Making improvements at Teddington Lock

In November each year the river is allowed to follow its normal cycle with the opening of Richmond Lock which keeps the river unnaturally high the rest of the year. That makes November the best time to work in Teddington Lock.This year the works include replacing all the wooden fenders in the Barge Lock.

The ones that have been removed have been stacked by the towpath at the north-west end of the lock. Their mixed condition suggests that they were installed at different times.

New Bus Stop on Dukes Avenue

Dukes Avenue has gained a new Bus Stop. This is near to the junction with Northweald Lane and is slightly to the West of the one for buses in the other direction. There is still Bus Stop Q on Tudor Drive on the other side of the traffic lights.

At the moment, and I hope that this is going to change, there is no Bus Stop marked out on the road so the buses do not have anywhere to pull in on a part of the road that always has plenty of parked cars. My one attempt to get a bus to stop there failed.

Jubilee plaque restored

When I first posted a picture of this in February 2011 I only showed the crest at the top because the plaque beneath was not very pretty. It showed a map of Petersham which was both difficult to see the detail of and had been defaced. It has since been restored but with words rather than a map.

I suspect the shape is the Ham and Petersham Society's idea of where Petersham is, but they are wrong.

Work in progress

This small (private) lane off the main Petersham Road has appeared in this blog a remarkable number of times given that it only has a handful of houses in it. Now some more work is being done at the end of the lane which has already seen one new house and a substantial extension to another in recent years.

Behind Ham House

I love the simplicity of the garden-side of Ham House far more than the fussy front so here are three more pictures to try and explain why.

The house speaks for itself. The symmetry, scale and clean lines are just perfect.

At the back of the garden lies the Wilderness, a simple maze that skilfully hides smaller gardens and a few Summer houses. It is a garden for walking round and round, unless you are a small child in which case it is a place for running and hiding.

At the side of the house is the former Cherry Garden with its geometric beauty and contrasting colours. The peep-holes in the hedge at the far end are a quirky treat.