Neat extension in Arlington Road

I rarely go into the roads leading south off Sandy Lane as there is no way out except to go back to Sandy Lane and there is a not a great deal to see anyway. Of course the only way that I can be sure that there is still not a great deal to see is to go in to there from time to time to look for things.

On a recent walk through there I noticed this neat extension to a period house typical of the area, sitting on the corner of Arlington Road and Ashley Gardens. It is unforgiving modern and I love it for that.

Major works to Ensleigh Lodge on Ham Common

One of the several major developments that I am watching at the moment is at Ensleigh Lodge on Ham Common, close to the junction with Lock Road.

The number of workmen involved, the time they have taken and the amount of noise that they have generated all suggest that major works are being done but, unlike its near-neigbour Gordon House, there is not much sign of those works from outside.

Autumn colours (2015)

Every year patches of Ham turn red and yellow and while I tell myself that I am not going to take many pictures of Autumn colours I always do. The three photos I've selected were taken on a straight walk along Ham Street and Ham Common.

The first one is of one of the outbuildings at Ham House. The ivy there is always particularly noticeable because there are no other buildings next to it and it faces south-west so catches the sun (when there is some), whereas the other two are on the other side of the road and so see no direct sunlight.

This wonderful example is on one of the short terrace of houses opposite the Ham Brewery Tap. I like the way that the red/yellow ivy is starting to colonise the house to the left of it and the way that it contrasts with the still green ivy to the right of it.

The final example comes from Langham House. The house looked lovely when the ivy was in full leaf but most of it had gone when I took this. One of the remaining fragments to red formed a ring around a window and that was enough to get me reaching for my camera.

A bright entrance to Milton Court

All of the Parkleys development is beautifully landscaped but somebody has made the entrance to Milton Court particularly bright and welcoming.

Milton Court sits on the bend in Parkleys road as it turns sharply right (from the Ham Parade direction) while Ham Farm Road joins at and leads off to the left. This means that the entrance is visible for some distance for anybody approaching it from Ham Parade, as I do several times a week.

I presume the flowers are maintained by residents in Milton Court and I am sure that many locals, including myself, are delighted that they do this.

Walking some less trodden paths

As I am sure that I have said many times before, one of my very favourite things about Ham is the way that the network of footpaths let you flow through the area rather than having to follow the rigid routes of the roads. This is called permeability and I love it.

The footpaths that I was exploring this day were around Stretton Road. I had explored them several times before but, even so, I  think I found a path that I had not walked before.

The rewards for this exploration were dark mysterious passages, like the one above, and the opportunity to see things that few people ever see, like the shabby garden at the top.

The hole in Ham Street gets bigger and deeper

It appears that the new house that is coming to Ham Street is going to have much more of a basement than I originally thought as the work to dig it out has been going on for some time. The space being dug seems to be the full footprint of the new building as defined by the steel walls.

Some welcome flowers in Dukes Avenue

These flowers on the corner of Dukes Avenue and Craig Road have been brightening my walks recently as the weather had turned decidedly grey and autumnal. The flowers make the most of their modest patch though their varied shapes and colours.

This is what a wild flower garden should look like and I would like to see many more of them across Ham. The only other patch that I can think of is next to the Dysart Arms in Petersham.

Autumn ivy on Langham House (2015)

I know that I have posted pictures of the red ivy on Langham House before but it is such a distinctive landmark on Ham Common each Autumn that it is worth showing it again.

Previously I have taken pictures from the Common side of the road so I thought I would do something different this year and take one from the same side of the road as Langham House looking up at it.

Leaving Ham to go to Richmond

My self imposed border for this blog follows the towpath north and west as far a River Lane and then follows that road south to the main road and that is why I have never covered Petersham Meadow, or its cows. After eight years I have broken my own rule.

This is the towpath immediately to the west of River Lane and I was prompted to take the picture by the unconscious shock that the path had been resurfaced. I do not recall that being done in the twenty years that I have lived here and the wear and tear of the many years had made the path very uneven and a haven for puddles.

One of the causes for the wear and tear is the tide that sometimes climbs up the bank to cover the path. It will be interesting to see how long the path looks as good as this and how long it takes to get repaired again when the potholes return.