It’s a cool grey day but dry so far. (The forecast shows the possibility of rain later.)
We set off along St John Street.
We crossed Rosebery Avenue into Spa Green Garden where a cheerful passer-by wished us a pleasant walk.
We walked along Exmouth Market which was unusually quiet for s Saturday.
We stopped for coffee at Caffè Nero and then thought to catch a bus. It turned out, however, that, for reasons I didn’t bother to discover, the routes were curtailed. We therefore decided to go for a local ramble instead.
We set off down Rosebery Avenue, passing the lovely old fire station. Though no longer serving its original purpose, this Grade II* building will, I hope, be preserved to continue charming us and future generations. Built in 1912-7, it incorporates two earlier fire stations.
We walked through a neighbourhood in which “streets” alternate with “mews”, narrow roads where, in times past, the inhabitants of the houses used to stable their horses. The horses, of course, are long gone, and the erstwhile stables have been converted for other uses.
We stopped to admire this Art Deco structure dated 1938. The design, with the tall superstructure, is somewhat odd. We think it may once have been a maternity hospital or something similar.
Over the door are two reliefs very much in what would have been the “modern” style of the period.
As a lover of clocks, I soon noticed this building, now residential, with a large clock on its façade, suggesting that the premises were once put to commercial use.
I was pleased that the clock is in working order and amused to see that it bears the motto “YOU’RE LATE”. So many old clocks have fallen into permanent disuse that any still in running order are to be celebrated and cherished.
I enjoyed this decorative Classical-style doorway. If you are interested, it belongs to a house where writer Dorothy L. Sayers lived from 1921 to 1929.
We paused to photograph this Victorian (1867) pub with nice period tiling. It is called the Rugby, not because it favours Rugby football (though it might for aught I know) but because it resides at No. 1 Rugby Street.
This public passageway is called Emerald Court. A reasonably portly person might have difficulty passing along it. The obvious question springs to mind: is it the narrowest public thoroughfare in London? According to Londonist, Brydges Place near Trafalgar Square wins that honour by being 15 inches wide at its narrowest point to Emerald Court’s 26.5 inches.
Nearby is this pretty shop. Today selling jewellery, it was originally called a “French Dairy”. It is Grade II listed though its actual age seems problematic. For one thing, the large display window is obviously modern.
We soon arrived at Lamb’s Conduit Street which is a fairly picturesque area with shops and cafes. It takes its name from the water supply engineered from a tributary of the River Fleet to serve the local community, financed by philanthropist William Lambe.
We passed this building, which I think is part of Great Ormond Street Hospital and whose entrance boasts a long frieze of females figures in relief. We didn’t stop to identify them – perhaps another day.
When we arrived at the Brunswick Centre, which is a famous mixed residential, shopping and entertainments development, we felt it was time for a rest. So we went to the cinema!
We didn’t go to see a film but to have coffee in the Curzon Cinema Cafe. The cafe is a rather bare bones sort of place but the coffee is fine.
Photo by Tigger
While we were there, we paid a visit to the local branch of secondhand bookshop, Skoob. (We didn’t buy the book in the photo despite its intriguing title.) I ransacked the French section and collected three books by Georges Simenon.
From there we walked down to Euston Road which we reached near the British Library (left) and the picturesque St Pancras Station.
Here we boarded a number 30 bus that carried us up the hill back to the Angel.
Photo by Tigger
Arriving at the Angel, we allowed ourselves to be tempted into going for lunch at L’Angelo Cafe. This has definitely become our favourite local cafe. This brought our outing to a pleasant conclusion.
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