bridge) over the South West main line.

It might be quicker to come out of the main car park entrance but this way you get a really good view of the viaduct that you’ll shortly be crossing.

Beyond the viaduct you can see the M3 motorway where it enters its cutting through Twyford Down. Was it really 28 years ago that Group 4 Security and the Dongas Tribe were fighting over that hill?

I followed the path around to the left until it met the road again and found the start of the Viaduct Way (or end of if you’re following the official guide).

The railway viaduct is not very far from the start/end of the path.

The viaduct was last used by the railway on 2 April 1966. The line it carried closed as a result of the Beeching plan but the whole structure remains standing and is open to walkers and cyclists. Since 2013 following restoration it forms part of the National Cycle Network Route 23.
Though fortunately on a cloudy January afternoon it was mercifully free of lycra-clad lunatics!

There are plaques giving info on the viaduct’s history on the walls along a number of artworks by Nicola Henshaw that reflect the history of Hockley Viaduct and mark the restoration of Viaduct Way.

The other and most obvious thing on the viaduct is this lattice signal post and semaphore signal arm, provided by the Friends of Hockley Viaduct.

I carried on across the viaduct meeting only one or two people - dog walkers and a runner.

There are good views and even the noise fro the M3 which runs parallel to the old railway wasn’t overly intrusive.

Near the northern end the viaduct crosses high over the River Itchen, along will some minor field flooding.

At the end of the viaduct the path bears left and passes under a bridge to run alongside the Itchen Navigation, a 10.4-mile disused canal system

that provided a trade route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton. Completed in 1710 it was known as a navigation because it was an improved river, with the main river channel being supplemented with cuts and locks used to bypass the difficult sections.

It was nver a hugely busy canal and the opening of the London and Southampton Railway in 1840 sealed its fate, and the navigation ceased to operate in 1869.

The remains of St Catherine’s Mill and Lock can be seen on the left of the path, with plenty of water rushing through the sluice this afternoon.

On the right of the path the bulk of St. catherine’s Hill rises 220 feet to a summit with a hill fort. 

Once cut off from the city by the old A33 Winchester Bypass road with the completion of the M3 that was removed and the area replanted as open grassland. 

It seemed to be very popular with local residents and grazing cattle alike and from here on the Viaduct Way was much busier.

Onward alongside the Itchen Navigation until it reached the car park at Garner Rd. where the way turns right, under a bridge beneath the Handlebar Cafe, few of whose customers appeared to have come by bike, and around to the left crossing Garnier Rd. on the old railway bridge.

Along here there are good views through the trees down to the Itchen on the left and not-such-good views fortunately screened by the trees to the right. Car park, household waste site, industrial estates.

Then on the left two hardy tennis players making use of the Kingsgate Lawn Tennis Club courts. I’m no expert (massive understatement!) but I think the ball’s supposed to go over the net.

After the tenns club the way joins Domum Rd. at the end of which I bore right onto Wharf Hill, then crossed over and turned left behind Seagram’s Mill to once again find the Itchen.

The river was flowing high and fast under the mill as it has been wet for weeks.

The last thing you’d want to do would be to fall in because it almost surely would be. Fortunately the river bank is walled and fenced off, the only thing going in the drink being a couple of angler’s bait. I didn’t see anything coming out mind you.

I crossed the river and turned right following it upstream towards the city centre.

On the left of the path are the Pilgrim’s School playing fields, Wolvesey Castle, and the Bishop of Winchester’s palace and Diocesan offices. Not that you can see any of that because of the old high stone wall they’ve built to separate themselves from hoi polloi like us.

A few hundred feet away on the other side of the river is the site of the DN&SR’s Winchester Cheesehill station, later renamed Winchester Chesil, which is a shame as the earlier name is much better. More of a shame still is that it’s now been replaced by the Chesil Multi-storey Car Park.

 
View Larger Map

The way ends at the City Bridge. From there you could cross over the road to National Trust City Mill, which is good or turn left to the city centre which is stuffed with historical buildings. Abbey, Guildhall, Great Hall, and Cathedral (we know a song about that don’t we boys and girls) are the biggest but there’s a lot of ‘old’ in Winchester to look at.

