Here's some more photos from the mob-handed urban75 walk on Saturday:

More photos here: Hampstead Heath photos

Labels: london, walk, walks

Just got back from an urban75 walk around Hampstead Heath. The weather was fantastic, the company delightful, the stroll relaxing, the pubs welcoming, the ale tasty and just about everything was perfect....apart from the Cardiff City scoreline. 6-0? Eeek! WTF!

The eggs are released!

More pics coming soon.

Labels: london, photos, walk, walks

Some photos from a brisk - nay, chuffing freezing - Boxing Day beach walk on the south Wales coast.

The weather was fantastic and the gale force wind sure sorted out my hangover!

Labels: photos, wales, walk

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By gum it was freezing cold, but I still managed my traditional Christmas Day walk up Graig Llanishen, to the north of Cardiff.

Here's some photos:

Labels: cardiff, photos, walk

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Last weekend we went for an 12 mile walk along the 'Timberland Trail' runing from Borehamwood to the hamlet of Smallford. The walk should have been around 10 miles, but we took a few wrong turns in our search for a bus home.



Borehamwood was a right dump - totally faceless and modernised into blandness.It was a relief to get out of the town and into the countryside.











The walk ends at the closed station of Smallford, right next to Sleapshyde - a town that seems to have more road signs than inhabitants.

Labels: walk

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We enjoyed a lovely picnic* in Greenwich Royal Park, which covers 183 acres of land originally laid out in the 17th century.  (*before the braying yuppies turned up)

Greenwich Park was once a hunting park and now forms one of the largest single green spaces in south east London. Enclosed as far back as 1433, it's now part of the protected Greenwich World Heritage Site.



Looking down at the The Queen's House, Greenwich, which was built in 1614-1617 by architect Inigo Jones

Subsequently altered by Jones around 1635 for Henrietta Maria, the House is now regarded as one of the most important buildings in architectural history, being Britain's first consciously classical building.

The Queen's House is now both a grade I listed building and a Scheduled ancient monument.



Lurking inside this 45-ton bronze-clad truncated cone is the new Peter Harrison Planetarium, a 120-seat digital laser planetarium, opened in May, 2007.



Old and new. Canary Wharf with the Royal Naval College in the foreground.

More photos here.

Labels: greenwich, photos, walk

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There's a little-used but really interesting walk that runs from the Millennium Dome (or 'The O2' or whatever it's now called) along a riverside path into Greenwich.

The walk breezes past acres of empty, deserted land and disused quays that will, no doubt, soon be sprouting ghastly developments galore.

Here's some pics from part one of the walk:









More pics here

Labels: dome, london, walk

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A few photos from a short (6 mile) birthday walk around Ashtead and Epsom Commons on the borders of Surrey and London.



Ashtead station faces right out into the countryside, so you're straight off the train and getting down with nature in seconds.



It was pretty much deserted for the walk, but the ground got very muddy later on, forcing us city slickers to delicately tip toe over deep, troublesome puddles.



Groovy stripy tree.



Cast iron London boundary markers were situated in amongst the trees. Which was a bit odd.

Read the full story of the walk here: Ashtead and Epsom Commons - a short six mile, birthday walk

Labels: photos, surrey, walk

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I've just uploaded a big new photo feature on our walking holiday in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Here's a few pics for you:





Hebden Bridge station is a beautifully preserved Victorian station - why can't all stations look like this?

Hebden Bridge railway station





Hebden Bridge is a delightful northern town with a cosmopolitan vibe that has given it the nickname of the 'St Ives of the north'.

Hebden Bridge photos





We walked the eight miles or so from Hebden Bridge to Haworth and were lucky enough to just miss the rain that thundered down as soon as we hit the pub!

Hebden Bridge to Haworth walk



Haworth is an astonishingly pretty village. Check out the photos here: Haworth village photos





We also took a steam train trip to Keighley and Oxenhope on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. It was lovely!

