Day 9
Belsize Park - Bermondsey
I'm back in town two days later for my (rescheduled) meeting, and as is becoming a habit, my first thought is: "how many stations can I fit in today?"
The meeting is at Leicester Square, so the first station on today's agenda - Belsize Park - is an easy hop up the Northern Line. After that, I drop back down on the parallel branch of the Northern Line to London Bridge, switch to the Jubilee Line, and go one stop to Bermondsey. So the only question is, can I fit in a third station - Bethnal Green - before the rush hour, which is something I've generally tried to avoid at all costs.
So, at about 1.30pm, having finished my meeting, I arrive in Belsize Park, one of many stations designed by a man called Leslie Green in the early 1900s - with their distinctive "ox-blood red" tiling and semi-circular windows, there is a certain elegance about them which, sadly, most stations lack.
 |
| Belsize Park - one of the nicer parts of town |
The word 'Belsize' comes from the French 'bel assis', which means 'nice arse'.
Oh, ok then, not really - actually it means 'beautifully seated' or 'well situated' and in general I'd have to agree with them on that score.
The main street, which runs alongside the station is called Haverstock Hill, and there are many other hills in the area, including one of the most famous in London, Primrose Hill, which offer great views across the centre of town. At the northern end of the road is the huge Royal Free Hospital, and Hampstead Heath is within walking distance.
Haverstock Hill is an attractive tree-lined road with a lively collection of shops, restaurants, pubs, and one of the 'Everyman' chain of cinemas. The restaurants remind me that I haven't yet had lunch, so I stop at a Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and sit on one of their outside tables watching the world go by for a while.
At a Starbucks next door is a man who looks the absolute spitting image of Javier Bardem in 'No Country For Old Men', although this guy is playing what looks like a ukulele to his friend sat with him (people do that sort of thing in coffee shops round here), so he loses some of the more threatening resemblances to Bardem's character.
I actually know this part of town, or at least this street, reasonably well, as a few years ago I was in a play just up the road. I plan to revisit the venue of that performance in a little while, but first I decide to head south, down the hill, to a road called England's Lane, which a quick glance at Wikipedia has told me offers one of the best views of Central London.
Haverstock Hill is a deceptively gentle-looking slope at first glance, but by the time I've reached England's Lane, I'm aware of being quite a lot lower than when I started - and of course, I'll be walking back up it in a while. Nevertheless, I continue my walk along England's Lane, keeping my eye out for a gap between the huge tall houses in the area - which presumably is where the amazing view is to be found.
Reaching the end of the road, where it meets Primrose Hill Road, I'm puzzled and disappointed. There has been no evidence of any view. The houses are all at least four storeys tall and with very little in the way of gaps between them. I turn back in the direction I've come from and retrace my steps in case I've missed something, but no - there's a very narrow view of 'The Gherkin' when you get back to Haverstock Hill, but otherwise, nothing. Where are the sweeping vistas, the impressive skyline, the city laid out like a model in front of you?
It turns out, of course, that in my haste I've misread the Wikipedia entry and instead of England's Lane providing the views, it is in fact Primrose Hill park, which "is a five minute walk from England's Lane". I think the word I'm looking for is "d'oh!"...
***
Back up the hill, beyond the station, Haverstock Hill becomes Rosslyn Hill, and at the junction of this road with Pond Street, is an old church called St Stephen's. It was built in the 1870s, but a hundred years later, in 1977, it was abandoned and left derelict until the early 2000s. A trust was set up to restore the church (by now deconsecrated) in order to turn it into a community arts, education and social venue.
Which is how, in Easter 2009, I came to be stood on a stage erected in the space formerly occupied by the church's altar, dressed in a flat cap and tweed jacket, and with a large flat tail attached to my trousers, playing the character of 'Mr Beaver' in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
 |
| St Stephen's - and, for a brief period in 2009, Narnia. |
The church had barely been re-opened when we put on the show, and although the main body of the church was clear and, though perhaps a little dusty, useable as a space, the crypt where we had our 'dressing rooms' was still to all intents and purposes, a building site.
I had hoped to be able to get inside to revisit the 'theatre' but the church is, it seems, still not fully open to the public, and there are only certain 'open days' when you can get inside. I take a picture of the outside anyway, for old times' sake, then head back to the station to head south again.
***
A word or two about the Northern Line.
This line is unique in that it splits into two different routes, both running north-south through central London. Looking at the tube map, and starting at Morden in South London, they first diverge at Kennington, reaching up to 2 miles apart at some points, then converge again briefly at Camden Town in the North, and then split again towards Edgware on one branch, and High Barnet on the other.
The reason for this more complicated layout, is as you might imagine, because the current Northern Line is actually an amalgam of three separate railways into one.
It also has the dubious honour of being known for many years as the 'Misery Line', thanks to the slow running and regular breakdowns of its trains. Things seem to have improved in recent years, and certainly I encounter no problems on my journey south.
***
Bermondsey, in contrast with Belsize Park, gives the appearance of being rather down at heel. With very little other than tower-blocks immediately outside the station to greet me, I wonder if I'm going to be turning round and heading straight on to my next destination.
The area has seen more affluent times - the Biscuit manufacturers Peek Frean and Co. gave it the nickname 'Biscuit Town' for a while, and there was a Spa leisure resort here in the 18th Century, but today it's one of those inner city areas that seem to offer little attraction for the locals other than a place to eat, sleep and work. Necessary, to be sure, but hardly food for the soul.
 |
| Bermondsey - not much to look at. |
Before giving up, however, and through the wonders of modern technology (i.e. Google Maps) I discover that it's only a two minute walk, through some back streets, to the River Thames.
There's always something enticing about being close to the water, and living in London does have the great advantage that you're never that far from the river. I stand with my back to an otherwise unexciting collection of modern housing and instead look out across the great grey expanse of water. I can see Tower Bridge and the Gherkin to my left (west) and Canary Wharf to my right.
 |
| Upstream - Tower Bridge and other assorted landmarks |
 |
| Downstream - Canary Wharf |
It was somewhere along this stretch of river that Turner painted The Fighting Temeraire, although these days the kind of vessel you're most likely to see is a tourist river cruiser.
A little way along the riverside I come to a mooring post sticking up out of the water and notice a sign or placard tied to the post.
 |
| A couple of lovebirds |
It seems that, rather sweetly, a couple of pigeons may just have become engaged...
Wishing them every happiness for the future, I take my leave, and realising that it's now gone four o'clock in the afternoon, and the rush hour will be starting soon, I reluctantly accept that a visit to a third station today is no longer a viable option, and I set off on my way home.
Still following. Ttfn
ReplyDelete