KN14 YJE on the pavement

KN14 YJE is not only on the pavement but is also obstructing a dropped kerb, two crimes at once.

34 Lock Road

Clear and attractive house number signs are always welcome and this one is more useful than most as this entrance to 34 Lock Road is actually in Craig Road.

In to Petersham Lodge Loods

Petersham Lodge Woods is something of an oddity because of its size and location. It is too small to justify a visit and its location means that there is no real point in walking through it.

Therefore I find it odd that there are steps in to it from River Lane. These must be some of the least used steps in the area!

Climb those steps and you see that there are a few more steps down in to the Woods but the constructed part of the path ends there. A rough path continues a short distance before meeting the main path that is at right-angles to it.

It is a lot easier to go along the towpath, just off to the right of this picture.

LF66 NFU on the pavement

There is a pavement on only one side of Ham Common and it is not that wide yet, somehow, the driver of LF66 NFU still thought that this was a good place to park his/her car.

Light green

When this shop was the Dog and Groom it was a discrete white and now as it takes on a new role it has become a modern shade of light green, muck like that used on the fence and planters at Shockwave Clinics nearby on the other side of the road.

Triangles

This oddly shaped house on Petersham Road is gradually revealed and we now know that behind the black sheeting was black wood. 

It is an unusual design, to say the least, and there is still more to be revealed. At the moment its quirkiness is winning me over and if the windows at the front match those behind then I will be happy.

Run Route

The roads and paths around the river are popular for casual and organised runners. On the larger runs the area gets a few signs like this one to guide the participants and also volunteers to point people in the right direction if they somehow manage to miss the signs.

Empty path

The gate on the left is the entrance to Petersham Nurseries, it is closed because this was a Monday, and being closed meant that the entrance area and the path beyond leading to River Lane were pleasingly free of people.

Drinks and snacks

Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts have introduced a drinks and snacks van (I refuse to call it a food truck, despite what google says) on the edge of their plot alongside the towpath.

I am sure that many people will find it very useful as it is a fair way along the towpath to, say, Flying Clouds or Tide Tables, but I walked past it and went to the cafe at Ham House, which is a large part of what I pay my annual National Trust membership fee for.

Gateway to Clifford Road

I have spoken of the two houses on Sandy Lane forming a gateway to Clifford Road so I thought that I would do a post showing both of them.

This is the older house on the west/left side of the junction. Already a decent size it has recently grown into the attic. Thankfully, it is no longer pink.

The new house on the east/right side of the junction is similar in style (though the choice of windows may change that) and is somewhat larger, though there is no obvious sign of an attic room from this angle.

JCB

I poked my camera though the hole in the gate to the construction works at Meadlands School to check on progress but there was a smart JCB in the way so I took a picture of that instead!

Shrine

Majestic Way

This line of mud is the current state of play of Majestic Way, the straight line cut brutally though Ham Lands North. Time has softened and narrowed it so it has become a smaller wound in the greenery but it is still a wound.

I have had a quick look through some old documents to see if this new path/vista was given a name when it was first proposed but it has become known as Majestic Way as it points to the Majestic Wine Warehouse on Cross Deep, Teddington.

Chitty Hole

Chitty Hole is on the bend of the river as it passes past Petersham Meadow and turns towards Richmond. This is normally out of my geographical range but Thames Landscape Strategy have been working to restore the area, mostly by cutting back brambles, and I thought that was worth noting.

Timber

There seems to be more evidence of fallen trees results from the recent spate of storms than from previous ones though whether this is because there really has been more damage, or the policy on removing fallen trees or change, or my memory is faulty I cannot say.

These sections of fallen trees in Church Road may have been left for a good reason, such as discouraging parking, but they look very incongruous and detract from the greenery. Perhaps they will age well or be removed.

Grey roofs

Despite the many different shapes and sizes of extensions added to the houses in Burnell Avenue there has remained a uniformity of style in the roofs; until now. All the other roofs in the street are a shade of terracotta, except for one small side extension, which makes the choice of grey for these three roofs surprising and unwelcome.

Welcome to Meadlands School

This is the third piece of art at Meadlands School that I have featured here so they have definitely got their priorities right. This Welcome sign is, unsurprisingly, by the front door but, surprisingly, is partially obscured by a bush that will hide it further as Spring takes hold.

