Three In One - Bushey, Cheslyn, Byewaters

 At the end of May 2020, on a beautiful sunny day, Sue and I decided we would do the smallest of road trips. So starting out from home base, we headed for Bushey and found a parking space in the car park of the now closed Golf and  Country Club. It was then just a walk across the road to Bushey Rose Garden. 

The gardens themselves aren't large, but very pretty and I always think it's worth knowing some history about the place you're visiting, so here is some. The gardens are early 20th century, designed by Thomas Mawson and laid out on the site of a former art school for the eminent artist Sir Hubert von Herkomer (1849 - 1914) as part of his grounds. The garden was opened to the public in 1937. During the early years, local people can recall a gardener caring for the garden and would grow plants in a greenhouse. Elderly gentlemen would frequent the Summer House and play cards by the fire. Sadly, in recent times, the garden became neglected and suffered from vandalism resulting in the Summer House being boarded up and the original york stone around the fountain was stolen on Christmas Eve 2005. Thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery and Big Lottery Fund ‘Parks for People’ programme, from Hertsmere Borough Council and additional funding from Landsberg-am-Lech and the Rotary Club, the garden received a much needed cash injection to fully restore it to its former glory between 2009 and 2010. The garden was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Countess of Verulam on 23 July 2010. 

Unfortunately, Herkomer's remarkable Bavarian style house - Lululaund - is long gone, but the cloisters remain, having been discovered in nearby Clay Lane near the pumping station, overgrown with ivy and forgotten. After negotiations with the water company, the structure was eventually removed and erected in the lawned area. 

The history became somewhat secondary as we entered the garden to a profusion of roses and a riot of colour. To the right, at the end of a short path, is a round wooden arbour with a circular seat, the 'Rose Temple', but the main, bricked path leads to a sunken garden where the focal point is a fountain made of tufa (a stone which was apparently used in the construction of the house). The fountain was Grade II listed in 1985 and a step down into the area, with its box hedge surrounding it, is a delightful sun trap. The bricks are laid in a basket-weave pattern, some original, some new. We wandered around, backwards and forwards, taking an awful lot of photos and then moved on to look through the windows of the summer house (unfortunately closed due to lockdown). Next to that is the pergola, with roses climbing over the top of the beams and at the end is the Lululaund plaque. The original was stolen, but has been replaced with a replica and it is quite fabulous. Originally, I guess, in bronze, it's very Art Deco and is a great focal point. Beside that is a sculpture installation of poppies and next to that is the lawn with the cloisters in a part circle to the right. 

A path takes you round and here there were many other flowers, not just roses. The peonies were beautiful and dotted around the flower beds were some charming bug houses. We slowly made our way back to the entrance and had it been "back in the old days" we would certainly have been on our second roll of film by now!

We retraced our steps to the car park and headed back towards Watford, skirting the town for stop number two, Cheslyn Gardens. The blurb will tell you that the gardens are "Watford's best kept secret". It's not far wrong. Hidden away in Nascot Wood, we pulled into the little car park and were immediately in a different world to that of the Rose Garden. The 3.5 acres include a pond, fernery, large herbaceous borders and an aviary. Cheslyn House itself, designed by Henry Colbeck and his wife, overlooks the lawns.

We set off at a very leisurely pace through a wooded section, that included some lovely bamboos and specimen trees. It was all very shady and lush with dappled sunlight through the leaves and the narrow little paths taking you this way and that.  An ornate iron gate in a wall led you through into another section of the garden where rhododendrons bloomed and foxgloves stood tall between ferns and other leaves. The garden feels a lot bigger than it is with the paths looping in and out, around and under trees - the perfect little wood - until you come eventually to a broader, paved path and get a glimpse of the house. Heading towards it you come to the pond, planted with yellow irises and other water plants, while the surrounding rockery had a Mediterranean feel, baking under a - by now - very warm sun. An armillary sphere stood atop a white stone plinth and coy carp swam gracefully in the water. It was very pleasant. 

Just a few yards from the pond is the aviary with budgerigars, quail and assorted finches. We watched them for a few minutes then walked back to the lawn. All the benches in the shade were taken, so we perched in the sunshine with our snacks and bottles of water before taking a look at the "Dancing Lady" or "Dancing Woman" sculpture. She used to stand next to the library at the top of the town, but was moved due to vandalism. The garden suits her far better. 

