Tracking the Tube: Northern Line 05: Camden Town to Edgware

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Weather: Pretty much everything! Sun! Torrential Downpours! Wind!
Distance Walked: 21.6km
Distance By Tube:13.02km
Stations Visited: 10
Fantastic Place: Flask Walk, Hampstead

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The last part of the Northern Line walk coincided with my moving offices from Vauxhall to the client's site near Colindale. So in the days before the walk I had a good idea of what I would see as I took the tube and later the bus to and from Greenford to Colindale. The bus was much quicker (on a good day) as it headed straight north rather than the in and out journey using three different lines that the tube journey necessitated.

Having had a preview of the route via my journey to work I wasn't looking forward to it as it passed through some of the tired north London suburbs that surround the busy A406 North Circular road with its associated noise and pollution.

However it had to be walked and with a forecast of sunshine and scattered showers I set off optimistic that I would get the walk done before the forecast rain  fell. How wrong I was!

10 Stations 5 Different Styles

The walk started in fairly bright sunshine at Camden Town. I had never been to Camden before, in fact this part of the Northern Line was pretty much new territory apart from the area around Hampstead station where some of my friends live.

Straight out of the station you are confronted with some excellent street art which looks a little odd during daylight hours on a quiet weekday morning but I imagine works well when the streets come alive after dark and at weekends.

Passing over the canal and the Roundhouse concert venue which used to be a engine shed in the days of steam (I assume it housed a turntable for turning the engines around) you reach Chalk Farm station that juts out between two streets like a ships prow or a tiled Minis Tirith! According to its Wikipedia entry it has the shallowest lifts on the network a mere 21ft.

Continuing on the next station on this leg is Belsize Park, made  famous (for me) by Marillion's Kayleigh.

The station itself is another of the ox-blood red tiled buildings with wide arched windows like all the first four stations on this part of the line.

After a climb through some very nice looking shops and eateries I passed the Overground station at Hampstead Heath and climb up onto the Heath itself. Hampstead Heath is one of the highest points in London and covers some 300 hectares. I walked up to Parliament Hill for it's view across the city, which is protected by law.

Storm Clouds over the City

The day before the walk the UK had voted to leave the EU but London (as well as Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar) hadn't and this stormy view reflected some of the concerns and confusions that will continue to rumble on for years as the government tries to untangle itself from the EU or the (non-binding) referendum result.

For me the confusions continued as I managed to get lost returning downhill from the viewpoint and I ended up passing the bathing ponds that are a famous part of the Heath. Not my cup of tea - if I'm going to be swimming I like to know that the water is warm and nothing nasty is going to drag me under. To be honest I haven't swum for many a year having overdosed on it when I was younger, I swum for my home town competitively and got a full set of long distance badges (including a 3km one which in a 50m pool is a lot of laps).

Eventually I found my way back to a road (not the one I was looking for!) and wandered down into Hampstead. The warm brickwork of the buildings and the narrow winding streets maintain the village feel of Hampstead even today.

I have friends who live in Hampstead so I tried to find a route through that didn't take me along roads that I knew so instead I followed the lanes and roads along the edge of the western heath. Large houses with their views over the open space  were common but none were more dramatic than Saurum Chase.

A private residence with quite a sinister feel, beyond the high fence with its signs warning of large dogs running loose can be glimpsed a sinister group of cowled figures which wouldn't look out of place in a game of D&D!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rodwey2004/13104893513

 

Saurum Chase Letterbox

Hampstead station itself is quite low key and is the last of the red tiled style on the line, the rest are a mixture of styles and ages.

Continuing north west the next station is Golders Green, a large brick structure with a major bus interchange outside it which made taking a photo rather taxing. Also the rain had started at this point, despite the forecast, which combined with the busy road to make live a bit frustrating!

Lots of rather dull suburban walking followed with the roads getting busier and the houses smaller and tattier as the North Circular approached. Brent Cross station, a neoclassical design at the end of a small car-park with high level platforms, was approached during a particularly heavy shower which combined with finding a crossing point for the busy major trunk road (eventually found a high level metal bridge with long spiral ramps) was rather dispiriting.

The weather got worse as I approached Hendon Central and I had to take shelter from a torrential deluge in the wide portico of another neoclassical styled station - the inside was quite attractive, all the more so because it was dry! At this point a group of first world war soldiers exited the tube and silently left the station in the rain. It was only later that I found that it was a commemoration of the Battle of the Somme, very effective in its simplicity. 

Once the rain had abated somewhat I continued on my rather damp trudge through light industry and tired suburbs along busy streets and under the M1. Of course in between the showers the summer (ha!) sun was strong so I was either sweating or getting rained on which is never a comfortable combination!

