Day 82
Southwark - South Wimbledon - South Woodford - Stamford Brook - Stanmore
Unusually for this journey, I'm managing to squeeze two travelling days into one week - a result of my having such a hectic schedule next week that I'd be in danger of not going out Wombling at all, which - I'm sure you'll agree - would never do!
I set off bright and early to my first stop, which promises some interesting and unusual sights, being in the heart of one of the oldest (or at least most historic) parts of London - Southwark.
The station itself is actually very modern - having been built as recently as 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. This added all the stations between Green Park and Stratford to the existing Jubilee Line (which is itself the newest line on the Underground Network - opening in 1979). It sits at the junction of Blackfriars Road, The Cut, and Union Street.
There are modern high-rise office blocks all around this area, just south of Blackfriars Bridge, and some of London's newest landmarks such as the Shard and the Millennium Bridge are in the Borough of Southwark. But there are also many hints of the area's rich history, including this one diagonally opposite the tube station.
It's a replica of an original 'sign', which hung over a hardware shop at this site in the early 19th Century - and which was recalled by Charles Dickens in conversation with his biographer, John Forster.
This new replica was unveiled in 2013 having been commissioned as part of the celebrations of the Bicentenary of Dickens' birth in 1812. Dickens' father was imprisoned for debt at the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark in 1824, and Dickens took lodgings nearby while working at a 'Blacking' (Shoe Polish) factory near Charing Cross.
Southwark station is just south of Blackfriars Bridge (as previously mentioned), and lies between Waterloo (to the west) and London Bridge (to the east). Having previously visited the latter, as well as a couple of Southwark's other stations - Borough and Elephant and Castle to the south - my area of exploration today is inevitably somewhat restricted.
In fact, I'm going to be looking at just two landmarks, in an area of less than 200 square metres. Both of these landmarks could reasonably be classed as 'modern' in many ways, though they each have very definite links to the past, as we'll see.
And of course, as I make my way there, I'll be noting various curiosities along the way.
The first of these is an old sign under the railway bridge just north of the station.
Clearly indicating that another station, named Blackfriars, once stood here - this an example of how confusing the history of London's station names can sometimes be. (If you're in any doubt about this, just read my potted - and frankly potty - history of Charing Cross).
'Blackfriars' is just as bad...
The station currently known as Blackfriars - over the bridge to the north of the river - was originally known as St. Paul's (despite not actually being the closest station to the cathedral) and was opened in 1886 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway.
The station currently known as St. Paul's (which is the closest to the cathedral) was originally known as 'Post Office' (after the nearby headquarters of the GPO) to avoid confusion (!) with the other St. Paul's (now called Blackfriars).
Eventually someone saw sense and changed the name 'Post Office' to 'St. Paul's' and the name 'St. Paul's' to 'Blackfriars' - and everyone was happy.
Or at least, they would have been, had it not been for the other Blackfriars station - the one whose sign still remains under the bridge here at Southwark.
This station was opened in 1864 on the South Eastern Railway line between Charing Cross and London Bridge but closed again just five years later, having been superseded by the station now called Waterloo East (but originally called 'Waterloo' - don't get me started...).
Again, in order to avoid confusion (perish the thought), this station is now referred to as 'Blackfriars Road' Station instead of 'Blackfriars Station' to distinguish it from the other Blackfriars Station (which was previously St. Paul's Station).
As if all that wasn't enough, there was a third station - Blackfriars Bridge Station - right next door to Blackfriars Road Station, which was connected to the north of the river by the now defunct former Blackfriars Railway Bridge (of which only the red supporting columns remain - in the shadow of the replacement Blackfriars Railway Bridge, which was originally called St. Paul's Railway Bridge). This station too opened in 1864 but closed in 1885.
And if you've got your head round all of that, well done. Now, let's move swiftly on before we get confused again...
Heading north to Blackfriars Bridge I'm presented with the latest edifice in the process of being added to the Southwark skyline - a hotel, retail and residential development known formally by its address of '1 Blackfriars', and informally by the nickname 'The Vase'.