It was also stuffed with January Sales shoppers so I grabbed a coffee and a sandwich then caught the bus back to the park and ride from the stop overlooked by King Alfred.

I’m not the only people I know to have walked the Viaduct Way recently and I may have been influenced by these two who made a video about it.

But I did it in the opposite direction

Here's the usual Flickr Album:

Ye Olde Flickr Album

New Year's Eve celebrations.

In a different age - around 1980 - for about 3 or 4 years I used to go up to Trafalgar Square to see in the new year. Me and a mate go would up early on the train and get eats and drinks in the West End first, ok yes, a bit of a pub crawl☺️

One year for something to do to fill in the time we went and saw The Last Starfighter in the cinema in Leicester Square. Due to some confusion at the box office we got in for free. We'd usually go and see my uncle who had The Devonshire Arms in Denman Street, just off Piccadilly Circus before heading down to Trafalgar Square for midnight. All very exciting at that age. We stopped going after the year that rozzers clamped down on alcohol in the square and confiscated whatever anyone was carrying, throwing it all into big wheelie bins next to the barriers they'd built across all entrances to the square 😞.

Afterwards we'd walk back through the party-atmosphere of central London to Paddington Station and wait on the station until the first trains started running to get us back home. You'd meet some "interesting" characters at Paddington in the early hours of January 1st. There was at least a 24hr Wimpy close by where you could get a hot drink and watch the young ladies who would occasionally leave and get into a car, returning a while later with more cash than they left with.

For un-ticketted firework watching these days Primrose Hill has a good atmosphere and a clear if distant view of the main firework display as well as others across the city.which is where I went for 2018-19.

Last night however after a day at work I couldn't work up the energy or enthusiasm to get up to Primrose Hill, didn't fancy the local pub packed with people I don't know, and couldn't face the jolly end-of-year TV shows. So 2019-20 involved a sofa, NCIS box set, and lemsip (and a small single malt gifted by a nephew for Xmas).

Which doesn't explain why I still didn't wake up until twenty to twelve this morning...

Dead Pool 2020

2019 may have seen the demise of democracy but from my list we lost only Doris Day. So my entry for 2020 (assuming no one else on the list expires in the next five and a half hours) will be as follows:

Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager (Pilot & Record-breaker)
Neil Percival Young (Musician)
Leslie Samuel Phillips (Actor & Author)
Gina Lollobrigida (Actress, Photojournalist, & Sculptor)
Kirk Douglas (Actor, Producer, Director, & Author)
James Earl Carter Jr. (39th POTUS)
Vera Lynn (Singer, Songwriter, & Actress)
Philip Mountbatten (HRH The Duke of Edinburgh)
Michael Caine (Actor)
Anthony Dominick Benedetto a.k.a Tony Bennett (Singer)

and may all the above have a happy and healthy 2020.

An Urban Ramble, Art Deco Factories and Charles Holden stations.

Osterley Station to Acton Town Station

4.9 miles, about 1h 40m. Mostly level but with three flights of steps.

In theory urban walking means not getting muddy but that probably depends on the weather and time of year. My shoes will need to be cleaned.

This gentle urban ramble links five Piccadilly Line stations, three of which were designed by Charles Holden and two of which look like they were but in fact weren't. It also passes along part of the Brentford "Golden Mile" of Art Deco style factories.

Osterley station is the starting point for this walk.

Starting in the station car park, exit up the ramp and turn left. If you want a better photo you'll have to run across the Great West Road but in spite of the trees the concrete illuminated obelisk on top of Stanley Heaps' 1934 station building stands out. This is one of the not-Holden stations but in the same modern European style that Holden employed elsewhere.
Walk East along the A4 Great West Rd towards Thornbury Road. If you want to take a look at the former Osterley & Spring Grove station, which is now a book shop then head north up Thornbury Rd. and then come back to rejoin this walk.

Sticking up between the pre-war semis on the far side of the road is the St. Francis of Assisi church which opened in 1934 and was designed by Ernest C. Shearman, who also designed a number of similar churches in the London area.
More about its history can be found on the church's own web site.


Gillette Corner marks the western end of the Golden Mile beyond which the land belonged to the Church Commissioners, who would allow no factories to be built.

