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: Bakerloo Line 01: Harrow & Wealdstone to Kilburn Park

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Weather: Very sunny, warm and humid
Distance Walked: 21.2 km
Distance By Tube: 13.2 km
Stations Visited: 10
Fantastic Place: Mentmore Close

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This was not the most inspiring of lines to walk. Most of the northern stretch of the line lies within 1930s suburbia, numerous terraces and associated light industrial units and the North Circular. Still there must be some highlights. In desperation I turned back to Mark Mason's "Walk the Lines" the inspiration behind this project. I spotted that not far 'off the cotton' was the scene of one of my favourite comedy moments so noting that on my route plan I shrugged on my rucksack and set off.

Most of the northern part of the line is shared with mainline services hence the stations are large and lack the traditional Underground architectural aesthetic (ooo get him!). It is not  until I reached Kilburn Park at the end of this leg that I got to see a 'traditional' station building.

Harrow & Wealdstone station has an interesting mural produced by local school children marking the Millennium and all the famous events that have happened in the area. This included a record of the major train collision that happened in 1952 which led to a raft of improvements in rail safety. On the subject of the railways it is worth reading Christian Wolmar's books in particular "Fire & Steam" and "The Subterranean Railway". Both are written in an entertaining style and bring across the chaos and corruption of the early years of the industry.
Walking through light industrial units beside a busy road towards the pleasent open spaces of Kenton Recreation Ground I passed a gloriously colourful Hindu wedding party that lit up the grey drabness of area. The car parks were full to bursting and lots of people were sitting eating rather tasty looking food.

Passing Kenton Station I diverted from the direct route to visit Mentmore Close site of this classic comedy moment.

It would be easier now with the dropped kerb but he'd need to watch out for the bollards.

Should have a blue plaque if you ask me!

The whole estate, in particular the nearby Northwick Circle is an attractive area. This is another of those places I'd never been to nor did I realise that Kenton and Northwick Park stations are so close together, no more than a 5 minute walk yet by tube it would take the best part of an hour and a change of trains at Baker Street!

My route then took me under the tracks at South Kenton where I had a case of deja vu  - this is also the route of the Capital Ring. On to North Wembley through more nondescript suburbia and on to Wembley Central. I'll associate much of this part of the walk with the smell of bins, Friday being collection day, and the large wheelie bins parked on the pavement and in the small front yards were warming up nicely giving off that fragrant aroma you get with heated seepage at their bottom. These seepage has now been given the name farage in one of the 'urban dictionaries.'

Wembley Central has been undergoing building works for some time so I've no idea what the station used to look like hence the rather odd photo! Onwards we travel between high metal fences beside a playing field with Wembley Stadium in the distance.

Stonebridge Park is one of those places I've driven past too many times to mention as it lies on the North Circular road. As a pedestrian it is a maze of road crossings, semi-derelict office blocks and numerous railway lines. The station is up a cul-de-sac and is another of the brick shed style of buildings I've seen before on this leg, Harlesden next up is another. Leading up to Stonebridge Park you pass through the area known as Tokyngton "the farm of the sons of Toca" - not much farmland around now though.

I considered walking along the Grand Union Canal between Stonebridge Park and Harlesden but this section runs through more industrial buildings than you can shake a stick at and may not have been any more interesting than the more direct route.

After Harlesden I came across some attractive mosaics at the junction of Acton Lane and Minet Avenue.

Willesden Junction is a complicated station with lines and platforms running in all directions (which is why it is called a junction I suppose). Took me a while to work out which way to go through the station to end up at the correct exit onto the Harrow Road towards Kensal Green. Willesden Junction is the first of four completely different designs of station. In this case quite modern ticket office on a higher level above the more traditional style platforms. Kensal Green is like a wooden chalet, Queens Park a strange metal box and finally Kilburn Park the first of the traditional blood red tile constructions typical of the main part of the old Underground network.

The walk from Kensal Green to Kilburn Park started to lead into more 'upmarket' properties with gastropubs, the odd art gallery and many eateries. Portuguese restaurants were fairly common, I normally associate Vauxhall where I work with Portuguese shops and cafes but it appears there are at least two little Lisbons in London.  Just before Queen's Park, the area named for Queen Victoria, there is a very pleasant park with an active local preservation group where the QPR football club started.

Next leg will hopefully be more interesting as I head through the heart of the city and out the other side.