Passing a large development of cookie cutter 'executive' flats and houses on the site of the old Hendon Aerodrome and the Hendon Police College on the other side (where the opening sequence of Hot Fuzz and one of the recent Avengers movies was filmed making use of the site's redevelopment).

I reached Colindale station. This station has a very modern exterior to the ticket office while the station itself is much older. The shop owner deserves special mention because at this point I was very tired and managed to drop a ten pound note while buying a cold drink. While I was drinking it outside he came out and handed it back to me which was nice!

Burnt Oak station is like a small suburban house perched above the tracks while Edgware (with no e) at the end of the line is another neoclassical design with a car park and bus station both of which are surrounded by dull shops and houses hence my slight lack of detail at this stage of the walk. The sun had by this point decided to come out strongly and I think a cloud of steam was rising above me as I hopped on a tube to head home.

Not sure which line to do next. Jubilee is a strong contender but the far east end of the line as it crosses and re-crosses the Thames will be an interesting challenge!

Tracking the Tube: Northern Line 04: Mill Hill East to High Barnet

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Weather: Warm sunshine with cold winds
Distance Walked: 13.12km 
Distance By Tube: 7.60km
Stations Visited: 6
Fantastic Place: Mill Hill Viaduct

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The bright blue skies in the photos might make you think the weather was warmer than it was! As soon as I was in any sort of exposed position the strong chill winds cut through my jacket, but when sheltered I wanted to take it off as it was too warm. 

Lots of blossom and fresh green leaves sprouting on the trees and the air was full of the smell of spring.

Mill Hill East station has the feel of a countryside station. Very quiet and a single track with a platform just on one side. It is, according to its Wiki page the least used station on the Northern Line and it feels sleepy and peaceful so different to the hustle and bustle of the central portion of this line.

Just after leaving the station, passing a very large and new looking Waitrose store, the route goes under the Dollis Brook Viaduct over which the tube runs to the station. It soars 18m above the road on slender brick arches and was worth travelling out to see.

Finchley Central station continues the theme of this part of the line with stations built from an attractive pale brick.

The next section of the walk heads north east along the busy shopping street of Ballards Lane. Half way along I passed Leisure Games provider of Role Playing Games and accessories. I've shopped here via the internet for many years as well as various Dragonmeet shows. Turning north west towards West Finchley I was now on the High Barnet branch after completing the spur from Mill Hill East. I don't know this part of London at all and one of the best things with this series of walks is discovering new and very attractive parts of London.

Dollis Brook Greenwalk

After West Finchley the route joins the delightful Dollis Valley Greenwalk. Apart from dropping off the path to visit the stations the route follows the Greenwalk for most of the rest of the way to High Barnet. The Dollis Brook isn't a large stream, even after all the recent rain, but it pretty and it meanders through grassy fields and light woodland. 

Early Oak Leaves

Lots of dog walkers, cyclists (on their own dedicated path) and birds in the trees along this stretch. It is places that this that would surprise some people that everything inside the M25 is concreted over and polluted.

Leaving the Greenwalk as it reaches the playing fields near High Barnet and after a short road section I arrived at the end of this section.

Next tube walk will be the final one along the Northern Line heading north from Camden Town towards Edgware via Hampsted.

I wonder if my rope's still hanging from the tree

Peacock Path

 

  

 

Tracking the Tube: Northern Line 03: Euston to East Finchley

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Weather: Sunshine and scattered heavy showers, cool.
Distance Walked: 13.12km 
Distance By Tube: 7.62
Stations Visited: 8
Fantastic Place: Temple of Bastet Greater London House

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Not the best weather for walking, a mixture of relatively mild sunshine and blue skies suddenly changing to heavy grey cloud with penetrating drizzle. So I was both too warm from wearing a coat but it the rain was too frequent to take it off.

Just 8 stations on this leg

The walk started off at possibly my least favourite terminus, Euston. The current station is a rather unappealing blocky structure while round the corner the original tube station in the traditional ox-blood red tiles stands rather forlorn and decrepit.

The Original Euston Tube Station

Just past the station there is a small open space which looks at first like a small public garden, or a space that had been cleared after WW2 bomb damage but in fact turns out to be the grace yard for the church of St James Piccadilly. There is one grave in particular that shows several generations of the Christie family that all seemed to have died in interesting ways such as a fever caught in Port Royal or in Persia by Russian troops.

