The hanging gardens of Balham

On a day (Sat Jul 15th 2006) when Mum and I should have been trying on clothes and purchasing wedding regalia - we instead, after a few hours of shopping and after a hearty bowl of soup, decided to go for a walk. So at 5.30pm we hit the tube network armed with a bottle water each and went to Balham. People who want to sound as if they live somewhere posh say Blahm but I always call it Balhum. But more of that later.

This is another of the London Walks from the infamous book Vol 2. This is the choice meander of Arthur Smith, who writes as he speaks and indeed as we were walking round I did feel as if he were guiding us with his 'useful' commentary! Two things he neglected to tell us - on a hot day the commons' Tooting and Wandsworth will be busy, and the second, when it is hot wear a peg because there are frequent whafts of dog crap stenching their way to your nasal passages. Thankfully we avoided any embarassing incidents! We looked where we were going and tried to avoid cyclists and rollerbladers.

The walk starts as soon as you exit the tube station. Turn right and follow your nose to the Bedford Arms. For anyone interested it's well worth a look in over the weekend as there are good comedy turns each night. I have been twice. Once with Millwall Matt and once with my flatmate. It's pretty good as after the comedy programme the venue reverts to a free disco and you can get the night bus home! The actual comedy room is like being in a mini Shakespeare's Globe. All round views. We strode past the pub and negotiated the traffic lights to get into Fernlea Road. Wandering down the road Mum & I were fascinated by the changing styles of house. From ranging four storey terraces to 1960's prefab flats.

A-ha the common was soon in sight.

A sharp turn to the right and under the railway bridge to follow the wall to Arthur's first landmark!

Another railway bridge. Where he promised us he had sprayed his initials in pink. Well we couldn't see it - but here is the closest representation we could find on said bridge.

You can either traverse the 'Northern Frontier of Tooting Common' via the tarmac path or the bridleway. Yes there are facilities for horses here, though Arthur has never seen one and sadly neither did we.

Here is the tarmac path following the line of the railway track. Happy Southern train passengers passing by as we lapped up the sun. There are several roads to cross before you walk into the woodland part of the common.

Here's my intrepid Mum taking on valuable liquids one third of the way through the walk... Approaching another road we could hear the splashes of the Lido situated over the other side of another railwayline. Once on the road walk over the bridge and down into the Lido car park.
It was very busy which was hardly surprising for a hot and steamy Saturday evening. For just under fiver you can go and swim in an open air pool. The changing cubicles are all brightly painted and the squeals of laughter could be heard echoing around the trees. The pool itself is one of the largest in Europe care of Arthur's factfile! The Lido was also to be the venue for Radio Five Live's Breakfast show this week. Nicky Campbell woke me up as he sat in the car park just aside this sign.

Tooting Common was actually a real surprise for me. The trees, shapes and sizes, against the blue sky were most appreciated. There are tennis courts and a lake - for fishing.

Walking via the tea shop we strode off of the common and into Doctor Johnson Avenue. Just over the road from here we re-entered housing - but now we were in deepest Balham! And the houses were huge! Huge I tell you. But great to wander passed and see what's going on through the windows!

Judging from the types of car parked in the roads there is an untapped seam of celebrity and wealth here....

Once more then unto the Balham High Road. Along this stripe of road are a few fast food joints, Swan House, two churches and a petrol station. And the two greats: the Polish Church and Du Cane Court...Guess which one is which!!

The Polish Church has been there since 1978 and represents a focal point for the Polish community which moved to Balham after the war. I wonder if the community in CW also use this church? Speaking of which Arthur makes some very disparaging remarks about CW, well in a roundabout way, he cites Dr Johnson, frequent visitor to Streatham, who coined the phrase 'when a man is tired of London he's tired of life; when a man is tired of Colliers Wood, he's been there about ten minutes'. I guess that may explain several aspects of my life?! Or they have spent the ten minutes in the wrong part of CW!!! (My address can be requested!) Perhaps the local council took this on board and used it as the business case for building loads of shops and executive flats... ruining the peace and quiet. To defend CW the Wandle and Abbey Mills are rather joyous and Sun Hill is in the district. But I have wandered from Balham High Road and into Colliers Wood High Street - which was not the route for this walk!

Next to the Polish Church is Du Cane Court. I think Arthur sums it all up best, 'an enormous ocean liner of a building'. Opened in 1934 it boasted its own restuarant, shop and roof terrace, and the lobby is so modern Agatha Christie adaptations are still filmed there. Mum & I were caught up by the scale of it. If you were flying over head it would look like a huge E... The back of the building being the spine of the E whilst the rest of the E creates two bays of trees and parking. The windows are all identical - a few have been replaced with double glazing but these too are exactly the same as the orginal leaded frames. We tried to work out how many flats were in the building...at its highest there are 8 floors and it graduates down to 6 floors at the front. Back in its early days it was a hotbed of action and celebrity. It was also rumoured to be the corner stone of Luftwaffe navigation - a huge landmark for them to locate the key areas of the city.

Looking at it now there is indeed a real sense of curiosity. Who and what went on there? Who lives there now? Is it noisy? Are the flat large etc etc?

We walked along it's front - along the wall, passing the elaborate arches of the entrance ways to each bay. Turning left down the side of Du Cane Court we passed a primary school with 6 foot fencing and notices to parents that the gates will be shut and locked at 8.30am. It looked more like a mini detention centre. Continue down Balham Park Road until you reach the alley way towards Wandworth Common... we reached as far as the Hope Pub - the evening sun light shimmering through it's windows and beyond we could see the Common.

Technically we had completed Arthur's walk - but I will be returning to Wandsworth Common to check out the Bowling Green; Pond; Cricket Pitch; Nanny's Corner and the Trim Trail - oh and to see if I can catch a view of Wandsworth Prison... this fine evening though had tired me out so we headed back to Balham tube and home for pasta and sauce.

We went shopping Sunday and were successful so all in all a grand weekend.