I walked another segment of the Capital Ring yesterday. I figured I'd better get as much walking under my belt as possible -- after school starts for me tomorrow, I'll have much less spare time!
I started off at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, where I stopped last week, and I walked to Highgate -- about six miles.
These sunflowers were towering over someone's front garden near Hendon Park...
...and this house is being consumed by grape vines. The car is already pretty much engulfed.
I found a very funky camper parked north of Golders Green near Finchley. It looked utterly abandoned, with the windows smashed out and the interior in a shambles, and there was a legal notice of hearing posted next to the door -- so my guess is it won't be there much longer. Love the paint job, though.
Sometimes this feels like the true condition of the world!
This building is in a park near Hampstead Garden Suburb. I was amused by the graffiti: "Acid!"
The rooftops in that area looked positively Florentine. This is very close to where I often walk Olga on Hampstead Heath extension -- I've photographed that tall church on the left many times from the other side.
At East Finchley I saw the 10-foot-high statue of an archer, by Eric Aumonier, above the Art Deco tube station. According to my map, "The archer represents Finchley's ancient association with hunting in the nearby Royal Forest of Enfield."
From there I walked through Highgate Wood and a couple of other forested tracts...
...before emerging into a neighborhood near Highgate tube station along this uphill path. I took the tube home from there, and met Dave at a cafe for lunch. The weather is slowly turning more autumnal as the days draw in -- it was 54 degrees when I walked the dog yesterday morning. Chilly!
I was irked by the term "camper" but my innate politeness has prevented me from ranting about this trivial language point. The grape vine house was another good spot. Perhaps the residents within have already been strangled by the vines.
ReplyDeleteI was interested to read that you went through East Finchley. It brought back memories. When I was 15-16 years old, I lived with my parents and siblings in a house in West Finchley, very close to the tube station. Probably a bit out of your way, but if you are ever on the Northern Line to High Barnet, that was the route we took to and from school every day. Even some of the houses in your pictures (especially the one with the strangling vines) look similar to the houses I remember from I lived there (minus the vines of course!) I have just looked up our old house on Google Maps - it is still there. It was old when we lived there 50 years ago!
ReplyDeleteI can't begin to tell you how much I long for 54 degrees. Relentless heat (90f+/32c+) and humidity is sapping the life out of everything but the banana trees in the yard.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos today! That trailer could tell some tales, I bet.
ReplyDeleteanother good walk. you kept referring to 'we'. I wonder what the story is behind that little trailer, why it was abandoned there. and that odd little acid building with it's wrap around covered porch. there was a door into it? bathrooms?
ReplyDeleteHere's what I'm imagining- what that vine-covered house looks like from inside the vines. It might be magical. We know it would be green. And cool.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little obsessed with coolness right now.
you're seeing signs of Autumn already? Say it ain't so!
ReplyDeleteAugust here on the north shore of Long Island has been almost perfect so far. Today the high is 77 degrees with a bit of humidity, nothing that comes close to the Dog Days.
You must be close to completing the entire Ring by now, wot? I hope there is a bottle of champers already in the fridge waiting for the day you toast coming 'round to where you started. Well done.
Love these photos. Too bad that camper has fallen into such a broken state. Cool paint on that. Yes, I sense fall coming too. The light is changing and even a few leaves are turning.
ReplyDeleteSchool starts tomorrow! It's always tough to get cranked up and go back to school. Have a good year.
ReplyDeleteI do really love that paint job on the camper trailer... (I covered my bases there ha.)
ReplyDeleteYour daily walks have really inspired me. I miss walking so much. I use to be an avid walker and not to be able to really get out there and walk is sad. I loved my endorphins especially when they kicked in.
The house and car covered in Grape Vines reminded me of the hotel in Fredricksburg with all the English ivy. I wonder if they have spiders??? I always feared the dreaded Black Widow. My boyfriend was once working in Death Valley and got bit by a tarantula one week and a black widow the very next week. Almost died both times... Can't say I would want to go walking in that! But it did make for a pretty photo.