The Gillette Factory, designed by Sir Banister Flight Fletcher in 1936–1937. Gillette stopped using this factory in April 2006, moving production to Poland. The building was sold in 2013 for conversion into a mixed use complex with a hotel and residential apartments. It has also been used as a filming location.

The Coty Cosmetics Factory, 941 Gt. West Rd., designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners opened in 1932. The building now operates as BMI Syon Clinic. The factory was used for the manufacture of Coty soaps, lipsticks, scents and creams until 1979.

Only the boundary fences an gateways remain of the Firestone Tyre Company factory. Built 1928, designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners.The building frontage was demolished in an act of corporate vandalism by contractors working for Trafalgar House Plc. during a public holiday in August 1980, shortly before a preservation order was due to be served on it to retain the Art Deco architecture. What a bunch of bastards ☹️ The Art Deco gatehouse was demolished in 2004 to make way for increased parking facilities. The remaining gates, railings, and piers are in a Jazz Modern style and are Grade II listed.

The Pyrene Fire Extinguisher Company, 981 Gt. West Rd., built between 1929 and 1930, designed by Wallis, Gilbert & Partners. Pyrene established the concept of major fire demonstrations with the construction of a large demonstration ground alongside the Brentford factory, to simulate an oil storage depot. Now called Westlink House and available to let if you fancy it.

The Currys Factory and head office, 991 Gt. West Rd., built in 1936 as the distribution centre for Curry's chain of shops a wide variety of goods including bicycles, toys, radios and gramophones. Curry's started as a bicycle makers but are now much better known as an electrical retailer - Currys PC World. Now Grade II listed, the front office building was restored by Foster & Partners between 1997 and 2000 for JCDecaux.


Just before the A4 crosses the River Brent take the stairs on the left down to the Capital Ring walk and continue along the riverbank and over the river via the footbridge to enter Boston Manor Park.

Continue diagonally across the open area following the worn and at the time I was there rather muddy path that passes under the M4 motorway.
There is a rather unsettling rattling from the motorway bridge above as vehicles pass overhead.
The park was created in 1924 from part of the historic estate of the 17th-century stately home Boston Manor.

 The manor house itself was swathed in scaffolding and plastic sheeting but the lake was busy with gulls, and the gullible feeding them.

Exit the park at the other side of the lake onto Boston Manor Road and turn left. Continue past the suburban semis, some of which have heavy iron chains that appear to hold up their porches but are almost certainly only decorative. Eventually you reach Boston Manor Station.

Originally opened in 1883 by the District Railway, Boston Manor station was reconstructed in 1932 to a design by by architect Charles Holden, the Art Deco styled structure features a tall tower which acts as a landmark of the area and is Grade II listed. If you cross the road in front of the booking hall and (if you're tall enough) look over the bridge parapet you get a good view of Northfields Train Depot, the other side of which is our next destination, Northfields station. Head back down Boston Manor Rd. on the opposite side to the station and turn left through the iron gates into Blondin Park.

 Continue past the allotments on your left and into the open space of the park. The land was acquired by the Municipal Borough of Ealing in 1928 and opened as a public park called Northfields Recreation Ground. In 1957 it was renamed Blondin Park after Charles Blondin the famous French tightrope walker, who lived locally in Niagara House. Exit the park into Blondin Avenue and at the end of the street turn left and walk up the road to Northfields Station.

The current Northfields station opened in 1932 replacing that of around 1911. Located on the east side of Northfields Avenue, the new station was designed by Charles Holden in a modern European style using brick, reinforced concrete and glass. Like the stations at Sudbury Town, Sudbury Hill, Acton Town and Oakwood that Holden also designed, Northfields station features a tall block-like ticket hall rising above a low horizontal structure that contains station offices and shops. The brick walls of the ticket hall are punctuated with panels of clerestory windows and the structure is capped with a flat concrete slab roof. Our next stop is not far away. Turn left out of Northfields station and left into Bramley road. Continue straight ahead into Airedale Road and at the end of the street turn left. Soon you will come to South Ealing Station.

The platforms of Northfields and South Ealing are only 300m apart. For the story of why they're so close see here.
South Ealing isn't a Charles Holden design but does have a little tower in his style even though the building only dates from 1988. Since our next stop is a bit further away this is a good place to stop for a coffee in one of the cafes in the parade of shops either side of the station. Once refreshed cross the road and walk south, turning left into Sunderland Road. Continue into Maple Grove and when you come to the open grass area of Village Park Recreation Ground take the path diagonally across it and walk up Almond Ave. Turn right into Elderberry Rd. passing the huge Ealing Electricity Substation on your left and being glad you don't live in one of the houses opposite. At the end of the road turn left onto Popes Lane and cross the road.

Follow Popes Lane for about half a mile. It's not the most interesting road to walk along being mostly semi detached houses on the right and sports grounds on the left. I've not been able to determine which Pope gave it its name either.
Eventually however it will bring you to Gunnersbury Park.

I've covered Gunnersbury Park in more detail in a previous posting. It's worth diverting into the park for a look around before continuing this walk, and both refreshment and relief may be obtained therein subject to opening hours. If you've more time to linger then a visit to the museum in the large mansion will well repay your time spent inside.

Onward to the final leg. Turn right out of Gunnersbury Park onto Pope's Lane (or if you didn't go in, then carry on along Pope's Lane) and cross over the A406 Gunnersbury Avenue dual-carriageway into Gunnersbury Lane.

About five minutes further walking brings you to our last stop, Acton Town Station, on your right.
Acton Town station was opened as Mill Hill Park on 1 July 1879 by the District Railway (now the District line).It remained as a terminus until on 1 May 1883 and 23 June 1903 the DR opened two branches from Acton Town to Hounslow Town and Park Royal & Twyford Abbey respectively. On 4 July 1932 the Piccadilly line was extended to Acton Town and now it serves both Piccadilly Line and District Line trains. The original brick-built station was built in 1879 and in February 1910 the station building was reconstructed. In 1931 and 1932 the station was rebuilt again in preparation for transferring the Uxbridge branch service from the District line to the Piccadilly line. The new station was designed by Charles Holden in a modern European geometric style using brick, reinforced concrete and glass. Similar to other Holden designed stations, Acton Town features a tall block-like ticket hall rising above a low horizontal structure housing the station offices and shops. The ticket hall has a projecting London Underground roundel sign over a canopy, the brick walls of the ticket hall are punctuated with panels of clerestory windows and the structure is capped with a flat concrete slab roof. It was given Grade II listing in 1994.

From Acton Town you can either get the tube back to Osterley or... well the world's your lobster really ☺️


More photos, a Flickr Album:

London - Portrait Of A City

Monday 9th December 2019

The latest exhibition at Clerkenwell's London Metropolitan Archives deals with images of the capital from the 11th century to the present day.

From wax seals to digital photographs, images of London and Londoners are displayed on the walls and in glass cases of the small exhibition space and the stairs.

There are drawings, paintings, and prints, along with film and sound from the LMA's extensive archives. They are displayed by image-making technique with explanations of how the different technologies work. That's something that you don't usually get at an art gallery and it makes this an informative exhibition well worth visiting.

The LMA is a slightly odd place to visit. It's very low-key, the entrance in Northampton Road opposite Spa Fields is an unobtrusive doorway into what looks like just another office block save for a couple of vertical banners o the wall above and discreet "City of London" and "London Metropolitan Archives" signs over the door. On entry there's just a small reception/security desk where people coming in to access original material from the archives sign in but visitors to the exhibition are allowed through unmolested. I was asked if I'd visited before, which I had, once, and that was it. If you've not been before it might not be obvious where to go next - there's no big "To the exhibition" sign that you might expect. Take the stairs (or lift if you can't do stairs although some of the exhibits are on the walls in the stairwell). There's a Visitor Lounge n the mezzanine floor where you are able to leave coats and bags in free lockers. The rules say you must do this if going into the study areas but it's not clear if that applies to the exhibition as well. Do it anyway, it doesn't cost anything and you'll be more comfortable.

Most of the exhibition is on the first floor outside the doors to the information area and is well laid out if not particularly well lit. There are paper exhibition guides in standard and large print varieties which replicate the information in the displays but also contain a little map of the exhibition area. The toilets are adjacent to the exhibition area, should you need them.

