Walking alone: Elephant & Castle to Borough... and beyond

Friday August 23, 2024.

As I still had some time away from work I decided to take another walk through London. I was going to be joined by my youngest, but Keilyn and her sister Erin had both gone away for the week, so I was left to explore on my own.

A simple journey saw me catch a Metropolitan line train to Baker street where I changed to a Bakerloo line train, that whisked me off to Elephant & Castle, which is as good as a starting point as any.

At Lambeth North the carriage emptied and I found myself in an deserted carriage, which was cool.

After exiting the station I turned right, as I had no route to follow, and began walking along St George's Road towards Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, before turning right, again, on to Lambeth Road.

Approaching St George's Circus I took some photographs of the obelisk, at the centre of the roundabout, before turning my attention to the Bakerloo line London Road Underground Train Depot, situated on the corner opposite.

I continued along Borough Road and onto Borough High Street, from where I turned right onto Trinity Street. Realising that I was going to end up going around in circles, I turned left onto Globe Street, which led me to Pilgrimage Street.

I found that I was in a small residential area with not much to offer, so I turned right onto Manciple Street, before turning left onto Hankey Place. And I was glad that I did.

This small street with its houses and flats had secrets to show. Along the low walls many of what I thought were iron railings were, in fact, ARP stretchers, left over from World War II. I had heard about these but had never seen them in person, so I was thrilled.

I exited Hankey Place and turned left onto Long Lane. before heading up Tennis Street to Angel Place. Now, Angel Place is a small alley that links Tennis Street with Borough High Street, but, again, this hides a secret. 

The tall brick wall, to one side, was once the south boundary wall of Marshalsea Prison, which stood near here until it closed in 1842. Behind it is St George's Churchyard Gardens, where I sat in the shade for a few minutes, before continuing on my walk.

Suitably rested I continued along Angel Place to Borough High Street. As it was approaching noon I thought I would find a watering hole and stop for a beverage. So, I continued up Borough High Street and crossed Southwark Street and found myself outside 'The Southwark Tavern'. And in I went.

'Project Blake' by Southbank Mosaics

As you walk east along Royal Street you will pass below the main railway line from Waterloo. Along the walls of this tunnel are mosaic, based on designs and poetry of William Blake.

William Blake lived all but three years of his life in London, ten of which were lived in North Lambeth. 

The house where he lived, on Hercules Road, no longer stands, but a Blue Plaque marks the spot.

William Blake was largely unrecognised throughout his life, but became a highly regarded figure for his poetry in the years following his death.

He was also a prolific painter, with his 'Prophetic Works' being his best known and most controversial.

Hanwell Zoo

Keilyn ready to explore Hanwell Zoo.

Hanwell Zoo is typical of the many smaller zoos dotted in and around London, with the usual animals to see. Rabbits, ducks, chickens, donkeys and goats are a staple of this sort of zoo. 

However, at Hanwell Zoo there are exotic birds, some of which I have never seen anywhere else, red-crowned crane, black cheeked lovebirds, red fody, glossy starlings, white faced whistling ducks and more.

Then there are the mammals, like Meerkats, capybara, porcupine, armadillo, alpaca and more.

In the nocturnal enclosure you may, if you have the patience, spot the gray slender loris, loping through the branches.

The same could be said for the Margay, a cat that likes to sleep more than it likes to walk around.

With a fair-sized playground, with sandpits, water features, slides and climbing apparatus, there is something for children of all ages to enjoy, when they tire of the animals.

Highgate Cemetery

Thursday August 15, 2024.

Highgate Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in London, if not the world, and was a place that I have wanted to visit for years.

So, with Emma, Erin and Keilyn in tow, we headed to the cemetery, arriving at around 11:45, checked in at reception and awaited the start of our tour at noon.

Exactly on time Nigel arrived and introduced himself to our group, explaining that the tour takes between 75 and and 90 minutes. Then we set off up the steps to the West Cemetery. 

At the top of steps we stopped and Nigel introduced us to James Selby. James Selby had taken a wager, in 1888, that he couldn't take his coach and horses to Brighton and back, within eight hours. It was a journey of over four hours, one way. James Selby completed the round trip in seven hours and fifty minutes.

We then moved further up Colonnade Path where we were introduced to more of the cemetery's guests and the giant mausoleum of Otway, with its glass skylights and iron railings in the shape of upturned cannon, with spiked cannonballs.

Close to this was the grave of Alexander Litvinenko and then the wellkept family plot of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou. aka George Michael.

A fox appeared from between some gravestones, took a quick glance at the group and then disappeared into the undergrowth.

We then continued up Main Drive and visited the grave of Elizabeth Jackson, who was the first person to be buried in the cemetery.

Before we knew it we were approaching Egyptian Avenue, with its obelisks. The avenue, which is now roofless, was lined with vaults. 

Each of these vaults are home to not just the dead, but orb weaver spiders, of which there are thousands. These spiders are usually only found in caves and it is thought they may have been living in the cemetery for over 150 years.

Exiting Egyptian Avenue brought us out into the Circle of Lebanon, with its massive family vaults. 

Nigel stopped by various ones of interest, telling us stories and some of the things that had been filmed here, normally without permission. For instance, the Aird family Mausoleum was used in the film 'The Abominable Dr Phibes'.

We then saw the tomb of George Wombwell, before Nigel unlocked the gate of the Terrace Catacombs and we delved into the cool darkness. 

We saw some of the lead-lined coffins, some in a poor state, while others were still behind the original glass. 

Towards the eastern end we could see the damage done to some of the coffins, when people, believing that vampires were in the catacombs, broke in to destroy the bodies.

Suitably satisfied, and with many of the younger audience a little shaken, we headed out of the catacombs.

We were told about the Beer Mausoleum before we went off to see the grave of Thomas Sayers, who holds the the record for the biggest funeral in the history of the cemetery.

We then travelled down Morgan Road and on to Sayers Road, before heading down Faraday Path to the grave of Michael Faraday.

We then continued along the path until we found ourselves back at the courtyard.

West Cemetery Gallery

Kenwood House, Hampstead

Wednesday August 14, 2024.

We arrived at Kenwood House at about 11:20 and made our way into the Entrance Hall.

Here we were met by some English Heritage tour guides, who explained a little about the house, before pointing us in the right direction from where to start our tour.

We began by ascending the Deal Stairs to the upper floor, where we discovered fragile valuables, like cameos, belt and boot buckles, jewellery, and other miniature collectables.

We then made our way to Lady Mansfield's bedchamber, Miss Murray's bedchamber and Lord Mansfield's bedchamber, before entering the Upper Hall. 

All of these rooms are currently home to 'Strike a Pose: Stephen Farthing and the Swagger Portrait' exhibition.