Thursday 23 February 2017

Looking for the gravestone of Raffles: A walk through Dollis Valley Greenway, Dollis Brook Viaduct, and St Mary's Hendon

Untitled

One dreary winter morning I decided to walk from Totteridge & Whetstone to Hendon, following the Dollis Brook southwards. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk is actualy a linkway between the Capital Ring and the London Loop, and goes all the way from Hampstead Heath up to Barnet. The area surrounding it is a leafy and very residential suburban neighbourhood with lots of hills and obviously as its name suggests the Greenwalk is at the bottom of the valley itself. As for the totter of the ridge, Totteridge is supposed to be the ridge or high point in that valley formation, possibly having been named after someone called Tata.

Untitled

A recurrent theme that I always see on my walks in London are balls. So many balls. Balls in water. Balls under trees. Balls balls balls. I myself do not know how to play with balls. First you throw them, then you have to go and get them back. It is so much work. Sometimes you can't get the balls back. Its very difficult to play ball with yourself. The last time I brought a ball to the beach, I spent more time worrying that my ball was going to be permanently swept out to sea, so I had to forbid the throwing of balls. Maybe I am playing with balls completely wrongly. But look here! It looks like many people and their balls have been wilfully parted!

Untitled

There were reports just that morning (23 Feb) of gale force winds as a result of Storm Doris with people being apparently killed by trees being blown over. As it was to be expected, the Greenway was largely devoid of casual walkers beyond the odd dog walker, and I must say I did not like the loud CRACK sounds I kept hearing from overhead. I was compelled to sprint through parts of the Greenway due to a fear of being flattened by falling trees.

Untitled

See what I mean about balls? They are just everywhere.

Untitled

More sacrificial balls.

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Fursby Allotment is along this route.

Untitled

This greenway is even well-paved at points.

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

And full of mushrooms, real and fake.

Untitled

The real highlight of this walk is the very magnificent Dollis Brook Viaduct.

Untitled

Untitled

The Dollis Brook Viaduct is used by the Northern Line to carry trains going to and from Mill Hill East and Finchley Central. So the burning question in your mind (or at least mine) is: what is the difference between a bridge and a viaduct? Well I suppose that it is said that a viaduct is a special type of bridge which has many many little spans or arches underneath it, and which can go on for long distances over land (not just water). And all of these spans are also equal in size, forming a formidable sight through the valley. For me I think of the viaducts as a particularly 'London' sort of thing - it is so common to see urban rail lines constructed on top of these viaducts and often in more built-up areas the space underneath the railway arches are also turned into car repair shops, nightclubs, eateries, or put to other kinds of commercial or industrial uses.

Not long after this point, I decided to deviate off the Greenway, largely because the greenway has no rest stops or toilet facilities along the way (ARGH!!!), and if there were any, they were not visible to walkers following the path. However, I was saved - walkers may want to note that there are restrooms to the left side of the Hendon Cemetery and Crematorium.

Untitled

After this point I decided to take the bus a short distance into West Hendon: I had heard about Sir Stamford Raffles being buried in Hendon but had never seen the stone for myself before, so...

Untitled

Untitled

I have to say it always surprises me how you can just walk into churches. I did worry that someone might walk in and think I was up to no good, scouring their floor in search of a gravestone...

Untitled

Prior to arriving I had searched on Findagrave.com which suggested he had a stone in the ground, as in this picture by David Conway in 2001. I've got to admit that this threw me off, because it has changed since then, and if you were to just search randomly as I did through the church grounds, it will take ages and ages...



Source: Findagrave.com

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Cue about 20 min of searching on the floor below all the chairs to find Raffles' stone.

Untitled

I was about to give up when I started looking at pillars and there it was!

Untitled

Raffles died suddenly of apoplexy in Mill Hill at Highwood House - but because he had been against slavery, the vicar Theodor Williams (whose family had made its fortunes through the Jamaican slave trade) refused to allow him burial within the local parish church at the time, which was St Mary's Hendon, resulting in his burial location not being known for quite some time. Various sources mention that his remains were found in a vault in 1914, and that a brass plaque (1887) and floor tablet had been incorporated into the building itself (1920s), but it appears that today only a brass plaque from 1887 remains.

The Walk:




Monday 20 February 2017

This Day Last Year: Highbury Fields, Arsenal Stadium, Gillespie Park, and Finsbury Park

Untitled

THIS DAY LAST YEAR: 20 FEB 2017 - I walked around Highbury Fields, Arsenal Stadium, Gillespie Park, and Finsbury Park.

Untitled

Highbury Fields is quite small; it is really not very impressive, just a small bit of clod inbetween densely packed houses.

Untitled

Untitled

There were some beautifully painted walls along the way

Untitled

And a cute little gap between houses at a T-junction

Untitled

Emirates Stadium (Arsenal's home ground) is something I always see on the train but never really bothered to walk into before.

Untitled

The main feature of this space is that it is incredibly windy.

Untitled

I don't think I'll want to be here on game days if this is any indication of the masses of crowds...

Untitled

Gillespie Park

Untitled

A very linear Park

Untitled

With corners you could get lost in

Untitled

History of the park

Untitled

Linear walk

Untitled

Gate

Untitled

It begins to look like parts of Finsbury Park along the tracks

Untitled

Tumbling right back into Finsbury Park across the road

Untitled

BONUS: a handsome little duck

Friday 17 February 2017

Parks of Enfield: Grovelands Park, Arnos Park, and Broomfield Park

Untitled

One afternoon I decided to take a walk through several of Enfield's parks...

Untitled

I walked from Winchmore Hill Station to a sunlit Grovelands Park.

Untitled

Grovelands Park has one of the loveliest woodland I've ever seen in a park - it is a Grade II park on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Untitled

There are little streams in it...

Untitled

And there is something magical about the stillness of this park.

Untitled

I quite enjoyed the play area as well. No explanation required, just an intriguing tangle of tree trunks.

Untitled

More little streams throughout Grovelands Park...

Untitled

The Boating Lake was absolutely gorgeous as well...

Untitled

Most beautiful little waterfowl were paddling about in the waters...

Untitled

Mandarin duck!

Untitled

Untitled

Next I decided to cross over to look for Arnos Park and Broomfield Park, through the endless commuter-belt suburbs of Arnos Grove...

Untitled

But during this walk through the suburbs of Arnos Grove I found what passes for one of the local attractions: The stocks! (The stocks??)

Untitled

Untitled

I've never seen a set of stocks being elevated to local relic with its own fenced up plot and all. I must say they are a rather cruel and unusual punishment. The feet would have been placed into the stocks so that the victim would be locked in position and subjected to constant exposure to the elements and torture from the public passing by the stocks, who would also fling all sorts of rubbish at the 'unruly artisan'. Apparently they never explicitly banned stocks, although it simply went out of fashion.

Untitled

Finally, I found Arnos Park.

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Pymmes Brook runs through it. It is not so much a picturesque brook as one that has been responsible for flooding so a lot of the literature on it is more about controlling the river from bursting its banks in these parts of North London.

Untitled

Untitled

There is also an interesting hole feature which I almost wanted to crawl through but it was too wet and there were so many dogs running through it from time to time!

Untitled

Finally I got to Broomfield Park. This is the most ordinary of the parks to be honest.

Untitled

In Broomfield Park, I found a Hollow oak!

Untitled

A closeup of its hole!

Untitled

It had a pond but Broomfield Park is located right next to a very noisy road lined with shops and moderate traffic, so it has the feel of an urban park rather than the feeling of country woodland as in Grovelands Park and Arnos Grove.

The Walk: