Richmond

Ok, so its been a grotty summer, but autumn seems to be better. So with a lovely blue sky above I decided to head out to Richmond for a walk in West London.

For centuries, Richmond has been one of London's des res areas. It has Richmond Green and, pretty little streets laced with pubs and knick-knack shops.

There had long been a Royal Residence here, and names such as "Old Palace Yard" hark back to that time. Not much left now, but there is the old palace gateway. The coat of arms above it is, as I am sure you will recognise, that of King Henry VII.

There is no shortage of fine residences round here as one heads to the Thames towpath. Very upmarket.

But the real glory of Richmond is the River, and its Thames frontage, now supplemented by Quinlan Terry's neo-classical office development. Much derided as pastiche, it is actually just really nice to look at, and sits extremely well in its environment, unlike a modern concrete and glass office block which would appeal to architects for its honesty, but to no one else. What's wrong with a little dishonesty, or as I would put it, an attempt to look better than you are?

Richmond Bridge is the last Georgian Bridge on the Thames, all those built in the City having long disappeared to make way for those able to take more traffic. But this one out here just sits here looking pretty.

A little detour "inland" across (or under) a busy road takes on to the Terrace Gardens - a very nice spot, with a coadstone river god. Once Buccleugh House stood here, but like many of the grand houses of West London it has disappeared without trace.

Walking on past Petersham Meadows you find yourself in probably the most bucolic scene there is in London, with the Star & Garter House up on the hillside.

Eventually one gets to my main destination, Ham House, the ancestral home of the Dysarts. The big plus point of this house is that it is still largely a 17th century house - it hasn't been updated with the fashionable tastes of subsequent generations. The house is full of interest inside, even if it doesn't have any particularly fine paintings or furnishings.

The gardens are very nice too, although I was awoken from my reverie by my mobile going off and a call from the office. Ah well, a trip to the office on a Saturday afternoon, but the work wouldn't take long. The catch was that this is probably the furthest away in London you can be from a station. Still, it wasn't urgent, so I could wend my way back to Richmond station by the scenic route.

This took in Petersham's lovely but decaying parish church (English churches look so much more suited to decay than actual use), in the graveyard of which is the last resting place of George Vancouver, discoverer of Vancouver Island.

Thence up onto Richmond Park. This is actually one of the highest points in London. Pembroke Lodge offers wonderful views, as does nearby King Henry VIII's Mound. From here you can actually see St Paul's through the trees, although quite why I would come here to peer at it in the distance when I work right next to it I am not sure.

Peer hard enough at the bottom of the gap between the trees and you should make out St Pauls. Just

Coming out onto Richmond Hill offers one more great viewpoint over the magnificent Terrace Gardens. These feature a post war sculpture of Venus, but popularly (and much more accurately) known as "Bulbous Betty".

Bulbous Betty

One final building of note before getting back to the station, the Old Vicarage School. A whopping vicarage indeed in Strawberry Hill Gothick, back in  the days when a prosperous vicar could live as a wealthy man indeed on the back of his parishioners. Impressive edifice.