To Richmond Park

This is the view from the terrace behind Ham House looking through the gardens towards Melancholy Walk, visible beyond the gates, with Richmond Park the ultimate destination.

Melancholy Walk in Autumn

As the mid-Winter cold bites it is nice to remember that just a few weeks ago Autumn was bright and it was lovely to walk along Ham Avenues. This is Melancholy Walk just as it starts its journey from Sandy Lane to Ham House. The avenue of trees is meant to guide the eye towards the house but even in Autumn the leaves all but obscure the target.

Misty morning

I not generally feature weather in this blog but occasionally it does enough to transform the look of the area that I think it is worth recording. Usually it is snow that brings the change, and if we ever get some more then I'll take photos of it, until then I will have to settle for mist.

This is Melancholy Walk. I had just emerged from Cut Throat Alley and this is looking towards Sandy Lane.

The wall and railings are the clue that this is Ham House though the mist does a fine job in hiding it.

Clearing the wall

The more visible works on the walls around the Ham House estate on the Ham Street side are continuing on the other side where the scrub is being cleared from the wall to reveal more of its beauty. This section of the wall looks to be in good condition so I'll be interested to see if they do anything to it.

Where horses play

Ham Lands creeps South down from the river all the way to Sandy Lane where the tarmac forms a hard brutal barrier before the greenery continues with the playing fields of Grey Court School running either side of Great South Avenue. Melancholy Walk forms the border on the West but to the East lies The Copse and Ham Lands makes it all the way to Strathmore School.

Between the path and the woods is a small field where horses trot in circles alone apart from the occasional dog owner who dares to stray from the more usual routes.

Not so Melancholy

Melancholy Walk has had its first trim of the year and so far things are not too bad. I am not sure why it has to be mown at all but I am glad that this cut was just a metre or so along the path rather than all the way back to the tree-line.

This deeper cut may well come later in the year bit for the moment we can enjoy the natural beauty of Melancholy Walk without getting the feeling that we are walking through somebody's well tendered garden.

The Manor House

The Manor House occupies a large part of the core of Ham with Ham Street and Sandy Lane forming one corner and Melancholy Walk and Cut Throat Alley forming the other. The house is normally well protected from prying eyes by tall brick walls and taller trees, but in Winter the trees lose some of their protective powers exposing this view of the back of the house from Melancholy Walk.

Autumn cut

I dare say that there could be reasons for the wholesale cutting of the many grass areas in Ham Lands but I find the result an ugly contrast to the tall flowering grasses that were there before. This now barren area lies between Melancholy Walk and The Copse.

Resurfacing Sandy Lane

The whole length of Sandy Lane is being resurfaced which means that it is closed during the day and traffic is rerouted via Ham Street. This is the west end of Sandy Lane where the road narrows as it is crossed by Melancholy Walk and Great South Avenue.

Large field

More typical Ham Lands, a wide open space with no sign of anything urban or of other people. Sandy Lane is hidden behind the trees in the distance, The Copse is on the left, Melancholy Walk is to the right and Ham House is behind.

Melancholy

The Council vandals have been out and cut Melancholy Walk back to the tree line. This is just ugly.

The Copse

Melancholy Walk is looking less melancholy every day as the trees, grasses and flowers burst in to life. This is particularly true when looking east towards The Copse.

Letting the grass grow

This is Melancholy Walk leading towards Ham House (just visible in the distance in the gap between the trees) with The Copse on the right. At the moment the grass is growing exuberantly next to the path and this adds to the wild and natural look. Sadly I expect Richmond Council to cut this back before too long, they do not seem to like natural things.

Back gate at Ham House

Ham House is best approached from Melancholy Walk that leads you to this magnificent gate and a view through to the house across the gardens. Sadly you cannot get in that way, the only entrance being at the front.

Pipe

Just as you enter Ham Lands at Melancholy Walk off Sandy Lane, there is this strange pipe on the left and next to it one of Ham's many disused gates, this one gave passage to the gardens of The Manor House in Ham Street.

Bird box

This tree sits in the middle of the open space between Melancholy Walk and The Copse and so is well away from people, though the occasional horse warms up there.

Old door

This door goes from Melancholy Walk in to the back of The Palm Centre in Ham Street. I am not sure if it is used very often, or at all, but it has a new bright-blue padlock which adds a delightful splash of newness and colour to contrast the old and faded door.

A different view of Ham House

This view towards Ham House is taken from the open space between Melancholy Walk and The Copse. The white speck in the middle of the picture is a horse and they often use this space for exercising.

Proposed planting for Great South Avenue

These are the detailed proposals by London's Arcadia for the revised planting of Great South Avenue between Sandy Lane and Ham Common. I do not like many of London's Arcadia's proposals for Ham as they tend to replace wilderness with formality (such as the hideous new footbridge by Ham House) and Great South Avenue has also been mismanaged in recent years (e.g. the short-lived barrier between the footpath and the bridle path), and these proposals seem to be more of the same. I like this path as it is and do not want to see it changed to the boring formality of Melancholy Walk.

Melancholy Walk

Melancholy Walk in Autumn, looking towards Ham House.