The closure of Richmond Park to almost all cyclists at the
start of the lockdown was widely lamented. But for me it has been a blessing.
To start with I now have to think about alternative routes, rather than just following
the Park circuit; so it’s good for the mind. The now inaccessible park circuit
is about 6 miles, whereas a circular route around the outside is around 15
miles minimum, depending on the chosen route; so I do more miles. There are
fewer cyclists, so I get overtaken less often, which is a morale booster. And I
don’t have to worry about avoiding the deer, which have no road sense, or the
car drivers without any sense at all.
Today I took a slightly longer route incorporating a loop of
the Thames from Wandsworth to Kingston.
I joined the river at the picturesquely named “Wandle Delta” which looks ok at
high water, so best to time your visit with the tide tables. It has a long
history of industry, now being tidied up along with the nearby and much missed
Young’s brewery.
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| Wandle Delta |
Wandsworth Park had plenty of walkers and joggers. So I crossed
the river at Putney, to follow the north bank past Craven Cottage. The bankside
path is best avoided on a Saturday morning, and indeed cycling together with
jogging are banned, with security men to remind anyone who misses the signage.
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| It's a Long Walk to Barnes Bridge |
The cycling ban extends all the way to Barnes Bridge, but
who needs cycle paths with lockdown traffic so light? I enjoyed a serene ride down
the Great West Road; traffic is light and speeds thankfully low, and no runners
or wayward dogs to avoid.
The Fuller’s brewery was next, famous for London Pride and sporting the oldest wisteria in the UK, Mike M please note, sorry no photo. I have never explored round
here, but behind their Griffin Brewery, I was surprised to find the Lamb
Brewery, once a rival to Fuller, now long closed down but leaving an imposing tower building.
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| Lamb Brewery, Chiswick |
After Kew Bridge I passed through Brentford, where I had
explored the historic old docks area on a previous circuit, then into Syon Park,
thankfully still open as a through route, and deserted away from the road.
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| Syon Park |
Thereafter it was a blast down through
Twickenham to Kingston, following (at a suitable distance) a couple of faster riders
who provided me with the motivation to push a little harder. It was a reminder
of how much I miss group riding. Being alone is ok, but it’s too easy to plod
along at one’s own pace without getting the heartrate pumping. Roll on Lockdown Lifting.
5 comments:
Looks like a nice ride Dave. I like your careful description of the "picturequely named Wandle delta". As opposed to the "picturesque Wandle delta".
Simon
Nice ride, Dave. Enjoyed the photographs.
Funny how the lockdown has driven us to take interest in some of the very pleasant spots that we have ignored in the past.
Thank you for taking us around looked like a very peaceful ride.
Thanks for the blog. Like you, I’ve enjoyed the new riverside path after crossing over the Wandle Delta bridge - very quiet, no one seems to live here!
Ged, Heading west it was quite busy Sun even at 8.30 in Wandle Park, and it really annoys me that you can't ride out of the park on Carlson Ct even though residents can drive their cars down. After that it was quite quiet through the riverside flats. I even treated myself to an ill advised ride down one of those diagonal slopes; not to be attempted after a drink, or on a group ride, I advise.
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