The Thames has been flooding over the banks at high tide and so our walk turned out to be muddy as well as cold to the bone. Muffled up with scarves, gloves and hats and a big padded winter coat, so constituting a formidable defence against winter’s icy grip… Even so, sometimes I feel my brain gets too cold to think and I might as well be a snowman.
We took the turn at the Church Road/Castlenau crossroads along Queen Elizabeth Walk, with the entrance to Barnes wetlands on our left, the playing fields to our right. It’s straight on to the river bank and Harrods old Depository, which is now reassembled into luxury apartments with beautiful, watery views of the wetlands and the river. If I was a birdwatcher and lived in London, a flat here would be paradise – along with a powerful telescope by the window. It’s a desirable location, in any case, both for people, birds and other wildlife. The Barnes Wetlands – a significant stopping off point for migrating birds – are very worthwhile a visit. They are open throughout the year. A number 283 bus from Hammersmith takes you right to the entrance, just off Queen Elizabeth Walk.
We alternately strode along, then gingerly tiptoed through the muddy bits, jumping here and there to avoid über-squelchiness and deep puddles. Runners and dogs splashed by, oblivious of their constant spatterings far and wide. Grrrr…
To walk under Hammersmith Bridge you have to bend your head. I took these photos from the Barnes towpath side. One of them put me – very slightly – in mind of Vermeer’s ‘View of Delft’. Perhaps it is because of the Rotterdam Gate with its turrets, which are reminiscent of Hammersmith Bridge here, both of them on the right of the picture. But I think it is more the limpid, reflective quality of the water stretching across in front of the buildings on the far shore. A replete stillness which calms the restless mind. Vermeer somehow manages to capture this invisible essence in many of his paintings.
Barnes towpath – looking across to Hammersmith
Hammersmith bridge in late afternoon sun
Hammersmith Bridge – girders
We tramped doggedly on along the towpath towards Barnes Bridge until we got as far as the Swedish school. There we branched off to the small reservoir, hidden from both the river and the road by the treeline. That’s where I took the photo of the cold, peaky looking heron perched on its small island, just a little way on from the bank of rushes.
Reed beds, small reservoir, Barnes
Reflections of a cold, beaky heron
Then we let ourselves out of the squeaky iron gate onto Lonsdale Road and were home in under fifteen minutes. Hot mugs of tea and buttered crumpets with plum jam made all the muddy puddles seem worthwhile.
END