It strikes me that pretty soon (if we haven't already) we're going to run out of appropriate nicknames for all these new skyscrapers. Surely there are only so many shapes a building can be - and only so far we can stretch our imaginations with regard to what everyday objects they might be said to resemble.
We've had the Gherkin, Walkie-Talkie, Shard, Razor, Egg, Cheese-Grater... and now The Vase. What next - The Sink Plunger? The Egg Whisk? The Anglepoise Lamp?
Interestingly, this latest development actually consists not only of the big, solid, sticky-up thing you can see in the photo, but also two smaller stubby little buildings either side of the base. And you don't need a mind as filthy as mine to be able to come up with rather a different everyday object after which you could name it...
All that aside, what occupies my thoughts as I walk past this building is not the name, but the tiny figure of a man I can see dangling precariously from a rope at the top of the building - on the bit that slopes inwards just above the 'bulge'. You might not be able to see it in the photo above, so here's a closer view...
I know these jobs have to be done, and I know there will have been all sorts of Health and Safety measures put in place - but I still can't think of many jobs I'd like less than strapping myself to the side of a 50 story building in order to hose down the windows...
I turn right at the southern end of the Bridge, pausing to take a photo of the both it and the columns remaining from the original railway bridge.
I then make my way along the area known as 'Bankside' to the first of the two landmarks I've planned to visit.
The Tate Modern is a modern art gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station and offers free entry to everything except specially presented exhibitions.
Before I go inside, however, I stop to take a few photos of another modern addition to Southwark - the Millennium Bridge - which straddles the river immediately in front of the Tate Modern, and leads pedestrians towards St. Paul's Cathedral.
This bridge - as the name suggests - was built to celebrate the coming of the new millennium in 2000, but was almost immediately closed again for two years, thanks to an unforeseen, yet potentially dangerous, problem.
Although designed to be capable of a (slight) sideways sway, the designers hadn't taken into account a particular phenomenon, nor the way people would react to it.
Humans walk with a natural sway themselves (thanks to the left-right alternation of our feet) and this can cause suspension bridges of this type to begin to oscillate. It is of course exacerbated when the number of people crossing the bridge increases - which is why troops of soldiers are sometimes told to break step when marching across this type of bridge.
However, in addition to this initial problem, human nature adds a secondary difficulty. People crossing such a bridge, when they feel it swaying, subconsciously begin to match their steps with the movement of the bridge, to avoid falling over. This actually leads to an increase in the movement. So, the more people try to compensate for the movement, the more pronounced it becomes.
Having had dampers fitted to it, the bridge is now safe for people to cross, and is very popular in its own right as a tourist attraction.
But back to the Tate Modern.
I'm the first to admit that a lot of art, both classical and modern, leaves me relatively cold. I've never been one who eulogises about 'brushwork' or 'form' or 'what the artist is trying to say' - and, cliché though it may be, I'm quite happy to confine myself to either liking or disliking what I see in front of me.
I don't, therefore, propose to give you a 'guided tour' of the gallery, but instead I'll give you a photographic selection and you can make up your own minds.
What I would say, given that this is just a small selection of what's on offer, is that you should probably pay the place a visit yourself (especially since it's free) as I'm sure you'll find something in it which takes your fancy.
If nothing else, the building itself is as impressive as the art it contains.
It was converted from the power station in 2000, and includes the massive, full-height, 'Turbine Hall', which is used to house unusually large installations.
I've spent a lot of time in Southwark already this morning, and I hope to visit another four stations today, so I'd better get a move on.
On the other hand, I can't come to this part of town without paying a visit to another of its very famous landmarks.
Of course, I paid a brief call here when I visited London Bridge Station a while back and, while I don't want to go over old ground so to speak, Shakespeare's Globe is such an iconic building that it has to be worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
It is, of course, a modern replica of an Elizabethan playhouse - though 'modern' in this case is something that is already (I'm astonished to realise) 20 years old this year.
