Eton & Windsor 1 November 2015

This fog closed down Heathrow!  It was impressive.

We walked from Upton Court Park across the M4, (noisy beyond belief), through the Eton fields and Eton town and across the bridge to Windsor. Almost a 3 mile walk. There is apparently a wonderful view of Windsor Castle from Upton Court but it wasn't apparent on the day.

Over and across the Jubilee River. There weren't many people around - most sensible people were still in bed, but it wasn't particularly cold. The fog softens everything and makes it quite mysterious and lovely. Besides the mud - that is.

The Spiders had been very busy and their webs were like shimmering diamond necklaces.

Out of the mist appears Eton College. Shades of Hogwarts.

But before walking through the school there is a slight detour into the King of Siam's garden. This garden was created in 1929 when Rama V111, who was at Eton before the First World War, paid for a garden to replace the Provost's stables. It was been replanted since then and is a lovely spot. I particularly like the statue of Perseus with the head of Medusa. It's a bit smaller than the one in Florence but just as gory.

Passing through the school we came out into the High Street in Eton. There is an amazing statue just off the main drag of a horizontal man. I can't find any information about it or who or what. Very bizarre.

Eton is a quintessentially British town with traditional shops selling traditional goods. Really quaint. Windsor town has lots of fast food places - MacDonalds, Nandos, Starbucks - which I found quite surprising. But Eton is old world.

Just across the Thames and into Windsor is a restaurant called The Chocolate Theatre Co. On weekends they do a roaring trade with cyclists and athletes. They also do spectacular hot chocolate drinks ..  The scone wasn't mine!

There is a castle here somewhere ...

Instead of walking through Windsor we turned off and walked alongside the river for a while.

Through a golf course - there were people actually playing golf in this weather - and back to the cars. Time for lunch and feet up for the afternoon!

A pop of colour in a very grey day.

Middle Assendon & Henley 25 October 2015

Another walk a little bit further afield. There were only 3 of us on the walk and there were hills! All that Wikipedia has to say about Middle Assendon is that it is near to Henley-on-Thames and that it has a public house, the Rainbow Inn. Towards the end of our walk we chatted to other walkers who had had lunch there and said it was great. Anyone feel like visiting? I'll take you for lunch.

Lovely countryside in the throes of autumn.  This is a kissing gate - actually meant to keep livestock out, but kissing could be a side effect ..

Up a pretty steep hill with an interest tree effect.

The village green and such pretty houses.

Some were obviously very old but had been renovated beautifully.

Look at the espalierd trees! They must be very old, so old in fact that they've outgrown the wall.

On through the forest and the wonderful green light.

We got a bit lost at this point and ended up on a private estate. We didn't see anyone so no harm done. The deer were a bit startled though.

Then we got lost again and had to make a detour of about a mile, so no pics of Henley I'm afraid. We passed through some fields on the way back and saw livestock.

Sheep with their own jumpers..

And horses in blankets ..

Up another large hill and then this magnificent view.

This photo was taken at around lunch time and I was really taken with the shadows - it felt like late afternoon.  Also, the sky in all the photos is so washed out - I'm not sure how to improve that. Any ideas? The light here is so very different to home. Lovely though.

Battersea Park and the Affordable Art Fair 24 October 2015

While browsing online - as you do - I came across this amazing artist - Susanna Bauer.  She does things with leaves and sticks and crochet and wood that you would not believe. www.susannabauer.com - you should have a look.  Anyway, she was showing at the Affordable Art and I received a ticket from her. The fair was being held at Battersea Park over the weekend and I leapt at the opportunity.   More about the show later.  It goes without saying that it was a grey day!

This was my first visit to Battersea Park. One of the wonderful parks of London and it appears to me definitely a park for Londoners. It's on the south side of the Thames opposite Chelsea.  Crossing the river is always a highlight.

Be sure to look up every now and then.

Locals everywhere, exercising, cycling, walking dogs, playing rugby, playing tennis. There is also a zoo, but I gave that a miss. The locals were interesting enough and there was lots of wildlife.

Dogs of every shape, size and colour ...

The land was formerly used as market gardens but has been turned into an 83 hectare garden for the locals. There are so many aspects to it - the bandstand, sports fields, fountains, pools, fields and copses of trees, something for everyone.

The Peace Pagoda overlooking the Thames.

Then to the gallery - Battersea Evolution. Hundreds of pieces of work from recent graduates, art studios, galleries and workshops. It was rather difficult to take pics but I snapped a few.

There were some real bargains to be had even with the Rand at ridiculous rates. My favorite I think was the Plums.

These are Susanna Bauer's work - the precision is just awesome. How does she do it?

Just as I was leaving the heavens opened up so it was a hop on to the free bus service back to Sloan Square Tube station and home.