Walking north in bright winter sunshine under a dome of blue sky the walk improved with one of the most fabulous art-Deco buildings in London. The Carreras Cigarette Factory, now named Greater London House, was inspired by an Egyptian temple to the goddess Bastet. As someone who is owned by three cats I could not fail to be enchanted by this and it was good to see that it has been well maintained.

Greater London House

Bastet

 The next station on the route is Mornington Crescent made famous as a complicated game in the long running BBC Radio 4 comedy show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Like many of the stations on this part of the walk the station displays the ox-blood tile frontage with large arched windows designed by Leslie Green.

Moving on I reached Camden Town station just as the rain was settling in for much of the rest of the walk so I didn't detour via the famous Camden Market. Instead I continued heading north towards Kentish Town. In between Camden Town and Kentish town there is a very distinctively styles building - the former site of South Kentish Town.

Ghost Station - South Kentish Town

 I have visited this part of London quite frequently but only a small part of it, the road between the station and the Forum. Many a cold winter's night I have spent queueing outside here to get close to the front to watch bands, in particular, Marillion.

Doesn't seem the same without a queue

The next station, Tuffnell Park is currently closed, for refurbishment which is an ongoing business on the underground network. Many of the lifts, escalators and pumps (many of the stations are below the water table) are old and there is an ongoing program of replacement and repair going on.

The road from Tufnell Park climbs steadily and steeply, just as the sun came out again making me quite warm in my nicely moist coat! The area between Camden and Archway has lots of nice looking coffee shops but they were filled with rather hip looking gents (beards, those strange earlobe plug things and tattoos) who were probably web designers, advertising executives and other such b-ark type occupations (yes I wish I was as hip as them!) into which circles I wouldn't have fitted in.

Archway station was invisible behind hoardings where a new tower block is being built so I can't tell you what it looks like. As I was waiting at the crossing a horse drawn hearse went by.

The on and off rain stopped for a bit as I joined the disused railway line (and the Capital Ring) for a time as it soars above back gardens (lots of very nice conservatories and dining room extensions on the backs of some of the houses). The ground was heavy black sticky mud and I had to keep dodging cyclists and dog walkers (one of which had eight dogs of various sizes (all muddy) before emerging at Highgate station. Before the station there are some old tunnels occupied now by several types of bat according to a helpful information panel. The rain started up again as I walked to East Finchley and the end of this leg, familiar territory as this was again part of the Capital Ring route I walked several years ago.

Next month I hope to complete this side of the northern end of the Northern Line with the spur to Mill Hill East and the terminus at High Barnet, two places I have never been before.

Camden Town Graffiti

Tracking The Tube: District Line: 03: Turnham Green to Monument

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Weather: Warm and sunny
Distance Walked: 19.2km
Distance By Tube: 13.31km
Stations Visited:19
Fantastic Place: Natural History Museum

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19 Stations on this Leg

Magnolia in Bloom

Nice sunny day today and getting quite warm by the time I stepped out at Turnham Green station, which appears to be disguised as a flower stall. The flowery theme continued as I headed towards Stamford Brook with lots of Spring blossom, wisteria, Bachelor's Button and magnolia in bloom.

The route took me past the former nurses' home of the Royal Masonic Hospital, a wonderful Grade II listed building built in the 1930's with all the style and brutal grace that implies. Now converted into luxury apartments which I would imagine sell for a pretty penny.
 
There are a wide range of styles of station building on this part of the district line. From the humble, warm, red brick ones like Ravenscourt Park (one of my favourite Tube Station Charades that I am for some reason asked to do each Christmas Games) through to the modern glass construction of Bishopsgate via the granite fronted, almost hidden entrances of Mansion House. Not sure why this line doesn't have a consistent style like some of the other lines.

Ravenscourt Park itself is another of the great green spaces that I've come across on my various London walks (and fortunately there are far more of these and far less golf courses this far into the city) and it was thronged with children on half term and mothers with prams taking in the balmy spring weather. A very nice garden centre lies near the exit of the park and the entrance to the station which will do brisk business over the next couple of of Bank Holiday weekends no doubt.

Passing under the elevated section of the A4 took me past one of three venues at which I have seen

It will always be the Hammersmith Odeon to me!

gigs at in the past. In this case the Hammersmith Odeon, I'm struggling to remember who I saw here but most recently it was probably Steve Hackett the former Genesis guitarist on one of his solo tours a couple of years ago, I'll have to dig my old programmes and tickets out to see who else I've seen here. Hammersmith station is another of these that are buried inside a shopping centre.

It seems a theme of my walks recently have been hospitals and again on this leg I passed one, Charing Cross to be precise which is right up against the large Margravine Cemetery and the Queens Club tennis court. Barons Court station is one of the more attractive stations, warm soft orange sandstone with ornate lettering. An area of mansion flats follow including the former residence of Mahatma Gandhi before West Kensington station arrives, a small building on the bridge over the tracks.

