Part 2 - Crossing the river

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Wimbledon seemed liked the perfect place to start my trip. It's like the equivalent of booking a hotel for your first night of a long trip, before heading off into the unknown. A gentle way in, where you can adjust yourself to the culture without worrying about getting lost in some dark alley. I cycled south from Kilburn passing familiar places. Kensal Rise, Ladbrook Grove and wondered when I would be back. My sat nav showed that I would cross the river Thames at Putney Bridge, a bridge I was not sure if I was familiar with. Certainly, I was not as familiar with it as some of the other bridges.

It's probably time to admit that I have lied. It's not true that I have never been to south London before and I imagine that you will have suspected as much. To have lived all my life in London and never to have gone to the Southbank, Borough Market, Richmond Park or Brixton on a night out would seem pretty implausible and I confess that I have occasionally made such excursions. But the Southbank and Borough Market barely count as they are right on the river. Richmond Park is indeed a beautiful park and I have been a few times to cycle a few laps whilst training for the London to Brighton and Ride London cycling events. Brixton I have just been a couple of times. However, this should not detract from the sense that I have never immersed myself into the communities of south London. My knowledge of Thames bridges though is not bad. I have crossed Tower Bridge (by far the most exciting), London Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, The Millenium Bridge and probably a couple of others but I think never had I crossed Putney Bridge.

As I approached the bridge I could sense a change in the air. Was it a north westerly wind bringing a welcoming hand? A buzz of excitement shot through my spine. I had reached the point of no return. I joined the single file of traffic entering the bridge and I could see the water to my right and left. A few more strokes of the pedals and I was on the edge, the famous north south divide. I stopped to take in the moment. I have always found the Thames at night to be beautiful with an array of different coloured lights generally shining along its banks. I took a few photos, remounted my bike and continued south. I was in Putney.

Heading south, the road began to climb. That makes sense I thought since rivers flow through the bottom of valleys. I had just never thought about it in terms of the River Thames before. Continuing, it was a very straight road that lead me past Wimbledon Common and into the village itself where I arrived at the Tandoori restaurant 3 mins before my friend Marcos. That was a first!

It was good to catch up with Marcos on his home turf and given that he has been living in south London for about 20 years, he was the perfect person to get an overview of the south. To my surprise, Marcos told me that he felt the south was actually more leafy and affluent than the north contrary to my own expectation. According to Wikipidia, the population of south London is 2.8 million in an area of 646 square kilometres where as north London has a population of 4.7 million and covers 926 square kilometres. Considerably larger.

Anyway, I was very impressed with my first curry in the south and after paying up we heading to the local pub. It was surprisingly quiet on the streets. Perhaps people in Wimbledon village all go to bed very early. It was 9.30pm after all. I noticed that there were baubles on the street as decorations. This indeed surprised me as I am sure had they been on display in Camden, they would have already been stolen.

To end the night we headed to Heamingways Bar which turned out to be an unusual hook up place. Or at least so it seemed with young men courting older women and an older couple being seranaded by young men in sharp suits. It seems, all is not what you might think in Wimbledon Village...

We walked home in good spirits and we passed some very large very large impressive houses along the way. I could definitely see the attraction of living in Wimbledon.

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