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| Daria, Penelope and Nadia at the entrance to Wimbledon Park. |
Roughly a year since we started our
walks, we headed off today on the eleventh segment of the Capital Ring.
It was a gorgeous early spring day, with the sun shining and nice signs of the
future, like bulbs starting to bloom. We were joined today by Daria Sartori, who is visiting Middlesex University School of Law as part of her research for a doctorate at the University of Trento, in Italy. It was a long walk - probably 12 km altogether. For part of it, we were accompanied by runners who were doing a 50-km circuit through London. Occasionally we had to help them with directions - some of them must have run more than 50 km because they took some wrong turns.
The route began at Wimbledon Park
Underground Station. Soon we were in Wimbledon Park, from where we could see
the famous All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Wimbledon Park is said to
date to the 16th century, when it was part of the Wimbledon Manor House. The
Park was used for deer hunting and hawking.
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| The windmill in Wimbledon Common. |
The trail crosses the Park and then
continues to Wimbledon Common, one of many ‘commons’ that we have crossed as we
have walked through South London. In the middle of the park is the Wimbledon
Windmill, a very distinctive landmark to which is attached a museum (www.wimbledonwindmill.org.uk).
Next to the Windmilll is the London Scottish Golf Course, with its distinctive
clubhouse. There are many lakes along this route too. At the windmill we met four other walkers who were also following the Capital Ring. It is only the second time in all of the walks that we have met another Capital Ring walker.
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| Wimbledon Common, with windmill. |
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| Bench in Wimbledon Common, with recent bouquet of flowers in honour of Peter Smith. |
The really glory of the walk was passing
through Richmond Park, which has herds of deer – we saw scores of deer,
although at a distance – and vast open spaces unlike anything I have ever seen
in a large city like London. The path was often muddy and difficult, and were we to do it again we probably would have worn Wellies. Not far from the herd of dear was an attractive
old building, dating to the early eighteenth century, which is now the
home of the Royal Ballet School. Apparently the building is featured in the
film Billy Elliot.
We stopped for a late lunch at Pembroke
Lodge, which sits atop a ridge overlooking the Thames Valley. The view was
quite spectacular. The Lodge was the residence of Prime Minister Lord John
Russell in the mid-nineteenth century and was the childhood home of
Bertrand Russell.
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| Scene in Richmond Park. |
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| Scene in Richmond Park. |
There is a marvellous belvedere next to
the Lodge where one can see St. Paul’s Cathedral with a telescope, as well as
Heathrow Airport, Windsor Castle and Runneymede Island (where the Magna Carta
was proclaimed). The telescope is atop Henry’s Mound. According to legend, Henry
VIII stood here in 1536 waiting for a flare that would tell him that Anne
Boleyn had been executed and he was free to marry Jane Seymour.
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| View of Thames Valley from Henry's Mound. |
We walked down the large hill to
Petersham Gate, where one exits Richmond Park. The Park is surrounded by a
brick wall more than 2 metres high, and its circumference is apparently almost
13 km.
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| Richmond Bridge. |
The path goes through some alleyways in
the village and then opens out onto the Thames River. There are a few longboats
and some yachts. In the distance is Richmond Bridge. Soon it becomes very
fashionable and gentrified. Just next to Richmond Bridge is a statue honouring Bernardo O'Higgins, who was a great Chilean patriot of Irish
origin.
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| Statute of Bernardo O'Higgins. |
We have finished our long pilgrimage
through south London which began many months earlier at Woolwich Foot Tunnel.
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| Richmond Station. |
In three weeks, we meet again at
Richmond and head into northwest London for the final four segments of the
Capital Ring.
