Town houses at The Denes

The town houses at the Denes in Craig Road are taking their final shape now that the rendering is on.

Broken garage door

This is one of the garages at the end of Mornington Walk by the uninspiring twitten that takes you to Ham Common.

Path to Ham Common

This path runs from Mornington Walk to Ham Common, which you can just see at the end.

Demolition

This sign is on the building works on Ham Common.

Now it's gone

Last time that I took a picture of this site on Ham Common there was still a house here.

Sign at Hardwicke House

This sign, just to the right of the gate, says "Boundary Fence of Hardwicke House". The new sign on the other side of the gate is a lot easier to read and simply says, "Hardwicke House".

Path to Sudbrook Gardens

Behind this gate there is a path that runs from Ham Gate Avenue to Sudbrook Gardens. Sadly it is locked.

Cottage gardens on Ham Gate Avenue

Not only are the cottages on Ham Gate Avenue rather lovely, their gardens are too!

Cottages on Ham Gate Avenue

These rather lovely cottages are on the north side of Ham Gate Avenue at the west end, near the junction with Upper Ham Road. I presume that they were originally built to house workers at Ormeley Lodge, which is immediately to the right of this picture.

Ormeley Lodge

Ormeley Lodge on Ham Gate Avenue is possibly my favourite house in Ham (though it has stiff competition from Gordon House etc.). It is as majestic as any of the lodges that surround Ham Common and I prefer this setting with Ham Common Woods in front of the house and to one side of it, Richmond Golf Club behind it and a few well kept cottages on the other side.

It is the home of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and, therefore, the former home of Zac Goldsmith and Jemima Khan. I don't do celebrity and have no idea what Lady Annabel or Jemima look like but I do politics and have met Zac a few times, including once at Ormeley Lodge itself during one of their open garden events. These are a highlight of any year because the gardens are delightful.

A gate in the fence

The north-east sector of Ham Common Woods is partially bounded by The Richmond Golf Club. For some reason there is a gate in the fence, you can just see the golf course through it. Not surprisingly the gate is locked and I'm not sure if/when it is ever used.

A path in the woods

The wild part of Ham Common (to the east of Upper Ham Road) is split by Ham Gate Avenue, the road that leads to Ham Gate. The larger part is south of Ham Gate Avenue and this path is in the smaller part to the north. Richmond Park is just on the left of this picture behind a tall brick wall that keeps the deer in the park.

The southern end of Ham Lands

This part of Ham Lands is just south of Teddington Lock and the picture is taken from the tow path looking east towards Burnell Avenue.

Boundary between Kingston and Richmond

The southern end of Ham is in the borough of Kingston upon Thames, whereas most of Ham is in Richmond upon Thames. This stone on the tow path marks the boundary between the two boroughs.

The southern end of Ham Lands

If you walk along the river north from Kingston upon Thames you get to Ham Lands just after the sports grounds at the Hawker Centre. At this point the wilderness open up on the right towards the former British Aerospace site, now the Royal Park Gate housing development. The hedge on the left of this picture forms the boundary of Royal Park Gate.

No cycling sign off Petersham Road

This rather quaint sign is in the twitten (alleyway) that leads off the junction between Petersham Road and Sandy Lane and cuts behind the houses in Petersham Road to give access to Clifford Road. The pretty twitten mischievously separates the houses from their gardens as it does so.

Private road off Petersham Road

These houses off Petersham Road are not the easiest to find. The private road looks like another driveway and the sign is a little way down it.

Flowers at the New Inn

The New Inn on Ham Common is not my favourite pub locally (the Royal Oak is) but it is the most attractive when the hanging baskets are in full bloom like this.

LM54 ZPC on the pavement

I guess this avoids parking on double yellow lines but blocking the pavement like this is inexcusable.

Hedged path at Ham House

This path is along the south-east side of the Cherry Garden at Ham House.

Side door at Ham House

This is part of the north-east side of Ham House.