Since I don't have time to stop and see a play here today, I'll just point out a couple of 'architectural' details that might be of interest.
Firstly the Bankside entrance has two intricately designed wrought-iron gates opening onto the pavement. These gates (as the plaque to the left of them tells us) were made by blacksmiths Brian Russell and Richard Quinnell, together with contributions from 130 blacksmiths worldwide.
They feature animals, plants and mythical creatures - all of which feature in Shakespeare's plays - and aim to reflect Sam Wanamaker's vision of bringing people of all nationalities together.
I have in fact met Richard Quinnell and his daughter Lucy - also a blacksmith - on a number of occasions, as they run an iron-work gallery and blacksmith school near Leatherhead, to which my wife introduced me many years ago, and to which I have returned many times since.
It's a fascinating place - and if you think iron-work is all about toasting forks and garden gates, one visit to the Fire and Iron Gallery will soon dispel such notions. Nor do they confine themselves to iron - if it's artistic, and can be made of metal, they'll have it. Definitely worth a visit if you're ever down that way.
Through the gates, the courtyard outside the main auditorium is paved with slabs bearing the names of those who made donations to the initial building fund.
It's interesting to wander around, spotting the famous names dotted among the corporate sponsors. Though one couple of slabs might cause you to do a bit of a double-take.
The story goes that John Cleese and Michael Palin had both agreed to make a donation and have their names on a couple of paving slabs, but that Mr Cleese - never one to pass up an opportunity for a gag - promised a substantial bonus amount, on the condition that they spelled Palin's name wrong...
I don't hang around much longer in the grounds of the Globe - I have much more to try and fit in today and most of the morning has already gone. Nor, sadly, do I have time to visit any of the several other theatres in this part of town.
Not only are there the Old and New Vic theatres (though they're not, strictly speaking in the Borough of Southwark - and in any case I'll be looking at them when I visit Waterloo) - but within a short distance from my current location are also The Union, The Menier Chocolate Factory, and The Southwark Playhouse. They each offer something slightly different in terms of their programming, but they are all well worth visiting - as I have, many times before.
So instead, I head to London Bridge station and zip down the Northern Line to my next stop - South Wimbledon.
***
South Wimbledon marks a distinct change in the feel of today's travels. In stark contrast to Southwark, where there was much to see and discover, the remaining stations offer precious little to the curious traveller.
I suppose the station at South Wimbledon could itself be said to be a minor curiosity - it is after all the most southerly tube station in London to be truly 'underground' - having its platforms in a tunnel rather than above ground or in an 'open' cutting like the next station - Morden. It is also, unlike the other Wimbledon stations, on the Northern, rather than the District Line.
The area known as South Wimbledon is actually in the Borough of Merton and was originally called New Wimbledon to distinguish it from Wimbledon proper, which is to the north. The station here was built as part of the 'new' (in 1926) Morden Extension to the Northern Line and was one of the first to be designed by our old pal Charles Holden.
Something suddenly occurs to me, given that my theme for today's travels seems to have centred around the word 'modern' (with 'modern' stations, bridges, network extensions, theatre replicas and art galleries all making an appearance) coupled with my current location on the Morden Extension.
Being something of a crossword buff, I'm surprised it hasn't struck me before that 'Morden' is an anagram of 'modern'.
Not that this adds anything much to my experience of being here.
Other than a moderately well-provided High Street, there's really nothing to see here, so I head back onto the trains, and northwards, to South Woodford.
***
South Woodford, on the north-eastern end of the Central Line, is another station that has gone through a change of names - though thankfully nothing like as confusingly as Blackfriars.
The original name for this station was 'George Lane', which isn't - disappointingly - a past local celebrity, but the name of the main shopping street in the area.
George Lane is now in two separate halves, separated by the tube tracks, but originally it was continuous and crossed the tracks at a level crossing. Today a bridge takes you across the tracks from one platform to another.
