Best dog walks in West London: Thames Tow Path Chiswick/ Hammersmith/ Barnes

I am a big, big fan of walking along the Thames. I love the history. I love the riverscape. I love watching the rowing eights and the other boats going by. For me it's pretty close to perfection.

My number one, all-time favourite West London walk starts on Church Street, Chiswick, just beside the Hogarth roundabout. The nearest underground station is Turnham Green. If you come by car you could park at the Chiswick House car park, just off the A4/ Great West Road and walk down to Church Street.

And if you do park there, be sure and look in at Hogarth's house as you walk along the A4 towards Church Street. It used to be the great man's country retreat to which he came to escape the hustle and bustle of eighteenth century London. Back then he would have looked out at gently rolling meadows with a sleepy cow track running by. Today, were he to return, he'd think he'd landed in an earthquake zone with the traffic thundering past, and shaking the foundations of his lovely home.

Hogarths' House, Chiswck with his old mulberry tree still standing in the foreground

Pop in if you have a moment and aren't in the company of your pooch (it's not an open-to-dogs venue), and enjoy the atmosphere. It's a timeless sort of place - if you're deaf to the din of the A4/ Great West Road outside.

As you cross the Hogarth Roundabout (there is an underpass so you don't have to risk a kamikaze chicken run) spare a glance for Chiswick Square, the smallest square in London, which consists of two houses on each side and the historic Boston House at the back. All three houses date from the 1680's.

Chiswick Square, the smallest square in London

Walk down Church Street towards the river, and you will pass the Old Burlington on your left and the lovely church of Saint Nicholas (on your right) where the great man (Hogarth) is buried. You can read a post I did about the Saint Nicholas churchyard here: Saint Nicholas churchyard

Front Facade of the Church of Saint Nicholas, Chiswick

The Old Burlington is now in private hands. But back in the day it was a well-known public house called the Burlington Arms. The notorious highwayman, Dick Turpin, is said to have celebrated his wedding breakfast here. It still has four front doors, outside one of which is a cupboard in which the drunken and disorderly used to be locked up for the night.

The Old Burlington, one-time hang-out of Dick Turpin

Church Street, Chiswick

Church of Saint Nicholas

Now carry on down to the river, and take the little path on the right that runs along the side of those newish-looking, red brick houses. It will take you to the Thames tow path that runs along the riverbank.

Look over to the left when you reach the river and you will see the island of Chiswick Eyot (pronounced 'eight' by those in the know). I think you'll have to admit that this is not London as we know it. What a riverscape! Here it is one day at low tide:

Chiswick Eyot, River Thames at low tide

And here it is another, sunnier, day at high tide:

Chiswick Eyot, River Thames at high tide

Keep on going on the tow path, and it will take you past all the newly-built housing and out into the relative wilds of Duke's Meadows. Ah, this is more like it. Now keep on going, past the bandstand, and on towards Barnes Bridge. You'll see lots of traffic on the river. It's still a busy place.

Rowers on the Thames

When you get to Barnes Bridge, you need to go up the steps and across the bridge to the Surrey shore.

Barnes Bridge from the Middlesex shore

Now you want to turn left and follow the elevated pathway that hugs the river and gives you some stonking views of the Middlesex shore. You will see the Bull's Head public house on your right. Carry on to the start of the Leg of Mutton nature reserve, and follow the path to the left through the trees along the riverbank. As you go, watch out for the funky cow that someone has put out to pasture on their upper-storey roof terrace.

Follow on down the tow path, which leads you through the woods and on around the edge of the Leg of Mutton wildlife reserve.

Watch out again for the rowers. There are lots of eights out on the river at all times of the year.

Girls' rowing eight

Keep on going until you have Hammersmith Bridge in sight.

Hammersmith Bridge and some recent storm damage

I love the sturdy elegance of Hammersmith Bridge, and the clashing green colours that they use to paint it. I don't know who decide on that combo, but I think it's so wrong that it looks great - if you know what I mean ... .

Hammersmith Bridge

Now you need to cross the bridge. When you reach the other side turn left into the Lower Mall. There are a few good watering holes on the Mall with riverside terraces where they don't mind the odd canine or two stopping by. Check out the Blue Anchor and the Rutland Arms:

The Rutland Arms and the Blue Anchor

Or you could pop into the Dove, a little further along, for a snifter or a bite to eat. The riverside terrace of the Dove is a particular favourite of mine. They have first class tucker, great views and they're wonderfully pet friendly. This is their website if you want to check them out: The Dove, Hammersmith

The Dove

Sign above the door of the Dove

Now that you've wet your whistle in one or other or all of the fabulous pubs on offer, carry on along the river, past the colourful little waterborne community.