Gotta run, you have a good day on the first of the school year! Beth
Language is confusing- Camper or caravan - both seem wrong for what it is. LOVE the black acid building, hilarious. Getting back into the swing of school makes me have an allergic reaction. but , yes, here also, autumn is in the air- the trees are realizing, the temperature is cool. Wishing you a good day back at school- becoming a librarian, as you mentioned a while ago, is not a bad idea. Job opportunities are good at the moment!
ReplyDeleteThat ball and the graffiti in the last shot both do a good job of summing up the world's condition. What a depressing thought that is but with the leaders we have, what can you expect. I love the paint job on that abandoned van. And, I wonder what the story is behind that house that is being consumed by the vines.
ReplyDeleteIt seems way to early for school to start but, it started here a week ago already. It's supposed to be 113 degrees today so fall hasn't shown and sign of beginning here.
I was thinking along the same lines as Sharon about the crumpled Earth ball and wise words, “The human race is stupid” ~ isn’t it quite the coincidence that you stumbled upon both on the same walk???
ReplyDeleteI just love your photos. It's such a shame that the camper was left in such a sad state. I'll bet someone had lots of fun with it in it's younger days. School will be starting here in three weeks. Wow, has the summer passed by that quickly? I've enjoyed today's walk immensely. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteIn the Seattle area, it's still warm (low 80s) but the season is turning. The air is different. We're all very happy about not being inundated with smoke from the fires like we were the last two years. Your area is such a treasure trove of places to walk and things to see and the best part is that there is public transit to get you back.
ReplyDeleteOur weather has moderated, too; now it reminds me of my childhood summers. It just SMELLS different than the godawful hot and humid weather we had throughout July.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a smooth return to work :)
Another great day of photos! (How does he do it, folks?)
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely ramble, thanks.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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YP: Our linguistic differences should be a source of fun and interest, but they shouldn't be irksome!
ReplyDeleteDavid: Interesting! West Finchley is just north of where I was walking. The path took me north of Golders Green but south of Finchley proper, basically following the North Circular, if that means anything to you. (That's right about where I saw the camper.)
Mary: I bet. I do not envy the USA and its heat.
Colette: Thanks! Yeah, I'd love to know how it wound up there.
Ellen: I didn't realize I wrote "we"! Ha! I referred to Olga in the previous paragraph so subconsciously I wrote as if we were together -- but we weren't. It really was just me on this walk. So I changed the post. The "acid!" building was either storage or bathrooms -- it had doors on the other side.
Ms Moon: Absolutely! It would probably be fabulous. There's a children's book called "Greenglass House," and it makes me think of that.
Vivian: I think I have four more segments to go -- probably about 20 miles?
Robin: Isn't that a great paint job? I love it.
Red: I'm ready, actually. It will be good to have a routine again, and I got everything done I wanted to do this summer.
Beth: The British call campers "caravans," which to me seems strange, because I think of a caravan as a line of camels marching across the desert! That is SOME spider story -- I actually like spiders but yeah, I don't really want them on me, and I certainly don't want them biting me.
Linda Sue: I think "camper" is more utilitarian but "caravan" is certainly more poetic!
Sharon: 113 degrees! Yikes! Yeah, I feel like I was getting some interesting messages on this walk, between that flattened globe and the graffiti.
Lulu: It is! Or maybe I just noticed them because in my own mind I think the world is so screwed up. LOL
Edna: Three weeks? That's a pretty late start, isn't it? Our kids aren't back yet -- it's just staff, getting the facilities ready. I think the kids come in about two weeks.
Allison: Yeah, the transit is (ironically) what makes all this walking possible. I love the fact that I can get anywhere in London (almost in Britain!) via public transport.
Jenny-O: Good! I'm glad you're getting some more comfortable weather!
Catalyst: Ha! Just a matter of keeping my eyes open, I guess.
Briony: You are welcome! :)