Again, there's a reasonable collection of shops and restaurants on George Lane - indeed, there seems to have been a bit of an effort made to spruce the place up a bit and give it that 'village-y' feel I always warm to.
There are even some decorative metal flowers on one of the central reservations, which - while not quite up to the craftsmanship of the Globe Theatre's gates - do at least add a splash of colour to the place.
On the other hand, since I've already had my lunch and don't - at present - need my nails manicuring, my clothes dry-cleaned or my bodily parts injected with ink, the shops on the high street don't hold my interest for very much longer than they did in South Wimbledon and I'm soon making my way back to the station.
Before hopping on a train, I take a quick photo of the sign on the platform - which, for some reason, still bears (if only in parentheses) the original name of the station.
The sign reminds me of something and it takes me a little while to realise what it is. It's exactly the same format found in a theatrical review - when the name of the character is given, followed, in brackets, by the actor playing him:
"...but the highlight for me was the desperately moving final scene in which South Woodford (George Lane) discovers the truth about his mother - it had me in tears..."
What a pity George Lane isn't actually a person.
Anyway, I'm soon on my way southwards again, this time to a station rather closer to home.
***
Stamford Brook is a couple of stops away from Hammersmith on the District Line and is named after a long-buried tributary of the Thames.
It's really a bit of a non-entity as far as stations go, not least because it's on that stretch of the underground between Hammersmith and Acton Town, which anyone with any sense traverses on the non-stop Piccadilly Line, rather than the more sedate District Line.
This means that the only people who use this station (other than the very occasional Wombler like myself) are those who live near it - the area to the north of the station being almost entirely residential.
Southwards is marginally different, as it's only a two minute walk to the eastern end of Chiswick High Road, which does at least have a decent collection of shops and eateries to entertain you (though these are mainly much further west from here).
It does seem that Stamford Brook station exists solely to break up the journey between the two stations either side of it. The reality is that if you want to get to the heart of the Chiswick shops, you go to Turnham Green, and if you want to go to Hammersmith, you go to... well, Hammersmith.
That's not to say there aren't shops at this end of the street - it's just that it all feels a bit like the tail-end of something. This is the point where Chiswick High Road and Hammersmith's King Street come together - both of them (in their different ways) very busy and vibrant shopping streets....... Only, much further along...
And so another station gets ticked off my list. I've time to visit one more, though it's a bit of a trek, and I hope it offers slightly more than my last couple of stops.
***
Well, 'slightly' perhaps...
Stanmore has been at the very northern end of the Jubilee Line since this opened in 1979, although like many of the stations in north-west London, it was originally a Metropolitan Line station, and later a Bakerloo Line station.
It's an affluent area, as you can tell immediately from the houses to the north of the station.
I'm heading this way as I've looked at the map and seen a Country Park marked here, which has to be better than another run-of-the-mill high street.
I find my way into the park, which - by the looks of the map - is a big one, and am immediately rewarded with a patch of bluebells nestling under the trees.
According to the Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, the park is home to buzzards, red kites, kestrels, sparrowhawks, tawny owls, weasels, rabbits, foxes, squirrels, badgers and deer. I don't spot any of these during my brief visit, but if you ever make your own way here there are handy 'nature trail' maps at the entrances.
The entrances from the south are on Kerry Avenue and Dennis Lane, which sound very much like names that could both be featuring in the same cast list as our earlier hypothetical actor George. If so, then Kerry Avenue for one is doing very well for herself, given the size of some of these houses.
To the west of the station is 'The Broadway' - the inevitable high street.
There are several restaurants and the usual chains of shops and supermarkets, and - like South Woodford - it feels like a village unto itself rather than part of a bigger metropolis. But it's been a long day, and I don't really feel like walking the whole length of it and back. So I take a cursory photo, cross another station off my list, and begin the long journey home in the hope that next time I might find a few more places like Southwark, and a few less like Stamford Brook...
I set off bright and early to my first stop, which promises some interesting and unusual sights, being in the heart of one of the oldest (or at least most historic) parts of London - Southwark.
