Day 76
Royal Victoria - Ruislip - Ruislip Gardens - Ruislip Manor - Russell Square
A very pleasant and sunny day today as I set off on what will (hopefully) be the final jaunt among the 'Rs'.
My journey today will take me back and forth across town as I head firstly to the east on the DLR, then way out west to the various (and there are several) Ruislip stations, before finishing off with the rather more centrally located Russell Square.
I'm conscious - who could not be - that I'm travelling in and through central London less than a week after the events that have already become known as the 'Westminster Attack' - when a man drove a car into dozens of innocent pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing 3 of them and injuring many more, before fatally knifing a fourth - a policeman - within the gates of the Houses of Parliament.
However, the one thing these attackers always fail to realise is that - however shocking the events may be at the time - none of their attempts at creating terror have any other effect than to strengthen our resolve to carry on exactly as normal.
And while my own version of carrying on as normal may not be significant in the cosmic scheme of things, I certainly don't plan to let a bunch of religious zealots tell me what I can and can't do with my day.
So - pfftt!! to you Mr Terrorist, and let's get started with a trip out east on the DLR and a visit to the Royal Victoria Dock.
***
I'm conscious - who could not be - that I'm travelling in and through central London less than a week after the events that have already become known as the 'Westminster Attack' - when a man drove a car into dozens of innocent pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing 3 of them and injuring many more, before fatally knifing a fourth - a policeman - within the gates of the Houses of Parliament.
However, the one thing these attackers always fail to realise is that - however shocking the events may be at the time - none of their attempts at creating terror have any other effect than to strengthen our resolve to carry on exactly as normal.
And while my own version of carrying on as normal may not be significant in the cosmic scheme of things, I certainly don't plan to let a bunch of religious zealots tell me what I can and can't do with my day.
So - pfftt!! to you Mr Terrorist, and let's get started with a trip out east on the DLR and a visit to the Royal Victoria Dock.
***
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| Royal Victoria |
Unfortunately (from a travel blogger's point of view) the DLR station known as Royal Victoria is a bit of a 'non-station' for me as - to all intents and purposes - I've been here already.
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| Royal Victoria Dock |
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| Emirates Airline |
The DLR station sits only a few metres from the Emirates Airline stop known as 'Royal Docks' (which of course was part of my 'E' collection) and thus anything of interest in the area has already been duly recorded elsewhere in this blog.
That said, it's a sunny day, and a half hour or so spent wandering around the western perimeter of the dock, as the cable cars trundle sedately back and forth above my head is no real trial of my patience.
This is the largest of the three 'Royal' docks (the others being Royal Albert and King George V), which line the north bank of the Thames between Canning Town and Beckton. It was the site of the huge Jean Michel Jarre concert, 'Destination Docklands' - in which the dilapidated buildings became the backdrop to the spectacular laser and fireworks show that accompanied the French musician's electronic music.
This is the largest of the three 'Royal' docks (the others being Royal Albert and King George V), which line the north bank of the Thames between Canning Town and Beckton. It was the site of the huge Jean Michel Jarre concert, 'Destination Docklands' - in which the dilapidated buildings became the backdrop to the spectacular laser and fireworks show that accompanied the French musician's electronic music.
I walk around to the southern side of the dock, where today there is a modern development of houses and flats, in front of which the old dock cranes stand sentinel.
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| Housing on the southern side of the dock. |
From here I look back towards the station ('landing stage'?) of the cable cars. There are plenty of people taking the cars today - including several parties of school-children - and it seems the novelty of this particular tourist attraction has yet to wear off. (The novelty of taking the same old photos of the cable cars has palled, however, which explains the following artsy-fartsy attempt...)
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| Come fly with me... |
Behind the cable car lines are several tower blocks, mainly residential. On top of one of these I notice a small figure, and it takes me a moment or two to confirm that it is actually a person, moving about up on the roof.
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| Spot the maniac. |
Quite what he's doing up there I have no idea. I assume, since a close-up reveals several ropes securing him to the roof, that he's an officially licensed workman, rather than a suicidal maniac, but one never knows...
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| Just hanging around on a roof... |
Still, he doesn't seem to be doing anybody (including himself) any harm, so having seen a bit more of the dock, I move on.
***
Next up it's the first of three stations in the town of Ruislip, to the west of London.
