Carshalton

Carshalton is a village on the southern outskirts of London. Unfortunately for me on a Tuesday in March, it was closed. Well, as closed as a village can be. Coming out of the station there are nice village houses.

The first major site I came to was Carshalton House, a major mansion built at the beginning of the 18th century. Unfortunately it is not at all visible, surrounded as it is by a high brick wall, and very closed to public as it is a catholic girls school. And what looks like a church tower appearing over the walls, is not a church tower at all.

Its a water tower

Gate to the house

QUite a detour took me to Holland House, an arts and crafts house of some distinction. Apparently. But on arrival it was very closed indeed. It seems it is closed indefinitely for works.

This is the Greyhound Hotel, which sits cut off from the attractive ponds by a very busy main road 

This is the Sutton Ecology Centre, with a little nature reserve. Almost a miniature to be honest

Festival Walk

There is a little history museum here - Honeywood House. But, you guessed it, closed. Not open until Thursday

Anne Boleyn's Well is a very disappointing site. And has no connection to Anne Boleyn. It used to be linked to a chapel to Our Lady of Boulogne, and Boulogne merely got corrupted top Boleyn 

All Saints Church. A huge church much extended in the 19th century from its medieval origins. And yes, closed. (Only opens mornings)

An ancient butchers shop, one of the oldest buildings in the area, but now a wine bar

This is Carshalton Park. Not every park has a dirty great hole in it, which is its main feature. It is called the Hogpit. It was originally a chalk pit, then it was shaped into a deep pond, but that has now dried up to leave this. The park is really quite disappointing. This was meant to be the great park for a grand mansion, but they ran out of money before the house was ever started.  So there is just a landscaped park with a wall round it, essentially now just used for people top take their dogs to shit in it from what I could see..

This is the grotto for the house that was never built

And here is another grand house, the Grove. Unfortunately now used as offices, so all one can enjoy are the grounds

The area used to have lots of mills powered by the River Wandle. This is all that is left

And to finish off my walk, a walk around the nature reserve of Wilderness Island. The sort of Wilderness where you are never more than a few metres from streets of semis...