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| Southwark |
The station itself is actually very modern - having been built as recently as 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. This added all the stations between Green Park and Stratford to the existing Jubilee Line (which is itself the newest line on the Underground Network - opening in 1979). It sits at the junction of Blackfriars Road, The Cut, and Union Street.
There are modern high-rise office blocks all around this area, just south of Blackfriars Bridge, and some of London's newest landmarks such as the Shard and the Millennium Bridge are in the Borough of Southwark. But there are also many hints of the area's rich history, including this one diagonally opposite the tube station.
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| Add caption |
It's a replica of an original 'sign', which hung over a hardware shop at this site in the early 19th Century - and which was recalled by Charles Dickens in conversation with his biographer, John Forster.
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| From "The Life Of Charles Dickens" by John Forster |
This new replica was unveiled in 2013 having been commissioned as part of the celebrations of the Bicentenary of Dickens' birth in 1812. Dickens' father was imprisoned for debt at the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark in 1824, and Dickens took lodgings nearby while working at a 'Blacking' (Shoe Polish) factory near Charing Cross.
Southwark station is just south of Blackfriars Bridge (as previously mentioned), and lies between Waterloo (to the west) and London Bridge (to the east). Having previously visited the latter, as well as a couple of Southwark's other stations - Borough and Elephant and Castle to the south - my area of exploration today is inevitably somewhat restricted.
In fact, I'm going to be looking at just two landmarks, in an area of less than 200 square metres. Both of these landmarks could reasonably be classed as 'modern' in many ways, though they each have very definite links to the past, as we'll see.
And of course, as I make my way there, I'll be noting various curiosities along the way.
The first of these is an old sign under the railway bridge just north of the station.
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| Blackfriars Station... or one of them at least. |
Clearly indicating that another station, named Blackfriars, once stood here - this an example of how confusing the history of London's station names can sometimes be. (If you're in any doubt about this, just read my potted - and frankly potty - history of Charing Cross).
'Blackfriars' is just as bad...
The station currently known as Blackfriars - over the bridge to the north of the river - was originally known as St. Paul's (despite not actually being the closest station to the cathedral) and was opened in 1886 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway.
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| Signage on Blackfriars Bridge |
Eventually someone saw sense and changed the name 'Post Office' to 'St. Paul's' and the name 'St. Paul's' to 'Blackfriars' - and everyone was happy.
Or at least, they would have been, had it not been for the other Blackfriars station - the one whose sign still remains under the bridge here at Southwark.
This station was opened in 1864 on the South Eastern Railway line between Charing Cross and London Bridge but closed again just five years later, having been superseded by the station now called Waterloo East (but originally called 'Waterloo' - don't get me started...).
Again, in order to avoid confusion (perish the thought), this station is now referred to as 'Blackfriars Road' Station instead of 'Blackfriars Station' to distinguish it from the other Blackfriars Station (which was previously St. Paul's Station).
As if all that wasn't enough, there was a third station - Blackfriars Bridge Station - right next door to Blackfriars Road Station, which was connected to the north of the river by the now defunct former Blackfriars Railway Bridge (of which only the red supporting columns remain - in the shadow of the replacement Blackfriars Railway Bridge, which was originally called St. Paul's Railway Bridge). This station too opened in 1864 but closed in 1885.
And if you've got your head round all of that, well done. Now, let's move swiftly on before we get confused again...
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| 'The Vase' |
It strikes me that pretty soon (if we haven't already) we're going to run out of appropriate nicknames for all these new skyscrapers. Surely there are only so many shapes a building can be - and only so far we can stretch our imaginations with regard to what everyday objects they might be said to resemble.
We've had the Gherkin, Walkie-Talkie, Shard, Razor, Egg, Cheese-Grater... and now The Vase. What next - The Sink Plunger? The Egg Whisk? The Anglepoise Lamp?
Interestingly, this latest development actually consists not only of the big, solid, sticky-up thing you can see in the photo, but also two smaller stubby little buildings either side of the base. And you don't need a mind as filthy as mine to be able to come up with rather a different everyday object after which you could name it...