And then we were off again, heading for Byewaters and the canal. 

It had turned into an unbelievably hot day. We stood near the waterfall taking photos of the ducks and moorhens and then began bimbling along canalside towards Common Moor Lock. There were some people in explorer canoes on the canal and quite a few people strolling along as we were. At the lock, we crossed the bridge and dropped down onto the towpath to carry on a short distance until we drew level with the weir on the opposite side. Then we back-tracked, over the main bridge again down to the River Gade that runs parallel with the canal. A pair of Canada geese were there with goslings and the river weed was in bloom, a carpet of white flowers lying on the surface, flowing gently with the movement of the water. It was very calming. 

Up at the lock, a boat was going through. We stood and watched the gushing water as the sluices were opened and the boat manoeuvred in. One of the owners, leaning on the lock gate, watched distractedly as the water rose, while her dog looked on with somewhat more interest. 

Seeing the boat through, we ambled back to the waterfall, to the car, and then home. It had been a very nice day in glorious weather with, as usual, rather a lot of photos taken. 

Paddington to Regents Park

 Paddington Basin to Regent's Park London - 16th October 2020

I've always loved walking the towpath. My territory is usually between Watford and Rickmansworth in one direction and Watford to Grove Mill in the other. Occasionally I've been further - the Coy Carp to Denham (see recent Blog) and Grove Mill to Apsley (to be written up). Quite some time ago, Martin and I walked pretty much all of the Wendover Arm, which was (and still is, I believe) under restoration and is rather picturesque. However, this year, despite Lockdown, Sue and I have done more walks together and, having purchased a map of the Grand Union Canal London Ring, with sections from Milton Keynes to London and the East London Ring, we became keen to explore further afield. 

So it was that one greyish morning in the middle of October, we caught the train from Croxley into London, changing at Baker Street to take the Hammersmith line to Paddington. First stop was for coffee and danish at a mobile van, the friendly vendor letting us have both for a reduced cost as he discovered from the logo on Sue's jacket that she worked for the NHS. He didn't have to, as he'd been struggling with loss of customers due to the ongoing restrictions, so it was a sweet act of kindness.

Warmed up a little, we walked a few hundred yards further on to find ourselves in 'the basin'. The water being very still, there were some amazing reflections from the towering glass blocks overlooking it, but the 'rolling bridge' (or, more accurately, curling bridge) wasn't due to be opened until the afternoon, so taking some photos, we retraced our steps, but on the opposite side of the water, passed a rather witty art installation of a giant plug, until crossing back to go under the Bishop's Road Bridge. Here there is a tribute to Alan Turing: 

‘Message from the Unseen World’ is a public artwork that celebrates the life and work of Alan Turing, who was born in Paddington and is best known for the crucial role he played in breaking the enigma code during the Second World War. It spans the width of the bridge and features extracts from Turing’s ground-breaking ‘Computing Machinery and Intelligence’ in patterns based on Baudot code. Fascinating. 

From there, with some industrial type wharves or warehouses on the other side of the canal for a short distance, in contrast to the glinting glass everywhere else, it was only a matter of minutes before we reached Little Venice, the blue bridge reflected in the water and some Autumn colour in the surrounding trees. I'd visited this lovely site two years ago for the IWA cavalcade when it was a riot of colour, the boats - adorned with flags and bunting - moored up side by side and an array of stalls selling food and crafts all around. Today there were still some boats moored, but it was much more peaceful with few people about. The sun was out by now though and it was a very photogenic place. We went up onto the bridge, taking photos, and down the other side, under another blue bridge that carried Warwick Avenue, deciding we would head for Camden. 

Little Venice

We hadn't gone far before we had to leave the towpath for a while and walk alongside the canal via Blomfield Road. This led to Cafe Laville which sits astride the canal near the junction of the Edgware Road. On the other side, we continued along Abderdeen Place until we found ourselves looking down on the entrance to the Maida Hill tunnel. It didn't look very inviting, as didn't the exit further on, but the history is quite interesting. Originally built to allow the city to thrive, the tunnels (Maida Hill, Eyre's and Islington) let the Regent's Canal cut through the hillier areas of Maida Vale and St John's Wood. The walls of the Maida Hill tunnel go straight down into the water, so the only way to see them is by boat. We kept walking, across Lisson Grove and through an arched gateway that led down to a path alongside the Waterside moorings. Here the boats are moored at right angles to the towpath, rather than parallel. This is to leave room for traffic to continue on the canal in both directions. In times gone by, boats would bring the coal to the electric power station and the cargo would be unloaded and taken into the premises through some wide openings at canal level. These were walled in, but the recesses in the wall shows where they once were (see gallery for photos). The substation still looms over the canal. 