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway trip




On Sunday we shook off the hangover with a short walk to Gibson Mill in Hardcastle Crag. It's well worth a visit!
Hardcastle Crags walk

Labels: haworth, hebden bridge, keighley, oxenhope, steam train, walk

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After catching a train to Leatherhead and a bus onto Boxhill, we took a leisurely 10 mile walk around Boxhill in Surrey.





The circular walk took us through some lovely countryside around Polesden Lacey and Ranmore Common.





We even got to see some snowdrops. Lovely!

Boxhill walk: Westhumble and Norbury Park
Polesden and Ranmore

Labels: photos brixton, surrey, walk

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I took a little wander today around some hitherto unwandered parts of Brixton - here's some snaps from my stroll:


I'd been here before, but not when this bizarre ship-meet-mushroom slap of designerdom had been built.


Here's what used to be here - a delightful Victorian pub called The Queen, full of interesting characters, eccentric locals and frenetic late night lock-ins.

See the full story here: The Queen, Brixton



Happily, I stumbled across this beautiful pub - Marquis of Lorne - on my travels. Despite it being less than a mile from my house, I'd never heard of it before.



The pub has almost all its original features intact - look at those lovely tiles!



The walk took me past Stockwell skate park, which is still undergoing restoration.



Currently flanked by Peter's Barber Shop and a mini-cab firm right next to the Astoria, the curved windows hint at a grander heritage for the entrance to the Stockwell Partnership at 205 Stockwell Road.

The building used to host the Brixtoria Ballroom Club, which was still offering 'practice and tuition' and 'private lessons' for 90 minutes at 5/- (25p) in April 1954.

See the full walk here: Brixton and Stockwell photos

Labels: brixton, pubs, walk

A rare day of winter sunshine sent us scuttling out of the house on Saturday afternoon, heading off to the hitherto unexplored lands of darkest Morden and Colliers Wood.



The walk took us around the attractive Morden Hall Park, past some lovely scenery before we headed north along the River Wandle.



Next stop was Deen City Farm, which packed a load of pretty budgies, squawking turkeys, and pocket-sniffing goats - and this fella above.



In the last stretch we grabbed a snack in a nice cafe at Merton Abbey Mills, checked out the waterwheel action and then headed into Colliers Wood, which can proudly boast one of the ugliest buildings in London.

More photos:
Morden Hall Park
Deen City Farm
Merton Abbey Mills and Colliers Wood

Labels: london, walk

Just 20 mins train ride out of Brixton is Petts Wood, a 1930s 'new town' surrounded by ancient forest.



Walking through Park Wood. See more photos here: Petts Wood Walk



By a happy coincidence, we walked past the site of the moated Tudor Scadbury Manor on the one day a year it was open.



Scadbury Manor feature

Labels: photos, walk

Here's the final part of my photo series from my west-east walk across London on Saturday.



I hadn't really explored the streets around Brick Lane and quite liked the 'Williamsburg' vibe there.

Mind you, some of the new shops looked well posh, so I guess it'll all be changing soon.



Spitalfields and Brick Lane photos

Labels: london, photos, walk

Ace historian Chris Roberts kindly agreed to take a gaggle of urbanites on a short walk of the Thames, with a focus on ghost tales and mysterious happenings.



More photos here

Labels: london, photos, walk

It's taken me an eternity, but I've finally got around to posting up the photos from the last day of our weekend walking holiday in the Peak District.

See all the photos here:
» urban75 country weekend: Walking around Hathersage, Derbyshire

Labels: photos, walk

I'm too knackered to post up all the photos, so here's a handful from the urban75 walk club's weekend walking (and drinking, natch) trip to Hathersage in the beautiful Peak District.



The trip was fantastic, the walking superb, the drinking fierce and apart from the nightly roar of a thousand snorers and the thunder of the hob-nail booted elephants staying above us in out Bunk House, everything was perfect - even the weather defied the gloomy forecast!







More photos and a full report to follow soon!

Labels: photos, walk