Time turns too quickly sometimes in this city. Had to head over to Wandsworth area to pick up my bank card from the Sorting Office near Kimber Avenue - long tedious story.
I decided to forgo the usual journey to that area - National rail from Wimbledon station to Earlsfield, bus down Garrat Lane. instead, I picked up the 156 from Alexandra street near the railway station. The 156 crisscrosses through the various Merton areas and into Wandsworth. Along the way, it was fairly easy to pick up where the train went and spot a few roads I knew the name of, but from the other side of them.
Ended up in Southfields and soon found Garrat Lane. I decided not to bother getting buses down it, after viewing a map and walked for a mile or so down to Kimber Avenue where the sorting office was, stupidly walking an extra mile because I didn't keep my eyes open.
By the time I'd collected my bank card and got back to Wimbledon, it was already 2.20, so I spent some time at the B&B preparing for prospective interviews, collating the work I've done into easily accessible categories on my laptop, then it was time for a walk - a walk on the Common.
It's a 15 minute walk to the outskirts and from there it sprawls across the landscape.
I found myself standing alone in a forest and wondering.
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So this is London ?
In the middle of nowhere along a leafy path in a forest ?
Not a person to be seen for hundreds of yards and no sign of civilisation, except for the distant hum of traffic.
From the crowded tubes and buses, to the houses in their endless rows with their endless floors and the endless hustle bustle of people and the manic city center activity, where to escape ?
To the Common we go, to the green belt.
In South West London, from the burrough of Merton and beyond, one Common where a person can escape is amongst the most famous, Wimbledon Common. Most people of my generation and older will always associate it with The Wombles, but of course there's a much richer history behind it, which I won't go into right now.
A 20 minute brisk walk from Wimbledon station will get you to the outer edges and from here, the pathways go every which way. From large open areas surrounded by terraced housing right into the thick of things, fields and woods where a person can be alone with their thoughts, walking the dogs, taking a jog, riding horses or just ambling.
This is what balances great river cities and sets them apart from those that eventually fail. Expanses of open ground, green belt areas in the midst of suburbia. In a modern world and a modern city, the presence of these areas is like a gift, a healing force.
Even if a city dweller does not visit green belt areas, they are always aware that they can do so should they have the desire.
I'm a firm believer in the power of walking through nature to settle the mind. I think that any therapy in the world should include getting out into nature as a prerequisite to healing, no matter what the ailment. Whether it be depression, addiction, grief or just city burnout, a long walk in always worthwhile.
I now know I can escape from the crowds at any time and pretty much in any weather, save a blizzard or heavy snowdrift. I may require a stout pair of wellington boots and a warm coat.
A wonderful aspect about Wimbledon Common, which I'm sure is reflected in green belt areas elsewhere in Greater London, is the placement of benches. You can find a bench right along a broad path, or tucked away just inside the undergrowth by a small pond, always positioned so they blend into the environment around.
You find people sitting in the middle of nowhere, as if in their own lounge, reading a book and sipping on a drink. How completely liberating in such a civilised way.
This is the Common Life and damn fine it is too !
Now all I need to do is rent a few dogs for the day to take for a walk and I'll fit right in or take up jogging ? - Hmmm, think I'll stick to ambling for a while. Horse Riding ? - Tally No
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