In total there are actually five stations here, but one of the others is a 'South...' and the second is a 'West...', so - irritatingly - I'm unable to tick these two off while I'm here.
Instead I'm visiting the remaining three, which sensibly either begin with the town's name - or (in the case of the first) simply is the town's name...
Ruislip Station is the one nearest to the centre of the town. The High Street is just to the north and is a fairly typical example, though there are architectural hints here and there of the town's more ancient history.
It's an old town - appearing in the Domesday Book - with a 13th Century church at the top of the High Street, and the remains of a 'motte and bailey' fort beyond that.
It's also very quiet when I arrive, despite it being - by now - well into the lunch hour.
I walk northwards to St Martin's - the aforementioned 13th Century church - which is tucked away behind the store fronts that line the top end of the High Street.
Not being of a religious persuasion, I can only appreciate the church and its grounds from an aesthetic point of view - but to that extent they are both picturesque enough. In fact the church underwent a restoration in 1870 by none other than Sir George Gilbert Scott, who five years earlier had created the magnificent Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station.
The spring daffodils give the venerable graveyard a splash of colour and the old phrase 'pushing up the daisies' leaps inevitably to mind as I wander among the lopsided headstones.
Beyond the church, across a mini-roundabout, is the entrance to the Manor Farm historic site. To the left as you enter the grounds is a duck pond, though the ducks are few and far between.
There is a heron, perched to one side of the pond, and at the first sight of my camera he (or she - I'm not versed in such things) suddenly stands very tall and straightens its previously S-curled neck. I'm not sure whether this is a prelude to an attack, or simply showing off for the camera, but I play it safe and move on.
The site consists of a medieval barn dating from the same period as St Martin's church, plus a later farm house from the 16th Century.
This latter is also built on the site of a 'Motte and Bailey', which, despite sounding like an ITV female detective series, is actually a type of 11th Century castle. For the (like me) uninitiated - it is explained in this informative plaque...
Looking at my watch, I'm shocked to see that it's already gone 2pm and I'm still only two stations into the final set of 'Rs'. This is the problem with doing things alphabetically of course - having been at the Royal docks only last week, I had to visit them again this morning, then schlep all the way across town here to Ruislip.
Not only that but my next station (Ruislip Gardens, on the Central Line) is way off to the south of the town, whereas the one after that is right next door to the first Ruislip Station, back on the Piccadilly Line.
Grabbing a hurried lunch therefore I set off southwards on foot, since there's no convenient point where the two tube lines meet near here and the round trip would take me ridiculously out of my way.
After 20 minutes or so I realise that my decision to walk it may have been unwise. The walk is least another 10 minutes and time is really pressing on. Not only that but I'm sweating profusely, as the sunshine I was so pleased to see this morning is now not quite so welcome a walking companion (which is, let's face it, a typically hypocritical British response to good weather).
Luckily (in one sense) there's only one thing, other than the station, to see here, so it should be a brief visit.
The station is... functional.
Obviously all the interesting design work on the tube network went on closer to the centre of London (though if they can get Gilbert Scott out here surely they could manage someone with a bit more imagination for the tube station). Given the name - Ruislip Gardens - you'd expect a fair bit of greenery around the place, but all I can see is concrete.
The poet Sir John Betjeman tries to make the best of it his poem 'Middlesex', but even he can't ignore the concrete and the fact that we're really not in the most idyllic of places...
"Gaily into Ruislip Gardens
Runs the red electric train,
With a thousand Ta's and Pardon'sIn total there are actually five stations here, but one of the others is a 'South...' and the second is a 'West...', so - irritatingly - I'm unable to tick these two off while I'm here.
Instead I'm visiting the remaining three, which sensibly either begin with the town's name - or (in the case of the first) simply is the town's name...
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| Ruislip |
Ruislip Station is the one nearest to the centre of the town. The High Street is just to the north and is a fairly typical example, though there are architectural hints here and there of the town's more ancient history.
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| High Street |
It's an old town - appearing in the Domesday Book - with a 13th Century church at the top of the High Street, and the remains of a 'motte and bailey' fort beyond that.
It's also very quiet when I arrive, despite it being - by now - well into the lunch hour.
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| St Martin's |
Not being of a religious persuasion, I can only appreciate the church and its grounds from an aesthetic point of view - but to that extent they are both picturesque enough. In fact the church underwent a restoration in 1870 by none other than Sir George Gilbert Scott, who five years earlier had created the magnificent Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station.