Preparations

On a damp and blustery Thursday afternoon people were busy preparing for something in Burnell Avenue Open Space and were erecting a marquee.

 

And nearby, but not too close, was a line of temporary toilets.

I suspect that it was for one of the many run events that go through the area each year but the pirpose does not really matter, I am simply recording that they were there.

Hacked

The destruction of the wildlife corridor through Royal Park Gate continues despite the best efforts of Kingston Council and the promises of local residents who promise to do nothing on the Council owned land not to do any work that is not in accordance with the area's management plan, promises that are all too often and all too quickly broken.

This is criminal damage but, once again, the culprits will get away with it through lack of hard evidence and their unrealistic protestations that they did not realise that they were doing anything wrong.

This section of Royal Park Gate is now an ugly disaster.

Door in the wall

I think this is a new door that is being added to the wall on the approach to Ham House from Ham Street though I am happy to be persuaded that it is a repair to an existing one.

Extra seating

I had seen some work in progress on recent visits to the Kitchen Garden at Ham House and this time I found out what they were working on. There are two new seating areas a little bit away from the main seating just outside Orangery café which I will make a point of using later in the year, on this occasion the cold convinced me to have my coffee and cake indoors.

200,000 bulbs

I usually (but not always) take pictures of The Plats facing Ham House so I thought that I would do something radical and take one facing the other way; this is the reverse of my favourite view of the house from close to the rear gate to the Kitchen Garden.

I was standing on the Terrace listening to Ham House's head gardener explain how they are taking account of Climate Change in the gardens, in an event organised by HUG. One of the many things she told us was that they had planted 200,000 bulbs in The Plats, which I felt was worth passing on.

Sculpted hedge

The cone shaped Box in the foreground tells you that this is the Cherry Garden at Ham House but they are not the important thing here, the sculpted hedge behind is. This was the first time that I had noticed the hedge being shaped like this so I am tempted to call the decorations "new"; at least they were not there when I list posted a picture of this hedge only six years ago.

Red mesh

There is a very satisfying jumble of scaffolding poles on the east side of Ham House and that alone would have demanded that I take a photograph; the red sheen created by the protective mesh is a cute bonus.

New fence

The walk around Ham Common is one I make regularly (in both directions, though mostly anti-clockwise) and on this lap the newness of the fence next to The New Inn was strikingly obvious. It is on the boundary of one of the best gardens in the area so I hope that we will soon see things growing up it. 

Roof timbers

Again I have the recent storms to thank for removing the sheeting and exposing the new roof timbers in this house in Cedar Heights.

Neglected house

If ever a house was caught begging for refurbishment it is this one in Clifford Road.

Sub-station

It took a few strong winds to damage the fence surrounding this electricity sub-station in Craig Road and to expose it to view. I thrive on opportunities like this.

Temporary fence

There is a little story about this temporary fencing.

When this green space on the edge of Biggin Hill Close was first claimed it was bounded by a tall fence which is fine for back gardens but not for pavement-facing borders like this one where the height limit is 1 metre. The Planning Department at Kingston Council stepped in and it was reduced.

Of course the fence is still very temporary so I will hold my judgement until the works are complete.

Behind the fence the garage is getting wider and longer, the wall in the foreground extends further forward than the one behind it.

Three

I first spotted this lovely house number sign when delivering copies of the Ham and Petersham Magazine and I took a picture of it as soon as I was back on the pavement (I always take photos from public places to respect privacy and permissions).

The loveliness of the tile speaks for itself and I always like house number signs where the house number is clear, that is the point of the sign after all.

A first look

I have been watching the work at 189 Petersham Road since March 2021 and while that feels like slow progress to me the work does seem to be drawing towards a close with the completion of the new external walls to the front, which we can now all see thanks to the removal of the front hoardings.

As first looks go, this one is quite impressive and I have high hopes for the finished house.

Lion

This impressive lion at the north end of Ham Street (opposite The Orangery) is partially hidden by the trees behind it, and that is my excuse for not taking a picture of it before.

Working on Hunter's Pond

Hunter's Pond is part of the wetlands by and under the bridge from Ham House to Hammertons Ferry and after a few years of neglect it is being worked on as part of Thames Landscape Strategy's Rewilding Arcadia project.

Quite a lot is planned for this little site and a lot of the work is being done by volunteers in sessions organised by Habitats & Heritage and you can find details of these on their website.