Forlorn garages in Cave Road

I don't think that I have ever walked along Cave Rod and as it is a short no-through-road I think that I am unlikely too, but I do walk along Riverside Drive regularly and can see along Cave Road from the point where they almost meet.

That end of Cave Road is lined with garages. They look rather sad and unloved as they wait for something to happen to them.

Ham Pond (Summer 2014)

I have taken lots of photos of Ham Pond over the years but a couple more will not hurt as it is a little different each time I pass by and it is always pretty.

This time the area around the pond was looking especially green and healthy. It had not been a particularly wet Summer but it had not been that dry either and the vegetarian had done well in those conditions.

BenForrest has arrived

It was sad to see Mia Wood go but at least the shop was reoccupied quickly.

Mia Wood sold small expensive things and I used to shop their occasionally. I bought all my birthday cards there and a few birthday presents too. Obviously I and others did not do that often enough and now it has gone. And that's a shame.

Replacing it is another hairdressers, BenForrest, which joins Le Look Image, Headmasters Academy and Murray's. I understand that he is bringing most of his customers from his previous place in which case he should not harm the existing businesses and my even bring new people in to the other shops on the parade.

Northweald Lake

I mentioned Northweald Lake in a recent post about the resurfacing of Dukes Avenue and a few days later it rained heavily to show what I mean.

The dark colour of the new road surface masks the water a little but the extended reflection on the bus' rear lights show how far the water stretches.

But there is nothing like a vehicle going through the water to show just how much there is.

Ivy on Langham House

Langham House is featured here regularly because I walk past it frequently, it is a very attractive and it changes pleasingly with the seasons. That is three good reasons.

Tree Close, Petersham

Tree Close is one of those little corners of Ham and Petersham that managed to escape my attention for some years. I knew where it was obviously (it is just off the entrance to the German School) but the entrance made clear that it was private and there was nothing obvious to make me ignore the sign.

When the opportunity did come to venture in I was rather disappointed even though the new house at the entrance was attractive enough.

The main body of the close consisted of dark brick bungalows with equally dark roofs. They looked reasonable of themselves but they did not look like Ham and the wide tarmacked access road rather spoilt things.

Night working on Dukes Avenue

It does not seem that long ago since it was last done but apparently it was time for Dukes Avenue to be resurfaced again. The work was done over two nights to minimise the impact on residents but it still meant that I had to park on Ham Parade overnight.

The resurfacing did nothing to improve the drainage and Northweald Lake was quick to reappear in the next burst of heavy rain.

Wild flowers on Dukes Avenue

The usual approach that Councils have taken to brightening up odd grassy areas has been to plant daffodils. This is reasonable but they are quite short lived and as every Council does this there is a splurge of yellow for a few weeks and then nothing for the rest of this year.

So it was a very pleasant surprise to find the Richmond Council had planted some wild flowers on the triangle of grass on the junction between Dukes Avenue and Craig Road.

The picture at the top is looking north-west towards Craig Road and the one above is looking the other way long Dukes Avenue. The grass is struggling a little in the warm dry Summer but the flowers look magnificent.

And they look even better when you get up-close to them.

Swans on Ham Pond (2014)

I was not planning on posting any pictures of the swans this year as I have shown them many times before and many other people take photographs of them but I keep walking across Ham Common and that usually means that I go near the Pond and that means that I take some photos there and that means that there are swans in some of them.

The compromise that I have reached with myself is to post just a few photos from this year and to put them all together. The first of these photos was taken in May and the last in August. The cygnets grew a lot in that time.

One of the nice milestones each year is when the swans become confident enough to take their young brood on to the grass. There were still six cygnets in mid-June but there are now five.

In early August the cygnets are almost the same size as their parents, only their colour gives them away.

Walking through Ham Lands

It is easy to see why I like walking through Ham Lands when I am greeted with views like this with the bright sunlight displaying the wild flowers and trees at their very best.

The paths that I like to take are like those on the left of the picture, paths that disturb the natural order the least. I see little point in destroying nature with tarmac just to make the remaining nature more accessible.

Another clearing along the way and another chance to pause to enjoy the scenery.

All good things must come to an end and this pleasant walk ended as I emerged on to Riverside Drive where the unwelcome appearance of some cars marked the boundary of Ham Lands.