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| Rather you than me... |
I know these jobs have to be done, and I know there will have been all sorts of Health and Safety measures put in place - but I still can't think of many jobs I'd like less than strapping myself to the side of a 50 story building in order to hose down the windows...
I turn right at the southern end of the Bridge, pausing to take a photo of the both it and the columns remaining from the original railway bridge.
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| Blackfriars Road Bridge (left) and Rail Bridge (right) with the remaining columns in between |
I then make my way along the area known as 'Bankside' to the first of the two landmarks I've planned to visit.
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| Tate Modern |
The Tate Modern is a modern art gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station and offers free entry to everything except specially presented exhibitions.
Before I go inside, however, I stop to take a few photos of another modern addition to Southwark - the Millennium Bridge - which straddles the river immediately in front of the Tate Modern, and leads pedestrians towards St. Paul's Cathedral.
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| Millennium Bridge |
This bridge - as the name suggests - was built to celebrate the coming of the new millennium in 2000, but was almost immediately closed again for two years, thanks to an unforeseen, yet potentially dangerous, problem.
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| Underneath the bridge |
Although designed to be capable of a (slight) sideways sway, the designers hadn't taken into account a particular phenomenon, nor the way people would react to it.
Humans walk with a natural sway themselves (thanks to the left-right alternation of our feet) and this can cause suspension bridges of this type to begin to oscillate. It is of course exacerbated when the number of people crossing the bridge increases - which is why troops of soldiers are sometimes told to break step when marching across this type of bridge.
However, in addition to this initial problem, human nature adds a secondary difficulty. People crossing such a bridge, when they feel it swaying, subconsciously begin to match their steps with the movement of the bridge, to avoid falling over. This actually leads to an increase in the movement. So, the more people try to compensate for the movement, the more pronounced it becomes.
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| Across the bridge to St. Paul's |
Having had dampers fitted to it, the bridge is now safe for people to cross, and is very popular in its own right as a tourist attraction.
But back to the Tate Modern.
I'm the first to admit that a lot of art, both classical and modern, leaves me relatively cold. I've never been one who eulogises about 'brushwork' or 'form' or 'what the artist is trying to say' - and, cliché though it may be, I'm quite happy to confine myself to either liking or disliking what I see in front of me.
I don't, therefore, propose to give you a 'guided tour' of the gallery, but instead I'll give you a photographic selection and you can make up your own minds.
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| Various works by Louise Bourgeois |
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| 'Legs' - Louise Bourgeois |
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| 'Beirut Caoutchouc' - Marwan Rechmaoui |
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| L. 'Los Moscos' - Mark Bradford R. Untitled (Ghardaïa) - Kader Attia |
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| 'Fountain' - Marcel Duchamp |
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| 'Behold' - Sheela Gowda |
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| 'An American Tribute to the British People' - Louise Nevelson |
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| 'Liquid Crystal Environment' - Gustav Metzger |
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| 'Babel' - Cildo Meireles |
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| 'Yellow versus Purple' - Olafur Eliasson |
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| 'Strip (921-6)' - Gerhard Richter |
What I would say, given that this is just a small selection of what's on offer, is that you should probably pay the place a visit yourself (especially since it's free) as I'm sure you'll find something in it which takes your fancy.
If nothing else, the building itself is as impressive as the art it contains.
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| Turbine Hall |
It was converted from the power station in 2000, and includes the massive, full-height, 'Turbine Hall', which is used to house unusually large installations.
I've spent a lot of time in Southwark already this morning, and I hope to visit another four stations today, so I'd better get a move on.
On the other hand, I can't come to this part of town without paying a visit to another of its very famous landmarks.
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| Shakespeare's Globe |
Of course, I paid a brief call here when I visited London Bridge Station a while back and, while I don't want to go over old ground so to speak, Shakespeare's Globe is such an iconic building that it has to be worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
It is, of course, a modern replica of an Elizabethan playhouse - though 'modern' in this case is something that is already (I'm astonished to realise) 20 years old this year.
