Places to Visit in South London - Wilderness Island

This blogpost partially came about due to an accident - I walked in the wrong direction. I was always going to go to Wilderness Island after visiting Carshalton, partially due to being curious about its name as well as it being a literal island in the middle of London, but after I got to The Wrythe, I headed off in the wrong direction. Not to worry, though - I got there in the end, that's why this blogpost exists. But there are also additional photos and information I can discuss now. Enter Hackbridge.

I could be showing you photos of the local estates in The Wrythe or the Riverside Centre - the local community centre - but I didn't take any because I wasn't going to write about them. Maybe that was a mistake. For much the same reason, I didn't take any photos of the terminus of the 80 bus route - unexpectedly, it stops in the middle of a road just before it meets the Wandle. Considering its other terminus is at a prison, it's fair to say the route isn't the most glamorous.

But once you get past some footpaths by the estates there, you'll eventually find the Wandle, so clear you can see the pebbles on the riverbed, lovely foliage surrounding it. At this point, you're on the Wandle Trail, a lengthy route that stretches from its sources in Croydon and Carshalton all the way to its mouth in Wandsworth. A small footbridge took me to the aptly named Riverside Close, before I landed on the main road in the area. Enter Hackbridge Road.

If I was following a map, I'd just have to walk along this road from The Wrythe before turning off to the island. However, I'd only just arrived here after the aforementioned detour. Yet I was just in time to see the eponymous bridge...sort of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hackbridge could be referring to a bridge of hogs, or a bridge owned by Haka. At least, that's what Wikipedia says, no one actually knows. And that bridge was located in this photo. The first bridge came in 1235, and it stood for over 550 years until a millman called Shepley started lobbying for a replacement bridge. Initially, he failed, but a new cast-iron bridge came in 1805. It was then replaced in 1913 by a ferro-concrete bridge, which was lost to history in 1981. Now the bridge is a standard archless disappointment, one that's more urban-focused than quaint. If you were walking over it, you may not even realise this is what gave the place its name if not for a small sign on the bridge. 

Afterwards, I finally got to Wilderness Island after some more side streets and alleyways. Getting through its turnstile on River Gardens - its only official entrance - I made my way through the green patch of land. Officially, the whole area is called Wilderness Island, even if the part cut off by the Wandle splitting in two is the only island in the area. I didn't see anyone else when I visited, aside from a man with a dog that was a bit too keen to see me. 

The aforementioned Shepley was the owner of a series of mills in the area, and what with the Wandle being an obvious money-machine, it's no surprise he pushed for Hackbridge to develop. He made some fishponds that remain here where carp lived, before his family ate them. The area could have even been redeveloped, but thanks to local efforts, it's since become a nature reserve open to everyone to visit.

I made it onto the island eventually, after getting through some muddy areas, and would have gone further if the rest of the path wasn't covered with more mud, as well as some uncleaned waste. So I never went on to see those ponds, sadly - though I can always come back. At least I can say I've been on an island in London - and the curious thing is that there are countless more scattered around the city. 

Wilderness Island itself is quite a pleasant area, and rather peaceful when there are no other visitors. In fact, it's like the perfect geography case study - river formations, attempts at urbanisation, and finally some much needed protection. The area itself might not be all too intriguing, what with Hackbridge being a standard suburb in South London with a railway and housing and cornershops, but the island is a wonderful curiosity regardless. Though it's hardly a wilderness now.