Resurfacing Riverside Drive

Riverside Drive has a deserved reputation for being something of a race track and the surprising decision to resurface it is only likely to add to that problem.

Personally I would make the road a lot narrower by adding a cycle lane which would help to take bikes off the pavement.

Along the towpath

Stretches of the towpath have been very busy during the covid-19 restrictions, particularly between kingston and Teddington Lock, so it has been good to walk a little further north and to take the long bend to Ham House where the path is a lot quieter.

With Ham Lands to the east this section is as rural as Ham gets and there is always something to see and enjoy on the long curving walk. Og course there is the river on the other side but that is much less interesting!

GK16 COH shops at Greggs

Greggs' customers are the most frequent abusers of the double yellow lines on Ham Parade and GK16 COH is just one of several examples that I could have taken while waiting to go into Malcolm's for a watering can.

New roof in Sandy Lane

One of the newer houses squeezed into Sandy Lane between Petersham Road and Clifford Road is treating itself to a new roof. As a work-in-progress it looks good and I hope that it still looks good once the timbers are covered.

Oddly tall fence

Something strange has happened in Maguire Drive with one of the houses putting large fence panels at the front of the house when they really belong in the back garden.

The street view is bizarre, to say the least.

 
The tall panels are at the side of the plot too completely obscuring the front of the house. It looks more like a prison compound than a home.

Unexpected trees

This blog welcomes the planting of new trees, and cries a little when old ones come down, and I was delighted to see these arrive at the southern end of Broughton Avenue.

The label explains that these are from a pack to 10 Betula pendula (silver birch) which is a pretty tree and should be a nice addition to the area. The size of the trees and the nature of their planting suggests that this might have been some guerrilla gardening, in which case I hope that Richmond Council supports it and keeps the heavy mowers well away.

Arch

It is easy to miss this arch as it is in a path that is not very busy and is sufficiently narrow and uneven that you have to pay attention merely to get along it without walking into the sides. 

That path runs from River Lane to Petersham Nurseries and the arch is in the back wall of the small building at the Nurseries end of the path.

Latchmere House from Latchmere Lane

One of the few things I have been looking forward to with the development of Richmond Chase has been this uninterrupted view of Latchmere House from Latchmere Lane. 

Things were rather different when this was a prison and then the house was partially hidden behind a wall. In time, it may be hidden again if that hedge is allowed to grow.

Resurfacing Ferrymoor

Ferrymoor is hardly a busy road and I do not recall it being in a bad condition, not that I would have particularly noticed when crossing it on foot, but it has been resurfaced anyway.