Building in Back Lane

You don't know what you've got until it's gone, and this is an example of that. Something has been demolished in Back Lane but I cannot remember what. I presume that it was a nondescript garage of some sort and that whatever is coming is better.

New block at Orford Place

I quite like what they are doing at Orford Place (on Ham Common), at least from what I have been able to see of it so far. Part of that is to add a new block between one of the previous extensions and the new terrace houses that run along Martingales Road.

The brick colour is quite different (for reasons that escape me) but the new block is similar in scale and design so that it fits in neatly with its much older neighbour.

Pallet of bricks

This project in Upper Ham Road is one of those that is usually hidden behind tall solid boards so it was good to find the gate open and the plot exposed. There is not a great deal to see at the moment, though a pallet of bricks is always good and the extent of the garden clearance suggests that this is a large project.

Fake birds

This is the end of Croft Way, where it joins Riverside Drive, where the end flat has installed some bird kites on the roof. The flight of the one on the right was quite convincing and it was a shame that the two on the left had flown into each other and got entwined. 

Ginnels House

Ginnels House, on the spur of Sandpits Road, is one of the most hidden houses in Ham so I was pleased to find the gates open and the house revealed.

I had been in the garden before, for Petersham Open Gardens, and some changes had been made since then. The house, which had already been extended several times in several directions (you can see the change in the roofs) has gained a new extension on the right. There is also a new drive, a new gate, a new fence and probably a few things that I have not noticed.

Through The Copse

The main paths through The Copse go along the edges of it so I took great pleasure in taking one of the paths that run through the middle as I went from the back of Ham House towards Meadlands Drive.

It is places like The Copse that make Ham special and walking through it is always rewarding.

Cherry Garden at Ham House

To be honest, the Cherry Garden at Ham House is probably my least favourite part of the garden but when the lavender is as full as this then it looks spectacular.

The management of the lavender means that it gets cut right back periodically and the garden can look a little thin for a while but once it has grown to its full height and is in full bloom then the garden is a sea of colour. Then the lone statue in the centre of it all stops being the main feature and has to give way to the lavender.

Kitchen Garden at Ham House

The Kitchen Garden at Ham House is one of my favourite parts of the diverse gardens and on this day it looked in prime condition.

Wiggins works

Even the pretty white cottages in Wiggins Lane are not immune to the fashion of refurbishment. This is the one before the Stretton Road end, the one at the end (on the left) succumbed to both expansion and refurbishment some years ago.