Since I don't have time to stop and see a play here today, I'll just point out a couple of 'architectural' details that might be of interest.
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| Bankside gate |
Firstly the Bankside entrance has two intricately designed wrought-iron gates opening onto the pavement. These gates (as the plaque to the left of them tells us) were made by blacksmiths Brian Russell and Richard Quinnell, together with contributions from 130 blacksmiths worldwide.
They feature animals, plants and mythical creatures - all of which feature in Shakespeare's plays - and aim to reflect Sam Wanamaker's vision of bringing people of all nationalities together.
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| Plaque recognising the blacksmiths' work |
It's a fascinating place - and if you think iron-work is all about toasting forks and garden gates, one visit to the Fire and Iron Gallery will soon dispel such notions. Nor do they confine themselves to iron - if it's artistic, and can be made of metal, they'll have it. Definitely worth a visit if you're ever down that way.
Through the gates, the courtyard outside the main auditorium is paved with slabs bearing the names of those who made donations to the initial building fund.
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| Dear old Tim and Pru... |
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| They're the best of chums, really... |
I don't hang around much longer in the grounds of the Globe - I have much more to try and fit in today and most of the morning has already gone. Nor, sadly, do I have time to visit any of the several other theatres in this part of town.
Not only are there the Old and New Vic theatres (though they're not, strictly speaking in the Borough of Southwark - and in any case I'll be looking at them when I visit Waterloo) - but within a short distance from my current location are also The Union, The Menier Chocolate Factory, and The Southwark Playhouse. They each offer something slightly different in terms of their programming, but they are all well worth visiting - as I have, many times before.
So instead, I head to London Bridge station and zip down the Northern Line to my next stop - South Wimbledon.
***
South Wimbledon marks a distinct change in the feel of today's travels. In stark contrast to Southwark, where there was much to see and discover, the remaining stations offer precious little to the curious traveller.
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| South Wimbledon |
I suppose the station at South Wimbledon could itself be said to be a minor curiosity - it is after all the most southerly tube station in London to be truly 'underground' - having its platforms in a tunnel rather than above ground or in an 'open' cutting like the next station - Morden. It is also, unlike the other Wimbledon stations, on the Northern, rather than the District Line.
The area known as South Wimbledon is actually in the Borough of Merton and was originally called New Wimbledon to distinguish it from Wimbledon proper, which is to the north. The station here was built as part of the 'new' (in 1926) Morden Extension to the Northern Line and was one of the first to be designed by our old pal Charles Holden.
Something suddenly occurs to me, given that my theme for today's travels seems to have centred around the word 'modern' (with 'modern' stations, bridges, network extensions, theatre replicas and art galleries all making an appearance) coupled with my current location on the Morden Extension.
Being something of a crossword buff, I'm surprised it hasn't struck me before that 'Morden' is an anagram of 'modern'.
Not that this adds anything much to my experience of being here.
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| A few of the South Wimbledon shops. Fascinating huh? |
Other than a moderately well-provided High Street, there's really nothing to see here, so I head back onto the trains, and northwards, to South Woodford.
***
South Woodford, on the north-eastern end of the Central Line, is another station that has gone through a change of names - though thankfully nothing like as confusingly as Blackfriars.
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| South Woodford |
The original name for this station was 'George Lane', which isn't - disappointingly - a past local celebrity, but the name of the main shopping street in the area.
George Lane is now in two separate halves, separated by the tube tracks, but originally it was continuous and crossed the tracks at a level crossing. Today a bridge takes you across the tracks from one platform to another.
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| George Lane (north of the station) |
Again, there's a reasonable collection of shops and restaurants on George Lane - indeed, there seems to have been a bit of an effort made to spruce the place up a bit and give it that 'village-y' feel I always warm to.
There are even some decorative metal flowers on one of the central reservations, which - while not quite up to the craftsmanship of the Globe Theatre's gates - do at least add a splash of colour to the place.