The spring daffodils give the venerable graveyard a splash of colour and the old phrase 'pushing up the daisies' leaps inevitably to mind as I wander among the lopsided headstones.
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| St Martin's church graveyard |
Beyond the church, across a mini-roundabout, is the entrance to the Manor Farm historic site. To the left as you enter the grounds is a duck pond, though the ducks are few and far between.
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| Duck Pond |
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| Heron |
There is a heron, perched to one side of the pond, and at the first sight of my camera he (or she - I'm not versed in such things) suddenly stands very tall and straightens its previously S-curled neck. I'm not sure whether this is a prelude to an attack, or simply showing off for the camera, but I play it safe and move on.
The site consists of a medieval barn dating from the same period as St Martin's church, plus a later farm house from the 16th Century.
 |
| The Manor Farm House |
This latter is also built on the site of a 'Motte and Bailey', which, despite sounding like an ITV female detective series, is actually a type of 11th Century castle. For the (like me) uninitiated - it is explained in this informative plaque...
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| Motte and Bailey information. |
Looking at my watch, I'm shocked to see that it's already gone 2pm and I'm still only two stations into the final set of 'Rs'. This is the problem with doing things alphabetically of course - having been at the Royal docks only last week, I had to visit them again this morning, then schlep all the way across town here to Ruislip.
Not only that but my next station (Ruislip Gardens, on the Central Line) is way off to the south of the town, whereas the one after that is right next door to the first Ruislip Station, back on the Piccadilly Line.
Grabbing a hurried lunch therefore I set off southwards on foot, since there's no convenient point where the two tube lines meet near here and the round trip would take me ridiculously out of my way.
After 20 minutes or so I realise that my decision to walk it may have been unwise. The walk is least another 10 minutes and time is really pressing on. Not only that but I'm sweating profusely, as the sunshine I was so pleased to see this morning is now not quite so welcome a walking companion (which is, let's face it, a typically hypocritical British response to good weather).
Luckily (in one sense) there's only one thing, other than the station, to see here, so it should be a brief visit.
The station is... functional.
 |
| Ruislip Gardens |
Obviously all the interesting design work on the tube network went on closer to the centre of London (though if they can get Gilbert Scott out here surely they could manage someone with a bit more imagination for the tube station). Given the name - Ruislip Gardens - you'd expect a fair bit of greenery around the place, but all I can see is concrete.
The poet Sir John Betjeman tries to make the best of it his poem 'Middlesex', but even he can't ignore the concrete and the fact that we're really not in the most idyllic of places...
"Gaily into Ruislip Gardens
Runs the red electric train,
Daintily alights Elaine;
Hurries down the concrete station
With a frown of concentration,
Out into the outskirt's edges
Where a few surviving hedges
Keep alive our lost Elysium - Rural Middlesex again."
There is actually a wooded area called Ruislip Gardens, to the west of the station behind a housing estate, but other than a bit of running water called Yeading Brook, there's not a lot going on there.
The main 'attraction' if it can be called that, is the nearby RAF Northolt air base.
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| RAF Northolt |
This is the longest serving airfield in the RAF's history and in fact pre-dates the RAF itself, having been set up in 1915 when the RAF was still the Royal Flying Corps. It played a key role in the Battle of Britain (there's a replica Spitfire just inside the main gates) and was the base into which Princess Diana's coffin was flown following her fatal car crash in Paris.
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| Spitfire R(eplica) |
Being a working RAF base, I obviously don't expect to be able to just wander around taking photos. Nevertheless, having taken a couple of shots from outside, and hoping to get a clearer view of the Spitfire, I approach the Guard Room and ask politely if I can take a few close-ups of it.
The answer is an equally polite, but unequivocal, 'No'.
But then, it's less than a week after the events on Westminster Bridge and security is, not unnaturally therefore, at a heightened level.
In fact that's exactly what the sign outside the Guard Room tells me. There's a slot beneath the words 'Current Security Level', into which the word 'Heightened' has been placed. The guards inside are very affable, and it's all completely understandable, but it does mean that my sojourn here - an hour long round trip on foot - has been effectively for the sake of three not very interesting photos...
***
And it doesn't get much more interesting at my next stop - Ruislip Manor.