Cherry Garden at Ham House

There are paths around the outside of the Cherry Garden at Ham House. This picture is of the Cherry Garden taken from the path that runs along the north-east side of Ham House.

Cherry Garden at Ham House

North-east side of Ham House

This is the view looking over the Cherry Garden towards the north-east side of Ham House.

Arched walkway in Ham House gardens

This arched walkway is on the north-east side of Ham House between the Cherry Garden and the boundary wall.

Wilderness in the Wilderness at Ham House

The hedged paths in the Wilderness (part of the rear garden) at Ham House make a number of small gardens. Some have been planted but this one has been left as grass. A curved path has been cut through it between the two entrances.

View from a summer house at Ham House

Summer house in the gardens at Ham House

This little summer house is one of two like this in the Wilderness (rear garden) at Ham House. They are both in one of the many little gardens made by the hedges that line the paths and so can be a little hard to find. It is worth the effort.

On the righthand side of the garden, looking from the house, there is a single larger summer house looking down one of the long straight paths. It is useful but nothing like as pretty as the other two.

The Wilderness at Ham House

The furthest part of the rear garden at Ham House is a set of hedged paths laid out in a cross (union flag style) making eight small triangular gardens. This is one of the main paths.

Statue in the gardens at Ham House

The rear garden at Ham House is split into two main parts, the lawn (Plats) and hedged paths (Wilderness). This is one of the two statues at the entrance to the Wilderness.

South Terrace and Plats at Ham House

The South Terrace is immediately behind Ham House and then there are steps down to the lawns (this part of the garden is called the Plats). This picture shows the border between the terrace and Plats.

The rear of Ham House

This is the rear view of Ham House, which faces along Melancholy Walk towards Richmond Park.

Herbaceous border at Ham House

The rear garden at Ham House is in several sections. This herbaceous border runs either side of the back of the house across the full width of the formal garden.

New pavilion on Riverside Drive

The section of Ham Lands immediately west of Ham Street has some recreational facilities, including a large sports ground, a rifle club, tennis courts and allotments. The old pavilion on one of the sports grounds looked like little more than a shed and it burnt down recently (I wonder how that happened?!). Now it is being replaced by this much larger brick-built one.

South-west face of Ham House

Garden under construction

This little garden is on the south-west side of Ham House. Most of it is still wild but there is a circle of formal planting in the middle.

Entrance to Ham House

Kitchen window at Ham House

The Ham House kitchen is in the basement at the front of the house in the south-west corner.

Alcoves at the front of Ham House

There are covered alcoves on both sides of the entrance to Ham House. This is the one of the north side.

Front door to Ham House

Ham House

Ornamental wall at Ham House

This rather nice wall and sculptured hedges are at the front of Ham House on the left side.

Ham House

This is the rather impressive front view of Ham House, as seen from the river.

Front wall at Ham House

Note sure who or what this is designed to keep out but there is a ditch in front of the wall at the front of Ham House. The walls on the other sides are much taller and do not have a ditch.

The long way to Ham House

This sign to Ham House is pointing north along Upper Ham Road. That is a little odd as if you turn left just before this, along Ham Common, the road takes you directly to Ham House!

Grass

This little patch of wilderness is behind Ham House. It's to the left of Melancholy Walk as you walk from Ham House.

Garages

This picture was taken from Dukes Avenue but there is no access to them from there; the entrance is in Maguire Drive.

New house in Dukes Avenue

169 Dukes Avenue is being extended with a new house, 169a, being added to the side. Both are currently on the market for £550k.

The Royal Oak on a Sunday afternoon

It's thirsty work walking around Ham taking lots of photos and the Royal Oak in Ham Street is the ideal place to recharge your batteries.

Tollemache Almshouses have an ugly sign

I find it incredible that anybody thought it appropriate to put such a large brash sign on the quaint period almshouses in Ham Street. The silver background is too harsh and contrasts horribly with the brick, the bland black font has no character or charm, and either it or the wall is not straight.

It is a shame that they did not take a lead from the nice gold sign behind.