Walking along Cloister's Walk, in St Katharine Docks, you will discover a plethora of bright panels fixed into the arches that separate Cloister's Walk from St Katharine's Way.
There are one hundred and thirty five of these panels, with nine panels per arch.
Some of the designs are repeated, but sometimes with a different colour. However, each tells a story.
Dale Devereux Barker RE was commissioned for this project by Taylor Woodrow Properties, back in 1998.
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| Headstones. |
Victoria Park Cemetery opened in 1845 and was the last of the eight private garden cemeteries to open.
The cemetery was unconsecrated and, when it opened, had two chapels, designed by the architect Arthur Ashpitel,
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| The great Gothic archway. |
The great Gothic archway, restored in 2017, still stands at one of the entrances emblazoned with 'VPC 1845'.
During its short existence over 300,000 bodies were interred here, with three-quarters of them being children.
Although well-managed initially, it was a poor financial venture and became insolvent in 1853, leading to its closure in 1876.
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| Headstones. |
Following its closure the monuments were cleared... But, the bodies were never removed.
Japan House, on Kensington High Street, is the cultural home of Japan, in London. Set across three floors Japan House offers a glimpse into the culture and history of Japan, with a shop, restaurant and an exhibition space.
The current exhibition concerns the history and manufacturing of food replicas, that can be seen in the windows of tea rooms and restaurants, across the 47 prefectures of Japan.
Each replica is highly detailed and, although its manufacture has changed throughout the years, looks realistic, in thanks to the craftsperson that create these masterpieces.
The original replicas were made from hot coloured wax, which were cast from agar moulds and then painted.
With the growing demand for food replicas, in the 1970s, PVC was used instead of wax, which allowed for greater detail and durability, but the manufacturing process remained the same.
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| A relic from a bygone era. |
On the junction of Union Street and Southwark Bridge Road, there is a cafe bar that resides in a wonderful relic from a bygone era.
The building began life as a tram shelter and stands on a pedestrian island near Flat Iron Square.
It is a single storey building with timber framed doors, a pitched plain clay tile roof with a ventilation lantern. A semicircular window, above the door adds to the charm of this 1930s building.
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| A tram shelter repurposed as a cafe bar. |
Trams once trundled by this building on their way to the northern end of Southwark Bridge and, in the other direction, to the Hop Exchange, close to Borough High Street.
Like much of this area, in and around Southwark, a lot has been lost to redevelopment, so it is nice to see that this almost 100 year old building has been repurposed.
The two London Plane trees offer some shade to patrons who choose to dine outside in the summer months.
Saturday January 4, 2025.
Today 'Keilyn and I were to be joined by a couple of friends, for our first walk through London of 2025. However, various events conspired against us, resulting in Keilyn and myself making the trip alone.
So, off we set, walking to Watford Metropolitan station as a short flurry of snow began to fall. We took the train to Baker Street, where, after purchasing warm drinks, we exited the station and headed north along Baker Street and on to Park Road, where we dropped down onto the Regent's Canal Towpath.
Having walked to Camden and King's Cross too many times we decided to walk in the opposite direction, heading towards Little Venice and from there Paddington.
The snow had by now stopped and the towpath was quiet, with us only seeing a few other walkers along the canal. We reached Lisson Moorings, where we admired the narrow boats and barges, before we reached the Maida Hill Tunnel, where we climbed the slippery metal steps to Aberdeen Place.
We walked along Maida Avenue, rejoining the towpath at Warwick Bridge, and Little Venice. Surprisingly all of the cafes and kiosks were closed, so we continued beneath Westway towards Paddington Basin.
A blue 'velvet' covered Paddington Bear statue provided a photo opportunity, before we reached Praed Street, where we stopped for some lunch at a KFC.
Suitably filled we headed inside Paddington Station in search of the Paddington Bear statue, which we soon found by looking out for the crowds. We waited patiently for the other children to have their photos taken before it was Keilyn's turn.
We then headed further along the platform to Paddington's Bench, where another photo was taken.
We then headed out of the station and headed along Praed Street to The Wild Table of Love, where Keilyn joined Dogman and Rabbitwoman with their guests of ten of the most endangered animals in the world. Just across Eastbourne Terrace, Maarten Baas' 'Man in a Clock' was busy painting hands inside the clock face.
Heading south down Westbourne Terrace we entered Kensington Gardens and the amazing Italian Gardens. Again, there were not too many people around so we made our way along the path, beside The Long Water, to the 'Peter Pan' statue.
From here we headed west towards the 'Physical Energy' statue and, from there, on to the Round Pond. It was here that we discovered the crowds who were eagerly waiting to enter Kensington Palace, so we continued along Studio Walk and turned down Palace Green towards Kensington High Street.