The railings/fence that flank the path here are somewhat odd in that they are concave, leaning inwards and making it a little difficult to get good photos of the canal below (unless you're a lot taller than Sue and me), but I suppose also to prevent them being scaled easily. It would be a fairly unpleasant drop. At the end, another footbridge crosses you back to the other side of the canal again with a railway line in front of you (takes you to Marylebone, I believe). Underneath, there was a stacked pile of dried muddied metal, including a motorbike, a scooter, a bike, the obligatory shopping trolley and sundry other items all presumably exhumed from the canal bottom by magnet fisherman and hopefully awaiting disposal. This side of the bridge is also quite spacious with graffiti on the walls and riveted girders, while across on the far wall was a plaque stating "The Second Lord's Cricket Ground 1811 - 1813 Home of MCC was located here".

Magnet fishing haul

The exit to the tunnel threw up some nice reflections in the puddles there and then we were back out in the open again and walking passed some rather lavish mansions on the embankment across the water. As we followed the graceful curve of the canal through a green and leafy cutting, a boat from the London Waterbus Co sailed by and then a pair of paddle boarders emerged from under Charlbert Road bridge ahead. it was a very pleasant bimble by this time, on a wide towpath in lovely sunshine. Beyond was Macclesfield Bridge. It looms large with the brick arches supported on twin rows of five cast-iron columns, positioned either side of the canal. (The columns immediately reminded me of the Euston Arch!). I'd seen photos of this bridge and was vaguely aware that there was a story attached to it, and wish I'd been more informed and looked more closely at the time. I have now discovered that it is just as commonly known as "The Blow-Up Bridge" and here's why:

In the early hours of 2nd October 1874, The Tilbury - a barge containing a concoction of coffee and nuts - exploded right under the bridge. Both boat and structure were immediately destroyed. Alongside its less volatile cargo, The Spectator would later report, was 'the perilous combination of two or three barrels of petroleum and about five tons of gunpowder'.

The three men aboard the Tilbury - one of whom, it's presumed, lit a match that ignited the blast - were killed. Windows shattered a mile from the explosion. Residents sat bolt upright in bed, fearing an earthquake. The animals in the nearby zoo caused a hullabaloo. 'Dead fish rained from the sky in the West End'.
Another report stated: 'It also destroyed the nearby house of the painter Alma-Tadema, who was fortunately away at the time. The explosion caused such havoc that a detachment of Horse Guards were brought in to help keep order and to ensure safety from wild animals at the Zoo'. And according to an article in The Times soon after the incident 'This explosion has revealed the fact that London has for years been traversed in some of its most populous and wealthy quarters by fleets of torpedoes'.

The bridge was rebuilt in 1876 using the original iron columns and a plaque by the bridge now marks the tragedy and explains what happened after. Unfortunately, this history geek and my erstwhile colleague failed to notice it! So, on we walked passed a section of wall covered in street art - many would call it graffiti - and we came to a section of canal covered in duck weed and looking like a lawn. At this point we were starting to flag a little, so walked up onto canal bridge no. 10 that leads across the road into Regent's Park and we went in search of food.

It took a few minutes to get our bearings and a couple of wrong paths, but eventually we came across the boathouse cafe and ordered toasted sandwiches and hot drinks, eating while we watched a couple of rats emerge at regular intervals from the nearby flower bed to raid one of the little bins!

From there we followed the line of the lake as it paralleled the beautiful Hanover Terrace across the road standing white against an increasingly grey sky, taking photos of the geese and ducks, grebes and herons. And gulls. Eventually we made our way out of the park, to finally pass the Sherlock Holmes Museum and thence to Baker Street, pausing to take an obligatory photo under the Sherlock Holmes statue.