I reckon you should allow an hour to study the pictures and read the words, and there is a short film to watch and some audio too. This is I have to point out not the sort of exhibition which is going to excite small children. As a somewhat older child I found it interesting and informative. If you're interested in London's history in pictorial form go and take a look. You've got until July the 8th when no doubt it will be replaced by something new and probably equally excellent. You'll be too late to get your name on the first line of the visitor comments book though cos' I've already done that 😀

London - Portrait Of A City

London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Rd, Farringdon, London EC1R 0HB

9th December 2019 to 8th July 2020

FREE ENTRY

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma

020 7332 3820

ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk

The lights, the lights!

Sunday 24th November

It is that time of year again. You can barely move it the supermarkets for piles of tat that no one needs to buy (the war against single-use plastic seems to have been temporarily suspended) and the shelves are full of festive fayre much of which will have passed its use by date before the big day.

On the plus side however it's also the time of year that the lights go on. Town centres - or their modern replacement, Shopping Centres - across the land put up their best seasonal illuminations in an effort to draw as many spenders as possible in competition with other local towns. So far, so standard.

As well as your usual Christmas Lights from Bromyard to Oxford Street there are more ambitious, or maybe more artistic displays. Canary Wharf has "spectacular light installations and interactive art"  but you'll have to wait until January to see that. In the meantime you can already see some spectacular light installations and interactive art by heading up the Metropolitan or Jubilee lines to Wembley Park. (Other transport choices are available if not coming from central London.)

For here near the home of English football (that will probably be disputed by those in the north) and the London Designer Outlet, is Winterfest 2019. Or Christmas in technicolour as it says on their website. The website also says that you can, "Experience Wembley Park’s first-ever immersive winter lights trail. Artists from all over the world have curated light and sound artworks that will transform Wembley Park into an immersive playground of unique art installations, combining light, sound and touch into a truly multi-sensory experience. From the acclaimed Sonic Runway, making its European debut in Wembley Park via Nevada’s Burning Man festival, to London’s tallest-ever LED light Christmas Tree, get ready to be enveloped by a technicolour trail of lights and interactive sounds."

And that's a pretty good description, as I discovered on a Sunday evening with nothing better to do. Here's a flavour (with cheesy music but no sleigh bells I promise) of what I found:

Winterfest is on until January 3rd so they'll be hoping you'll come and see it and spend money on Christmas presents and in the Boxing day sales. Or you could just go and see the lights - there is no admission charge. I succumbed to the lure of a Pret filter coffee as it was a chilly night so I suppose they acheived their aim of attracting more trade to the tune of £1 😀

Season's Greetings.

Things I didn't blog about recently.

Five things I forgot to write about since my last post:

Saturday October 26th

Walked from Gloucester Road tube down to the Thames and along the south bank to Waterloo. It was wet, very wet. Got the tube to St.Paul's to see "Where Light Falls".

"Experience St Paul’s in a different light across three evenings this October. In partnership with Historic England cutting-edge projections inspired by original poetry illuminate this iconic landmark in honour of the men and women who risked their lives to save the Cathedral during the Second World War"

It was quite good actually.

Sunday October 27th

Went for a walk locally as it was a nice day and it's been a while since I explored around here.

The pedestrian level crossing near Ambarrow Court was closed so had to make a detour which was disappointing.

Despite living around here since 1990 this was the first time I'd ever been to Horseshoe Lake.

Saturday November 2nd

Visited the Regent Street Motor Show.

Regent street closed to vehicles in order to hold a car show. Lots of interesting vehicles from the earliest - the show is on the day prior to the London to Brighton Veteran Car run - to the latest electric vehicles.

Also popped into the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden to see the new Hidden London exhibition. They've done a really good job of evoking a sense of the actual subterranean visits, of which I've done several.

Monday November 4th

Beside the seaside, beside the sea.

An afternoon at Bognor Regis walking along the prom. Quietly bracing and the rain held off for most of the time. There's something about seaside towns out of season that I like. Fewer people about. Better photo opportunities. On the minus side no whelks though as the stalls were shut.

I see the shiny new seafront toilets were so badly constructed by the contractors that they need to be knocked down only months after they were finished. Such is the way in 21st century Britain.