Walk in York House Gardens

Whilst the house is now part of the rather grand council offices of the London Borough of Richmond, the gardens of 17th century York House, in Twickenham are a lovely spot for a wander.


The house has had many owners during its time, but perhaps the most famous was the Indian industrialist Sir Ratan Tata, who owned it from 1906 until his death. We are told that Sir Rantan's flourishes can still be seen today, including a sunken lawn to the rear of the house, a sea nymph statuary near the riverside and the restored Japanese garden.

It was acquired by the council in 1926, and though many of the administrative staff have moved to boring municipal buildings in the surrounding area. Following restoration work, the council still retains the house and it is used as a venue for weddings and other events.

For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_House,_Twickenham

Tour the Golden Hinde

The Golden Hinde was the ship in which Sir Francis Drake made his first circumnavigation of the Globe between 1577 and 1580. The one on the South Bank, in the heart of touristland a short distance from Borough Market, is not the original, but it is a faithful recreation of the original ship.


Thought Elizabeth I decreed that the original ship should be kept at Deptford and opened to the general public, the original had rotted away by the beginning of the 18th century. This Golden Hinde was launched much later, taking to the water in Devon in 1973, has itself circumnavigated the world, and been on various US tours, meaning that it has apparently covered more than 140,000 miles and is better travelled than the original.

It wasn't until 1996 that it was placed in its current place in St Mary Overie Dock, where it remains as a Tudor theme ship. It is open daily from 10am-5pm, and tickets cost £6.

For more information, see http://www.goldenhinde.com/

_{^Picture © morebyless used under Creative Commons^}

Drink in the Queen's Head at Downe

Whilst red TfL buses stop outside the Queen's Head, in the small Kentish village of Downe, and it is technically part of Greater London - sitting just inside the M25 - its atmosphere couldn't be further away from the hustle and bustle of central London.


The village which was once home to Charles Darwin has changed little over the last 100 years, and the Queens Head dates back much further, to 1565 when it was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth I, following her visit to the village in 1559.

The pub has three bars, all with local connections, and the inevitable Darwin Bar, where your author drank, is complemented by an Eagle Bar taking its name from a Second World War squadron based out of Biggin Hill, and the Suhaili Bar, named after the boat of local boy Robin Knox Johnston.

It's a bit of a trek from the nearest station, but it's a beautiful bike ride if you are so inclined, and there is plenty to see and do in the area.

For more information see http://www.queensheaddowne.co.uk

Visit the new Southbank Centre shop

Last Friday, the Southbank Centre opened its new shop on Festival Terrace, the shopping arcade that links Hungerford Bridge with the walkway towards Waterloo. They have teamed up with Deptford's Cockpit Arts to offer a range of products, alongside others from various producers with a welcome focus on London and the centre itself.


Your author isn't a massive shopper, but one type of shop he always has time for museum and gallery shops of this type, especially in a period when reductions in Government spending mean that some institutions are looking to maximise other sources of revenue.

At the moment the shop also has small displays focusing on some predictably awful Royal Wedding tat, but also some specialist merchandise to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Festival of Britain, which is this year and is probably more worthy of celebration.

For more information, click here.

Go for a walk in Abbey Wood

We recently looked at the ruins of Lesnes Abbey, and the woodland on the hill above the ruins is lovely at this time of year, and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.


An area of ancient woodland, more recently an attraction for Edwardian day trippers, the woods apparently have some features dating back to the Bronze Age. At 217 acres, features include includes ponds, a fossil bed, a chalk pit and nearby grassy meadows and heathland.

For more information, see http://www.bexleyrspb.org.uk/reserves/lesnes-abbey-wood.php

Visit the Twickenham Museum

Another of London's fascinating little neighbourhood museums, the Twickenham Museum examines the history of the Thames-side Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington and the Hamptons over thousands of years. It is housed in a Grade II Listed building at 25 The Embankment, Twickenham.