Another good long walk, beginning and ending under grey skies, but with an abundance of lovely sunshine during the middle of the day and another - albeit quite short - stretch of canal under our belts.

Grove Mill to Hunton Bridge Locks

 Grove Mill to Hunton Bridge Locks and Just Beyond - 18/07/2020

Saturday 18th July 2020 dawned a bit grey. It had been grey for a few days with the odd spell of sunshine and spells of sunshine were forecast for later this day. So we (my brother Martin and me) girded on our camera bags and after some debate, decided we would head for Grove Mill Lane and hope for a parking spot. We found one and dropped down onto the towpath, heading in the direction of Grove Mill.  

Bridge No. 165 is the first one we came to on the walk. White, ornate and well kept, it originally carried the driveway to the Earl of Clarendon's seat at The Grove. Now it takes you to the Grove Hotel, Spa and Golf Course. Very nice. Very expensive, but at least you can walk round the grounds or through the woods towards Langleybury. Or you can have a meal if you're feeling flush. (I have and it's worth being pampered).

The field to the right here had just been mown and the long grass was lying in waves reminiscent of a sea. I was surprised it hadn't been gathered into bales, but it made for some interesting photos, as did the reflections of the bridge.  

We walked on and the sun began to push through and as we approached bridge 163 we passed first a black life capsule and then the Ovaltine Boat, which you can generally find at Rickmansworth. it was starting to warm up. Bridge 163 is a Turnover Bridge (or Roving bridge) and I rather like them. They really convey a sense of canal history and it's nice to imagine the horse clopping over the top to change to the other towpath. They were constructed in such a way as to allow a horse towing a boat to cross the canal when the towpath changes sides. Often it involved unhitching the tow line, but on some canals they were constructed so that there was no need to do this by placing the two ramps on the same side of the bridge. 

As we stood on the top ourselves, a lady approached, hurrying along the towpath and made an act of pretending to hide her face with her handbag - "no, no, it's too early for the paparazzi" she joked, edging past us and our cameras and she continued to play the part of the hounded celebrity (she was quite well dressed and made up) as she dashed away from us. It was all very amusing as I pretended to take photos of her. For all we knew she could have been a celeb! 

The canal turns quite sharply to the left at this point. There are some rather lovely gardens across the water, but a short walk brought us to our first lock of the day at Lady Capel's wharf. Two girls were sat on the bank fishing and one lifted a fish out as I drew level. Interested to see what she'd caught I went forward and she unhooked it and put it into my hand. From my limited knowledge, I think it might have been a chub. Whatever it was, I returned it to the canal and caught up with Martin. Overhead a couple of buzzards soared. I just love hearing the ‘mew’ of birds of prey.

The next bridge is 162C and it carries the M25/A405 at Hunton Bridge. It's quite ugly. Even if you're a fan of concrete (and I personally don't mind a bit of Brutalism) you'd be hard-pressed to like this high, purely functional sub-way. Beyond this the canal expands out forming what was once (I assume) a turning point for boats, but it's now silted up with water plants such as bullrushes, yellow iris and great water dock. Lots of butterflies and insects about. There's a footpath to the left that takes you to Langleybury (and which I must explore at some point) but we went on, under the Hunton Bridge footbridge – slight more ornate – and a little further on passed a blue life capsule. There are quite a few of them now on the canal, in varying colours – orange, blue, white, black. Interesting, but I think they must be quite dark inside.

At Hunton Bridge Locks there are two very pretty cottages on either side of the canal. Photos taken we walked on a bit further to Bridge 162, overhung with foliage and which afforded a nice view through.

But at this point we decided to turn back, as much because Martin’s knee was playing up as anything. We did walk further another time, all the way to Apsley, but I’ve yet to write that one up.

On the way back we decided to leave the canal and go up onto the Hunton Bridge footbridge and walked along to the café “Bean Here”. Due to lockdown, it was takeaway from the service window, but at least you could sit in the garden to eat. It’s only a small place, but very nice and worth a detour if you’re in need of refreshment.

Suitably replete, we then walked through the long subway underneath the motorway where I spotted an orchid on the bank of grass. And then we found a footpath that led back down to the canal and brought us out by the turnover bridge. It was then just a short walk back to Grove Mill Lane.

 A lovely walk under blue skies and in warm sunshine.