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| Ruislip Manor |
This was all rural land, owned by King's College, Cambridge of all places, before the railway arrived and the station was built in 1912.
These days the station stands on a fairly busy shopping street - almost a second High Street in fact - called Victoria Road. Across the road is a rail bridge, decorated in the Piccadilly Line colours, but otherwise it's all Wetherspoons and Fried Chicken.
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| Ruislip Manor (in case you missed it) |
Time to move on again...
***
And here we are - the final R station - Russell Square.
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| Russell Square |
And again, the shadow of terrorism has crossed this place in recent years, as it was on a train travelling between King's Cross St Pancras and Russell Square, that a bomb explosion killed 26 people - half the total number of victims killed in the 7/7 attacks (not counting the terrorists themselves).
However, despite the attack last week, and the resultant 'heightened' security at places like RAF Northolt, London is, as usual, defiantly sticking two fingers up at those who would seek to terrorise us, and is getting on with life pretty much as normal.
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| Russell Square gardens |
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| Duke of Bedford |
The station is named after the Square and gardens to the west of it, which in turn were named after the surname of the 5th Duke Of Bedford, who developed much of the Bloomsbury area. His statue stands at the southern edge of the gardens in the Square.
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| T.S. Eliot wos 'ere |
While there, he oversaw the publishing of works by W.H. Auden, Ezra Pound, James Joyce and Walter De La Mare, among many others.
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| Oak Tree for the victims of the 7/7 bombings, |
On the western side of the gardens, near to the café in the north west corner, is a relatively recently planted oak tree. This stands as a memorial to the victims of the 7/7 bombings and was (as a plaque at the foot of the tree tells us) the spot where the many floral tributes were laid immediately after the bombings.
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| Plaque at the Oak Tree |
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| GOSH Entrance |
Moving away from the square itself, and heading east, I come to one of this area's other famous landmarks, though one to which most people would I'm sure hope never to have to come.
This is the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children or GOSH for short.
Founded in 1852 by Dr Charles West, with just 10 beds, it was the first of its kind in England. It drew the patronage of Queen Victoria, and was aided in fundraising by Charles Dickens.
Famously, in 1929 J.M. Barrie gave the copyright to his most famous creation - Peter Pan - to the hospital, from which they have benefited enormously.
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| Peter Pan and Tinkerbell |
It's no surprise therefore to find a statue of the 'boy who wouldn't grow up' just outside the main entrance.
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| A little info about Peter... |
Children and their welfare seem to be well looked after in this area, as another landmark, this time to the north of the station, testifies.
Coram's Fields, and more specifically the Harmsworth Memorial Playground, occupy the site of the former Foundling Hospital set up by Captain Thomas Coram in the 18th Century, to look after the unwanted children of the area.
Eventually the hospital itself was moved out of London in 1920 and the land was initially sold to a developer. The locals organised a massive fundraising campaign and the land was turned into the open space you see today.
As a nod to its history, no adult is allowed to enter the park unless 'accompanied by a child'.
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| Sadly I neglected to bring the requisite child on my travels today. |
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| History of the park |
I feel a little conspicuous taking photos of such a place while not being allowed inside, so I refrain from photographing any of the children enjoying the playground, and instead just snap the faded signs outside which give a little of the history.
It's so faded in fact that even close up it's difficult to make out.
So here - lifted straight from the website - is a transcription:
"The site of the Foundling Hospital established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram were offered for sale as building land in 1926 when owing to changing social conditions the old Hospital was sold and demolished.
After eight years anxiety as to its fate the site was eventually preserved for the use and welfare of the children of Central London by the generosity and vision of Harold Viscount Rothermere, by the efforts of the Foundling Site Appeal Council, by the co-operation of the Governors of the Foundling Hospital and of the Education Committee of the London County Council, and by the enthusiasm of many thousands of donors, large and small, who contributed their money or their toil to the saving of these nine acres, henceforth to be known as Coram's Fields."
And that completes my day - and indeed, completes another letter of the jolly old alphabet.
I'm taking a week off next week, during which I'll be heading to the Yorkshire Dales and Wensleydale country. So, on the assumption that I'll then need to burn off several hundred cheese related calories, I look forward to striding purposefully out once more to kick off the letter S on my return.
Until then - toodle-pip!
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