Take a look, back over your shoulder at the splendid view of Hammersmith Bridge.

Hammersmith Bridge

Now just keep on along the Upper Mall, which leads into Chiswick Mall. The river-side homes along here are to die for: really, really lovely properties. The only snag is that the Mall is prone to flooding. The folk who live here follow tide tables to figure out when it's safe to park their cars outside, and if you take a closer look at most of the front gates you'll notice that they come with high-tech hermetic seals and waterproof screens to keep the river out.

The Chiswick Mall continues on past Chiswick Eyot, the island in the river, and carries on to where we started on Church Street.

Chiswick Eyot from the Chiswick Mall

If you'd like to do the walk, here's a map to help you find your way. I've marked the route in purple arrows and put a big house in where Hogarth's old digs are.

Best Dog walks in West London: Part 2: Thames Tow Path Chiswick/ Hammersmith/ Barnes

Just a word of caution: if you do this walk on Boat Race day (Sunday 6th April, 2014) it's going to be very, very busy and you'll be really pressed to get a table in any of the lovely waterside pubs. The Boat Race is a top event, and if you want to come to see it, that's great, but if you'd rather enjoy a peaceful walk along a lovely bit of the river, I'd save this one for another date.

All the best and happy hiking,

Bonny x

Happy Saint Patrick's Day !

The very top of the morning to you all! May Saint Patrick smile upon you, and send his blessings to your door.

My mother says that if it's nice on 17th March, it's because the good saint has interceded with the Big Boss to make sure that his feast day is dry and fine; he's turned the sunny side up, and that's a sign that the rest of the spring will be fine. Well, this morning, I'm happy to report that the weather is pretty glorious here in London.

It's a really big day back home. They have a bank holiday with all sorts of music, parties and parades. But over here in England it's just another day, and I always feel out of step as a result. It's like when you know you really ought to be doing something else, and you can't help but feel uncomfortable because you're not getting on with it. Well, deep down in my DNA, I know that I really should be having a huge, all-day party today, but instead I'm doing the school run and going about my business as normal. Pah! That sucks!

As a B-plan I'm going to have a little supper party tonight for my nearest and dearest. We can't get too exuberant as tomorrow's a school day, but I'm sure we'll make the best of it.

I've bought a side of Irish smoked salmon as a starter. Then we'll have boiled ham with colcannon, and finish off with some old fashioned rice pudding, flavoured with vanilla and a bay leaf or two. It's not very flashy, but it's honest Irish food.

In case you'd like to make something Irish in honour of our patron saint, or just for the fun of it, I'll give you the low-down on how to make Colcannon, the dish that, without a doubt, has kept generations of our ancestors alive. It's the ultimate comfort food, about which songs have been sung and poems have been written over the years:

Did you ever eat colannon
When t'was made with yellow cream
And the kale and praties blended
Like a picture in a dream?
Did you ever scoop a hole on top
To hold the melting lake
of the clover-flavoured butter
Which your mother used to make?

Yes, yes, yes and yes again! Well, ok, my mum didn't actually make the butter, but I can certainly tick all the other boxes.

Colcannon

Anyway if you'd like to make this potato nectar here's what you need and here's how to do it:

Ingredients for 4 people

3/4 lb/ 350 g kale or Swiss chard (you could use Savoy cabbage, but I prefer the flavour of kale)
1 1/2 lb/ 775g potatoes
50 ml double cream or crème fraîche
(I prefer the flavour of crème fraîche, but it's not very authentically Irish!)
50 ml milk
1 large spring onion chopped finely
1 oz/ 25g butter
200 g bacon lardons

Method

1. Wash and peel the potatoes. Place in boiling water and cook until soft enough to mash.
2. Wash and chop the kale. Steam it for a couple or three of minutes. I usually do this over the saucepan with the potatoes in. When cooked drain off excess moisture on some kitchen paper and set to one side.
3. Fry the bacon lardons, drain of excess fat on some kitchen paper and set to one side.
4. Very, very finely chop the spring onion.
5. Roughly mash the potato, add the chopped spring onion, cream and milk and mash some more until they reach a puree texture. Season to your taste.
6. Add the steamed kale and mix so that it's evenly distributed throughout the potato.
7. Serve with the bacon lardons sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!

Bonny x

Crochet a Shamrock for St. Patrick ...

Are you in some far-flung part of the world where Shamrocks are pretty scarce on the ground? What to do? How to get one for St. Patrick's Day (17th March - this Monday!)?

Rest easy. I have the solution. You can crochet one!

How does this look? And it's super easy-peasy to make.

