15.11.19
Oh well. It had to come. Judi needed to revisit what was her home in 1969.
I was 11 years old in 1969, and for 9 months my family lived at 7 Sutcliffe Close, Hampstead Garden Suburb. I have only wonderful memories of that time. Well why wouldn’t I?
School by correspondence, freedom on the Tube, a pretty nice area to live in with lots of kids in The Close, and all within spitting distance of Hampstead Heath. Oh, and travelling all over the UK. Steam railways and Cathedrals a speciality!
But two local places stood out as being really special to this 11 yr old.
Little Wood.
And Big Wood.
I remember playing in the woods a lot, they were like our backyard really, and regularly taking bags of raw nuts to feed the squirrels. Sadly no squirrels today!
John was very patient as I tried to remember where to go.
After a lot of walking, we found it.
An unassuming house, but so many memories!
Our aim was to get to The Spaniards Inn for lunch, an iconic pub in the middle of Hampstead Heath.
We walked, and walked and walked.
Have to say, lunch was average and overpriced!
Taking the bus back towards the city, we hopped off at the Regent Canal and headed towards Camden.
Nostalgia again of what we were doing not so long ago!
We passed a canal barge that was actually a bookshop!
The canal walk was, well, interesting.
Industrial, authentic, fake, redeveloped and sometimes just amazing. These gasometers had been converted into apartments. Ingenious.
Sometimes you’d think you were in the middle of a city.
And the next minute it was pretty tranquil.
There were several sets of locks and even a marina.
Reaching Camden Locks, we watched a barge go through with critical commentary…
Camden was buzzing.
We headed back to our digs and decided it was time to sample our ‘locals’.
The Thornhill Arms was as real local pub. Warm, happy and cheap!
The Driver was a bit more upmarket, and a lot quieter!
No brainer really!
Kanga And Wombats Adventures 