my mum is always at me for not really having explored the area i currently live in. she's an "up and at 'em" kinda woman, and whenever she has come to visit me here, has aaaalways been the first to explore the area, despite me having lived in it for x amount of time. well, i've been in honor oak for about eight months now, and not once have i walked any further than the train station.
i meant to, ya know, in the summer... but just never did.
bright as it was on sunday, i was not about to let a damn sunny day go to waste so i grabbed my flatmate and a couple of lattes from our local monmouth coffee shop, and off we walked, headed up to one tree hill (sadly, did not locate one chad michael murray on my walk). i'd seen the green chain walk signs - daily - since moving in to the area, but never considered taking them up on the offer... until that day.
i meant to, ya know, in the summer... but just never did.
bright as it was on sunday, i was not about to let a damn sunny day go to waste so i grabbed my flatmate and a couple of lattes from our local monmouth coffee shop, and off we walked, headed up to one tree hill (sadly, did not locate one chad michael murray on my walk). i'd seen the green chain walk signs - daily - since moving in to the area, but never considered taking them up on the offer... until that day.
st. augustine's church is visible from the station, and i always look up at its square turrets and think, "i should definitely go and check that out - it's so pretty, and so close!" (regular readers of this blog will know i am a fiend for a pretty church). staring up at it from underneath it made it appear no less pretty, of that i can assure you.
the bright aqua steeple shone like a beacon against the speckled grey and brown stones that make up the body of the church, as the mediterranean shutters muffled the chiming of the bells that indicated the service was coming to a close. we wandered around the grounds until we reached the fence that indicated we could wander no further, then we took the path up towards one tree hill to get our view on.
i can't believe i have lived in honor oak for eight months and not known that that gorgeous view was right around the corner from my front door. honestly, we couldn't have chosen a more clear or sunny day to pop up for a gander, and... honestly, that view is breathtaking. we stood - sinking in the mud, looking out over the london skyline, just taking it all its beauty for what seemed like an hour, musing about how anyone could ever want to look at another view again.
i guess that's a silly thing to say... there are much more beautiful views to behold, than that of one of the busiest and overpopulated skylines in europe, right? but, as my adopted city, my home, the city that i love, i can't think of one i'd rather be able to live around the corner from. excuse my squinty face and floppy hair... the wind was doing wonders for my freshly washed fringe. notice if you will, the amount of trees pictured. still unsure as to why it's called 'one tree hill'. something about a royal tree?
we kept walking, happy to be out and about in the glorious winter sun, even opting to lose a coat when the walk got particularly strenuous, and ended up walking through forest hill, peckham rye, and almost into dulwich. i'd no idea how close everything was around me, having only ever passed these places on the many buses that service the area, but now that i know how easy it is to get into these 'burbs, i'll definitely be doing it more often.especially now that i have discovered the pastel coloured truman's pub that hosts a regular monday-night pub quiz a mere 15 minute walk from home, and the converted church that is now ten individual flats - one of which has that gorgeous window to look out of every day. it's a shame it's overlooking an awful block of flats across the road... sometimes i think you're better off in the house across the road from the pretty one, so you get to wake up and look at the gorgeous one every day. is that just me?
what's your local area like; have you been exploring lately?