Crochet Shamrock

Here's what you need:

A little bit of left-over green wool in 4 ply
3 mm crochet hook
darning needle
very small safety pin

Here's a crochet map of how to do it:

By way of explanation, the terms used are American terms. Ch for Chain is, I believe, universal. SC is Single Crochet in America, but in Britain it's called Double Crochet. Tr is Treble Crochet in America, but it's called  Double Treble Crochet in Britain.

Here's what to do:

1. Start off with a sliding loop: wrap the yarn a couple of times round your left index finger (if you're right handed like me - or the other way round if you're left handed) keeping the dead end of the yarn closest to your wrist.

Row 1

2. Work a slip stitch with the working end of the yarn through the loop.
3. Ch 1. SC 8 into the loop and join with a slip stitch into the first Ch 1. Be really careful to work clean stitches in this round without splitting the yarn as it's easy to get it knotted when you come to tighten the circle in step 4.
4. Gently pull the dead end of the yarn to tighten the loop and close the circle in the centre.

It should look like this: -

Row 2

5. SC, Ch 3 and Tr 1 into first SC of last round. Tr 1 into next SC. Ch 3 and join with a SC to the same stitch that you did the last Tr into. SC into next stitch. *Ch 3. Tr into next stitch. Tr into following stitch. Ch 3 and join to the same stitch as last Tr with a SC. SC into next stitch.* Repeat from * to* once more. SC into next stitch. Ch 7 to make the stem of the Shamrock and cast off.

It should look something like this:

6. Now you need to attach your safety pin. Place it on the wrong side of the Shamrock and sew the harbour pin (the one that doesn't have a pointy tip) to the Shamrock, like so:

And now you're all set for the big day!


Bonny x

Random Friday: 5 things that made me smile this week

By way of explanation: spring has finally arrived in London - hurrah! As a result this week's 5 random things are perhaps not very random; they're all a bit sun-related.

Post box and cherry blossom in West London

1. Breakfast in the sunshine

My weekday mornings are usually a hectic speed-fest. I always seem to be racing just to keep my head above the waterline. My son, Emi, has to be fed, turned out in his best bib-and-tucker and magicked off to the school gate before 8:30 a.m., the dog has to be walked and fed, and my husband usually has some early morning crisis that demands my input. So by the time I get back home I feel as though I've done a day's work already. But the thing that picks me up is my home-made granola with a good cup of extra-strong black coffee, which I've been able to enjoy in the sunshine on my kitchen terrace. Sublime me-time!

If you'd like to make my granola; it's super, super easy, and you can find my recipe here: Mulberry Granola Recipe

2. Spring flowers

A4 Daffodils

After the long, grey slog of winter I'm really enjoying the colour or our wonderful spring flowers. Right now we've got drifts of daffodils all over Ealing, which are making me feel very Wordsworthy - drifting lonely as a cloud ... and all that .

The daffodil is the great everywhere/ anywhere flower in England. They pop up all over the shop. Just look at these beauties growing on the verge of the A4, the main artery into London from the West.

Also, throughout the month of March we have the wonderful Camellia Festival in nearby Chiswick House. I trolleyed over there last week and was delighted by the blossoms on the two-hundred year-old camellia trees. The Middlemist's Red (which is pink) was imported in 1804, and I'm entranced as much by the romantic history of the tree as by its wonderful pink flowers. If you'd like to read some more about the camellia collection, I wrote a little bit about it here: Chiswick House Camellia Festival

Middlemist's red: 200 year-old camellia, Chiswick House Conservatory

3. Driving with the roof down. 

It finally feels as though spring has sprung, and we've been enjoying driving around with the roof down - yeah!

4. Long, lazy walks along the Thames

Maxi (the black, fluffy chap with the button nose in the photo above) and I went on an all-morning walk along the Thames tow path the other day. We took some friends, had lunch in one of the lovely little pubs with a riverside deck on the Hammersmith embankment, and it was awesome. I'll write a post about it next week for anyone who'd like to do a really good Boat Race walk. And, yes, the Oxford/ Cambridge Boat Race is coming up very soon (Sunday 6th April). Come on the Light Blues!

'Ello! Would you like to be my friend?

Hammersmith Bridge

5. A Haircut 

On account of the rising mercury it seemed appropriate that Maxi should have a haircut. He was panting a bit with the heat, so this morning he kept his appointment at the local doggy beauty parlour. He went from looking like this:

to looking like this:

I'm not sure that he's totally sold on the nice bow.

Wishing you all a great weekend,

Bonny x

signs of the times ...

So what's going on here?

Health and Safety gone mad?

Newly-discovered species of man-eating tree?

Homicidal gardener with a death-wish against anyone who gets in his way?

We stayed safely on the other side of the fence,

Bonny x