Though the first museum was planned for Twickenham over a hundred and fifty years ago, and a various volunteer-staffed museums have popped up, with one set up by a member of the Twining tea family in the 19th century, and another closing in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War, the latest museum did not come into being until the early 1990s, as a charity.

Today, the free museum charts the famous people of the area in various different categories from writes and poets to sailors and soldiers, and exhibits a range of artefacts and photograph associated with the area.

For more information, see http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk

Buy books at the Bookshop on the Heath

Whilst your author isn't sure they're quite accurate in describing themselves as 'one of London's...last remaining second-hand bookshops', the Bookshop on the Heath, in Blackheath, is certainly a gem, and should not be missed.


Any bookshop that, in the modern bookselling climate, sets a blanket price for paperbacks of £1.80 (or three for £5), and bravely holds out against the new big boy of second hand books, the Oxfam, selling books just a couple of doors down is a special place, but its the old and rare books which are really interesting at the Bookshop on the Heath.

The only problem with a bookshop like this is that it drives your author to buy books faster than he can read them, so he will have to ration the number of trips in future. That said, the reasonable price structure, and the obvious passion with which owners Jasmine and Richard Platt run this little family shop is very special, so maybe a trip to the bookshelf shop is more appropriate.

For more information, see http://www.bookshopontheheath.co.uk/

Go shopping in Shepherds Bush Market

An interesting little market, which is so much part of Shepherds Bush that they even renamed a tube station after it, the Shepherds Bush Market runs six days a week and offers an opportunity to acquire a huge array of things.


The market dates from the early twentieth century, and has traditionally served the local Irish and Afro-Caribbean communities, which, when combined with the Somali, Syrian, Lebanese, Iranian, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities who also call the area home, means that a wide range of produce is available.

Recently, the market has been threatened with demolition as part of an ominous redevelopment project which is presumably designed to turn all of Shepherds Bush into the Westfield Centre, but for now it remains just the same as ever.

For more information, click here and scroll down a bit.

See the Crofton Roman Villa

Down in Orpington, just inside this website's M25 boundary, they have the remains of their own Roman Villa, saved in 1988 after many years of uncertainty. When the villa was rediscovered by railway workmen in 1926, its north-eastern portion had already been destroyed by railway works in the 19th century, but it is still easy to imagine how it might have looked, and the remains are now enclosed and open to the public.


Back when the surrounding areas were nothing but rolling countryside, in AD 140 to 400, the villa was possibly the home of a Roman soldier, or a Romanised Englishman made good, and sat at the heart of a farming estate of hundreds of acres.

Nowadays, it sits in a concrete barn between Orpington Station and an accountant's office, but all credit should go to the local volunteers who run it today and the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, whose work in the 1980s helped to save the villa from disappearing under a fancy new car park.

Today, kept open with the help of volunteers, the villa reopened for the summer season last week, and remains open on Wednesday, Fridays and Bank Holiday Mondays, as well as the first Sunday of the month only. Entry is a steal at £1.50, especially given the attentive and enthusiastic reception. For more information, see http://cka.moon-demon.co.uk/villa.htm

Stock up at Syon Park Garden Centre

Your author has recently acquired a temporary share in a lovely garden, and is learning how important it is to know where your nearest garden centre is. This is why today's post is about the Syon Park Garden Centre, a particularly good example in West London.


Built around the sixteenth century stable blocks and barns of Syon Park, the estate of the Dukes of Northumberland between Isleworth and Brentford, the Garden Centre was opened by the Queen in 1968.

This was, we are told, the first modern garden centre, and led the way for the many hundreds which blight our sundays to this day, but they are a necessary evil if we are to have pretty gardens to sit out in.

The Syon Park Garden Centre is open every day, and stays open until 7pm Monday to Saturday, presumably so you can go after work and have time for planting at weekends. For more, click here.

Catch up with the Cafe Concert Tour

Some readers may remember friends of the blog, Alexandra Carter and Serge Pachnine, who brought their fantastic music to the Tired of London, Tired of Life second birthday party in October. They are back on the road again this week for their “A Proper Cup of Coffee” Cafe Concert Tour, playing coffee-themed shows in cafes around London.