Passing Earls Court Exhibition Centre (second gig venue of the leg - saw Pink Floyd there) via a very attractive crescent of buildings with pollarded  limes and London Planes before arriving at the other end of Earls Court station from the previous leg.

A stretch of very attractive squares with fenced in communal gardens all full of attractive trees and shrubs, gravel paths and neatly tended bedding follow before Gloucester Road station appears. This is another attractive building built in two styles, a ox-blood red one more reminiscent of the Metropolitan line and a taller yellow brick built building with mosaic lettering below the roof line.

Natural History Museum - London

 The area between Gloucester Road and South Kensington is one of my favourite parts of London and I have probably visited it more times than most areas of London. The Natural History Museum is one of my favourite places and we visit it several times a year. I used to be brought here by one of my big sisters for a birthday treat and I have a photo of me standing in the main doorway when I was about seven. Since then it has been cleaned thoroughly showing off the artfully coloured stone and the detailed carvings of animals, birds and plants. Just beyond it is the Science Museum and the Geological Museum two more frequently visited places and we have continued the tradition by taking two of our young 'god-children' to the Science Museum to educate them in the way to handle long queues! On the other side of the road is the Victoria and Albert Museum which is another treasure trove of delightful objects.

No time to stop today however and so after South Kensington station (with its ornate ironwork entrance), not using the Museum Tunnel this time, there is a longish stretch towards Sloane Square. This included a very attractive stretch around Sprimont Place which includes Grade II listed buildings (Arts and Crafts?) and a lovely village like feel with small shops (including nice looking cheese and fish shops).

Cadogan Hall

Near Sloane Square is Cadogan Hall where I've seen Marillion and Show of Hands. A cracking venue with great acoustics and a good atmosphere for a seated gig.

Sloane Square is best seen around Christmas at night where the trees are all decorated with balls of light. During a bright day the place is a bit like a busy island in the middle of a roundabout despite the upmarket shops and restaurants (and Peter Jones!) that line the streets around the station.

Its a return to quiet residential streets after leaving the hustle and bustle of Slone Square but only for a while. The area around Victoria station is a mass of building sites and busy roads (hence the rubbish picture of the tube station - the street is very narrow there with lots of big lorries going back and forth delivering and taking away materials.

Passing the stripy edifice that is Westminster Cathedral (not to be mistaken for Westminster Abbey which comes up shortly)  the busy Victoria Street leads to the heart of political London as it passes St James Park Station and the now sold off New Scotland Yard (not sure if the next base of the Metropolitan Police Force will be called Brand Spanking new Scotland Yard or not) with the Palace of Westminster, Portcullis House and Westminster Abbey all in close proximity. In fact despite living in London for over half my life I hadn't realised that Westminster Abbey was quite so close to the Houses of Parliament! The place was heaving with tourists and Westminster Station itself, though interesting inside being one of the modern ones for the Jubilee Line extension is rather drab on the outside.

Oliver Cromwell

The Elizabeth Tower

Westminster Cathedral

Arthur Sullivan Bust in Victoria Embankment Gardens

The next stretch was through the very attractive gardens that occupy the ground between the government offices and the Thames on what is the Victoria Embankment. Under this Joseph Bazalgette created the main sewer that cured the 'Great Stink' and due to his foresight in the scale of the sewers means that for thee most part London is rather more fragrant than it would be. Yet all the statues along the gardens tend to be, apart from some rather well designed War Memorials, to be government worthies. Bazalgette just gets a small bust and plaque at a busy road junction near Embankment station.

Next up is Temple Station which serves the Inns of

St George and the Dragon

Court, a rather strange place which I walked through with some trepidation as I wasn't at first sure if it was a public way or not (it was). Blackfriars station is next, a horrible modern, oversized, glass monstrosity out of keeping with the buildings around it and on a busy road junction around it. Next to it is the Blackfriars inn which is in the art nouveau style and is an oasis of peace in this hectic part of London.

Cannon Street and Monument come up quickly and are again modern buildings with little grace or style, the latter being very close to the Monument which marks the start of the Great Fire of London. I've climbed it once and the views are spectacular. I also did a walk that went from the Monument to the furthest edge of the Great Fire taking in many interesting places on the way.

That marked the end of this leg of the walk as it was only a short distance to Bank station for a simple journey back to Greenford on the Central Line. The tube was crowded with an odd mix of suited businessmen and costumed children who had just come from a performance of  Frozen!