Places to Visit in South London: Barnes and Mortlake

On a sunny day in late winter, when you have a day off from mock exams, walking around a south London suburb can be a great way to spend your time. I decided to visit Barnes, an area just off the Thames, which is surrounded by greenery and often has planes flying overhead, Barnes being on the flight path to and from Heathrow. Not too far from here lies the Wetland Centre, which I didn't visit, though it is worth a blogpost of its own. 

I started by trip from Barnes station, which is oddly located in the middle of Barnes Common, and has been doing so since 1849. Either way, I made my way straight to the common, which admittedly looks quite like most green spaces in south London - perfectly unkempt for nature to roam around freely. I didn't spent too long in the common, only intending to take a short walk through it to get to the high street, though in that time many planes flew up ahead which clashed slightly with the otherwise tranquil surroundings. Terraced houses peered out from behind the common, and I wandered through side streetst to eventually make it to the centre of Barnes. One house called itself The Cottage.

  

Barnes feels more village-like compared to the rest of London, probably as, for a long time, it was exactly that. Before 1965, it was part of Surrey, and since its founding has largely been a home for the wealthy. Barnes was part of the Manor of Mortlake, which has been in the possession of several important Tudors like Thomas Cromwell and Francis Walsingham. Soon enough, bridges were built connecting Barnes to the north, with Hammersmith Bridge arriving in 1827, and soon the railways joined in and Barnes grew. However, the area remains rather distinct from the rest of London - not only is the sheer amount of greenery quite distinctive, what with the deer-filled Richmond Park not too far from here, but the high street is filled with independents, and the local Barnes Green is next to it and has a wonderful pond equipped with swans. In this regard, Barnes comes off as a posher Carshalton to me - both are quite similar in these aspects.

I progressed from the high street, up to the river bank which lies on the wonderful Thames Path. One shop front bizarrely displayed the golden ratio alongside its phone number, perhaps as a nod to their "advanced scientific colouring". Eventually I got to the Thames, which has more exposed banks around this part of London, revealing a greyish sediment colour by the blue, filled with the occasional speck of white from birds. You'll also find the eponymous Barnes Bridge here.

There's a station and a railway bridge, technically there are two bridges. The first was designed by Joseph Locke in 1846 for London and South Western Railway trains to head onto Chiswick, however it was deemed insufficient by 1896, when it was replaced by a newer bridge. This one, with its three bow strings, is likely what everyone sees when they think of the bridge, and is one of a few railway bridges in London that's also accessible to pedestrians. The old Locke structure stands forlorn next to the current bridge, unused for over 125 years, though there are plans to reopen it as a "garden bridge", because London doesn't already have enough of those. Looking at satellite images comparing the two bridges, Locke's design is hideously narrow for today's standards, and certainly wouldn't withstand heavy rail use.

There is another curious aspect about Barnes' transport - it has the highest numbered bus route, the 969, which is a mobility route and only runs twice a week at inconvenient times. I did manage to take a photo of it, though I didn't take a ride myself. And I may as well mention that the bridge is a notable signpost along the route of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, as the race approaches its final strides. Having been rejected by one of the unis, I know which one I'd root for.

 

Down the Thames Path, the Stag Brewery loomed in the distance, which looked like a power station to me with its daunting columns. Pubs and housing on the left, and the odd dogwalker was standing by the very river edge; it was an awfully slippery day, so I'm not sure how they managed. Here, I took a quick diversion to look at Mortlake. By this point, the planes weren't so obvious, if you're curious.

Mortlake - a funny name when you deconstruct it. There are two theories - one stems from Old English and relates to salmon in a stream, which is logical considering there was a fishery here in the 11th century. The one that I came up with in a daze - mort lake, or "dead lake", referring to the rumours of plague victims being buried here - is unfortunately not correct, since Mortlake is far older than the Black Death. 

It's a far quainter area than Barnes is, blending in far more easily with the suburbs. Or perhaps that's because I avoided the high street; here is a brief overview of Mortlake landmarks:

• London's smallest bus station

Only two routes run here, the 209 and 378, and they're very short. In fact, the bus station is made up of a bus stop, parking spaces, and the rest is largely off limits. Better still, the stop was closed that day.

 

• A level crossing 

There are several around here, because the trains passing into Mortlake station are at street level. And sure, there are 6,000 of these in England, and they're nothing remarkable, but I'm not used for waiting at barriers all that often - it was interesting to experience.

• The Stag Brewery

This one is actually quite interesting. It was founded in 1487, however was bought by James Watney in 1889, who constructed an ornate building which still stands proudly on the high street, albeit boarded up. Budweiser was brewed here for several years, before they left in 2015, and since then the brewery has been in an uncertain position. There are plans to regenerate the area and build housing here, however many groups have been campaigning to let the brewery operate once more. For almost a decade, its future has been frustratingly unclear; in that time, windows have been smashed, and it's overall quite a sorry sight. An unfortunate fall for a treasured local landmark.

 

• An unexpected movie studio

If I did my research, seeing "Mortlake Studios" and a Universal lorry wouldn't have shocked me that much. Admittedly it's rather new, having only opened last year, yet it's still a surprise to find locations like it.

Afterwards, I rejoined the Thames Path to walk down to Chiswick Bridge. Along the way, I stumbled across a squirrel racing along mansions, and was unsuccessful in my attempts to photograph it. Either way, the bridge here is one of the latest to be built in London, having opened in 1933. It's quite simplistic and not as stunning as Barnes or Hammersmith, further down the river, what with it being an unspectacular sandstone-coloured effort, but I suppose it gets the job done as one of the busiest bridges in London. 

  

At this point, my journey ended, and I decided to head home. Barnes and Mortlake are wonderful places, full of history which I probably didn't go too in depth into, however they make for a great day out when the weather is pleasant, and you have nothing else to do.