Today they're clocking up three gigs at the Sugahill Cafe in Sydenham, the Pavilion Cafe in Dulwich Park, and at Good Taste Food in Crystal Palace.

The gigs are for UK Coffee Week, and are helping to raise funds for Project Waterfall, the weeks charitable arm, which aims to raise £1 million for water and sanitation projects around the world. If Alex and Serge don't keel over from exhaustion first they will end their thirteen-date tour with three special shows on Saturday for London Coffee Festival.

For more information, see the Alexandra Carter website

Take a trip on Hammerton's Ferry

Established in 1909 by Walter Hammerton, a local chap who had set up a business hiring out boats on the river, Hammerton's Ferry is still running today, offering walkers and cyclists a way to cross the river between Orleans Road in Twickenham and Ham House in Richmond.


Now operated by Francis and Jenny Spencer, who acquired the business seven years ago, the ferry operates daily from 1st March until 31st October, and on weekends during the winter, weather permitting. Whilst today the ferry uses a modern boat, built in 1997, Hammerton's original skiff is still on display in the Museum of Docklands.

A ticket costs £1 for adults, and 50p for children, and adult bikes are an extra 50p. For more information, see http://hammertonsferry.co.uk/

See Ben Eine's new mural

This isn't a street art blog, but when it comes to Ben Eine's pretty letters, your author has been known to dabble. That's why he was so pleased to hear from those clever folks over at Londonist earlier this week that there are some new ones out, and they spell out a London rhyme.


Sadly, however, the work is temporary, and will remain on the walls of the London Graphic Centre in Covent Garden for only six weeks. But during that time, its nine by six metres will hopefully encourage people to stop and look, and remember the 'Oranges and Lemons' rhyme which, as most readers will know, recounts the sounds of bells in City churches.

For more information, see http://www.artrepublic.com/articles/251-new-work-by-ben-eine-at-london-graphic-centre.html

Visit the Arts and Sciences City

Often overlooked by tourists due to the relative difficulties of getting there from Central London, the Arts and Sciences City, in Dagenham Dock, is a fantastic place for an early April day out. Built on an old floodplain, a short distance from Dagenham Breach, it has for the last few years been threatened with closure due to lack of visitors. Funded by the National Lottery Millennium Commission, it was opened on New Years Eve 1999 by Terry Venables.


Attractions in the park include:

The Dame Vera Lynn Hemisphere Project — an Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium, built in the exact shape of the vocal chords of the popular local wartime singer

The HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Museum of Science, an interactive museum of science, built to resemble the shape of the face of one of those funny-looking foreigners

The London wildlife experience, a landscaped zoological walk displaying animals and plants indigenous to London, including the crack squirrel, the man eating fox and the marmite badger.

Other features include a large aquarium built in the shape of a water-boatman, which is one of the largest in the world at 110,000 square meters, and contains 42 million litres of water, and a waxwork museum of local heroes, including John Terry, Alf Ramsey, Billy Bragg and Max Bygraves.

Entry to the park is £45, and it is open on Sundays from 3pm until 5pm. The nearest station is Dagenham Dock. For more information, click here.

Meet the birds of Round Pond

Round Pond, in Kensington Gardens, is a seven acre pond, created between 1726 and 1735 as part of new designs for the gardens by Henry Wise and Charles Bridgeman which saw it placed at the heart of several formal tree-lined avenues.


By Victorian times, it had become a popular spot for sailing model boats, and remains a popular spot for this today, but it is also known for the variety of wildfowl it attracts.

According to the fantastically detailed 'Birding Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens' blog, Mute Swans, Egyptian Geese, and Mandarin Ducks, Tufted Ducks, Egyptian Geese and various types of Gull have all been spotted in the pond over the last month or so, whilst your author understands that life below water includes three-spined sticklebacks, roach, gudgeon and eels.

For more information, see http://hpkg.blogspot.com/

_{^Picture © Tony Austin used under Creative Commons^}