On entering Petersham Lodge Woods

It is easy to overlook Petersham Lodge Woods as River Lane and the towpath let you pass easily but it is worth making the effort to step inside and this is the serene view you get on entering from River Lane,

Three out of four

It is worrying that three out these four properties on Upper Ham Road are empty commercial units (the other is the intermittently used Ham and Petersham Cricket Club pavilion) and more worrying still that there are no signs on any of them suggesting that the owners are looking for new tenants.

Tree protection

The last time that I checked on these works at The Navigator's House in River Lane these gates were open and the tree was unprotected. I do not recall seeing protection like that before and I am sure that it is there for good reasons, better safe than sorry!

Dominic House in Sudbrook Lane

The changes made over the years to Dominic House in Sudbrook Lane have been small but noticeable. The driveway used to be paved and was smaller. The garden is reduced as a result and the row of semi-spherical trees that used to define the house has been reduced from seven to three.

Fallen tree

This fallen tree is on the towpath opposite Eel Pie Island and I like the way that it has just been pushed to one side. It has made the path a lot narrower but this is not a path that gets a lot of buggies or wheelchairs and there is still enough space for them.

More concrete posts

Richmond Council is continuing its welcome campaign against bad drivers by replacing fragile wood posts with stronger and taller concrete ones, this time on the bend of Church Road by the south-east entrance to Ham Common Woods.

Lammas improvements

I caught these changes in Lammas Road while they were still very much in progress and I just liked the business of it with a lot going on from a new front door to grey fences. The limited amount of paving is also encouraging.

Thames Young Mariners changes

I took a similar picture to this one in 2007 and I was interested to note the changes; the floating quay is larger, the embankment in the centre has been cleared of vegetation and there are new railings at the lock. There is also a lot more vegetation on the left side which has recovered from the major clearance done in 2009.

Replacement fence and hedge

Earlier this year I described how the lane past St. Peter's Church Petersham and on to Petersham Nurseries was being remade as a proper road and the last part of that work was to rebuild the combined fence and hedge on one side.