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| Go easy on the Baby Bio |
On the other hand, since I've already had my lunch and don't - at present - need my nails manicuring, my clothes dry-cleaned or my bodily parts injected with ink, the shops on the high street don't hold my interest for very much longer than they did in South Wimbledon and I'm soon making my way back to the station.
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| George Lane, looking south, with the footbridge over the tube tracks visible |
Before hopping on a train, I take a quick photo of the sign on the platform - which, for some reason, still bears (if only in parentheses) the original name of the station.
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| You have been watching... |
The sign reminds me of something and it takes me a little while to realise what it is. It's exactly the same format found in a theatrical review - when the name of the character is given, followed, in brackets, by the actor playing him:
"...but the highlight for me was the desperately moving final scene in which South Woodford (George Lane) discovers the truth about his mother - it had me in tears..."
What a pity George Lane isn't actually a person.
Anyway, I'm soon on my way southwards again, this time to a station rather closer to home.
***
Stamford Brook is a couple of stops away from Hammersmith on the District Line and is named after a long-buried tributary of the Thames.
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| Stamford Brook |
It's really a bit of a non-entity as far as stations go, not least because it's on that stretch of the underground between Hammersmith and Acton Town, which anyone with any sense traverses on the non-stop Piccadilly Line, rather than the more sedate District Line.
This means that the only people who use this station (other than the very occasional Wombler like myself) are those who live near it - the area to the north of the station being almost entirely residential.
Southwards is marginally different, as it's only a two minute walk to the eastern end of Chiswick High Road, which does at least have a decent collection of shops and eateries to entertain you (though these are mainly much further west from here).
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| Chiswick High Road |
It does seem that Stamford Brook station exists solely to break up the journey between the two stations either side of it. The reality is that if you want to get to the heart of the Chiswick shops, you go to Turnham Green, and if you want to go to Hammersmith, you go to... well, Hammersmith.
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| King Street |
That's not to say there aren't shops at this end of the street - it's just that it all feels a bit like the tail-end of something. This is the point where Chiswick High Road and Hammersmith's King Street come together - both of them (in their different ways) very busy and vibrant shopping streets....... Only, much further along...
And so another station gets ticked off my list. I've time to visit one more, though it's a bit of a trek, and I hope it offers slightly more than my last couple of stops.
***
Well, 'slightly' perhaps...
Stanmore has been at the very northern end of the Jubilee Line since this opened in 1979, although like many of the stations in north-west London, it was originally a Metropolitan Line station, and later a Bakerloo Line station.
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| Stanmore |
It's an affluent area, as you can tell immediately from the houses to the north of the station.
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| Just a bijou place... |
I'm heading this way as I've looked at the map and seen a Country Park marked here, which has to be better than another run-of-the-mill high street.
I find my way into the park, which - by the looks of the map - is a big one, and am immediately rewarded with a patch of bluebells nestling under the trees.
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| Bluebells |
According to the Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, the park is home to buzzards, red kites, kestrels, sparrowhawks, tawny owls, weasels, rabbits, foxes, squirrels, badgers and deer. I don't spot any of these during my brief visit, but if you ever make your own way here there are handy 'nature trail' maps at the entrances.
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| Nature Trail |
The entrances from the south are on Kerry Avenue and Dennis Lane, which sound very much like names that could both be featuring in the same cast list as our earlier hypothetical actor George. If so, then Kerry Avenue for one is doing very well for herself, given the size of some of these houses.
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| Another little Eight Up / Five Down. |
To the west of the station is 'The Broadway' - the inevitable high street.
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| The Broadway |
There are several restaurants and the usual chains of shops and supermarkets, and - like South Woodford - it feels like a village unto itself rather than part of a bigger metropolis. But it's been a long day, and I don't really feel like walking the whole length of it and back. So I take a cursory photo, cross another station off my list, and begin the long journey home in the hope that next time I might find a few more places like Southwark, and a few less like Stamford Brook...
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