Hooley

Eel Brook Common

Walham Green · 11 miles

Eel Brook Common is common land in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, close to Fulham Broadway, with its south-eastern boundary along New King's Road. According to the Fulham Society, the name actually is a derivative of 'hill brook common' - which relates to Musgrave Crescent, which is raised much higher than the surrounding land. It is believed that this is artificial and it probably was originally a Bronze Age mound - either a raised piece of ground to defend against attackers, or as a burial mound. When you leave Eel Brook Common from the north side, you go up a steep ramp - up onto Musgrave Crescent. It is within the Hammersmith and Fulham Conservation Area of Parsons Green.

The Tarn

Well Hall · 12 miles

A wooded lakeside site on the eastern side of Court Road, opposite Mottingham railway station, offers a mixture of open garden, water and protected wildlife. Covering nine acres in the Royal Borough of Greenwich (postcode SE9 5AQ), the area was once the southern part of the Great Park attached to Eltham Palace, used for royal deer hunting until the English Civil War. After the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich bought the land from the neighbouring Royal Blackheath Golf Club, the public garden opened in 1935 and has remained largely as laid out in the 1930s. The central part of the site surrounds a two-acre lake, historically called Starbuck’s Pond, and provides a circular walk that follows the shoreline, crosses a wooden footbridge and links the two gated entrances. Along the route visitors find a range of benches, a gazebo, a public-toilet block with a veranda shelter and an 18th-century brick ice well that is Grade II listed and viewable through a fenced opening. The park is wheelchair-accessible on most routes, although a few steps remain near the north-west and south-west entrances. Dogs are not permitted to protect the resident birds. Half of the nine-acre area is fenced off as a bird-sanctuary nature reserve, where species such as mallard, Canada goose, rose-ringed parakeet and swan are regularly observed, alongside foxes, squirrels, frogs and bats. The lake supports a small stickleback population and is fed by the Little Quaggy stream. Access is via Court Road; the nearest town is Well Hall, and entry is free.

Michael Faraday Memorial substation

Pullens Estate · 12 miles

A stainless-steel box sits on Elephant Square at the northern side of the Elephant and Castle gyratory, commemorating the Victorian scientist Michael Faraday. Designed by modern-movement architect Rodney Gordon in 1959 and erected in 1961, the structure occupies the centre of what was formerly a roundabout. Inside the metal casing lies a London Underground electrical substation that powers the Northern and Bakerloo lines, a fitting tribute to a pioneer of electricity. The original concept called for glass panels so that the transformer work could be seen, but concerns about vandalism led to the current metal cladding. The monument carries an inscription set into the surrounding concrete paving, identifying it as the Faraday Memorial. Since being granted Grade II listed status in 1996, it has been fitted with a series of lighting schemes: a school-girl-designed installation from a 1996 Blue Peter competition, and a “disco” theme introduced by Southwark Council in May 2012 that illuminates the box each evening after dark. Although early-2000s regeneration plans considered relocating the monument 400 metres to Walworth Road, the scheme was abandoned and the memorial remains in its original position, now more readily reachable after the roundabout was “peninsulised”. Visitors can view the monument at any time without charge; it is openly visible from the surrounding streets and pedestrian routes. Access is straightforward via the Northern and Bakerloo Underground lines, whose tunnels the substation serves, and the site is operated by London Underground as part of the public transport infrastructure.

Queen's Tower

Queen's Gate · 12 miles

Remnant of Imperial Institute buildings, demolished in 1957

College Garden

Millbank · 12 miles

A private garden attached to Westminster Abbey provides a quiet green enclave within the capital. The site, listed as College Garden on OpenStreetMap and classified as a park near Millbank, welcomes visitors Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 16:00, with no admission charge. Entrance is separate from the abbey, allowing a brief visit without attending the main church. The garden traces its origins to the infirmary of the medieval monastery that occupied Thorney Island a thousand years ago, and it is claimed to be the oldest continuously cultivated garden in England. Although its original purpose of feeding monks has ceased, the layout retains a tranquil atmosphere. In 2010 a new herb garden was installed to echo the historic herbarium once tended by the monks. The north boundary abuts the great hall of Westminster School, originally the monks’ dormitory, while the east and south sides are defined by a medieval wall and a watergate that formerly opened onto the River Thames, now about 50 metres away beyond the House of Lords. Visitors can also explore the adjacent Little Cloister Garden, which contains a fountain within the cloisters, and St Catherine’s Garden situated among the ruins of the old monastic infirmary. Just outside the watergate, College Green frequently appears in televised political interviews, adding a contemporary cultural reference to the historic setting.

Flanders Fields Memorial Garden

Green Park · 13 miles

A tribute to the soldiers of the First World War stands beside the Guards Chapel and close to the statue of Harold Alexander at Wellington Barracks in central London. The memorial garden, listed as a monument on the OpenStreetMap database, lies within walking distance of Green Park and is freely accessible to the public. Designed by Belgian architect Piet Blanckaert, the layout centres on a circular grass bed that contains soil brought from Flanders, the region of many Western Front battles. The soil, gathered by schoolchildren from seventy cemeteries and battlefields, arrived in London after a naval hand-over aboard the Belgian frigate Louisa Marie and a subsequent transfer from HMS Belfast to the British Army. It was then conveyed through the city on the historic gun carriage of the King’s Troop before being placed in the garden. Native Flemish trees fringe the bed, and the surface bears an inscription of John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”. A stone bench of Flemish bluestone provides a place to reflect, while the overall design has been described by the garden’s curator, Andrew Wallis, as a blend of Belgo-Anglo craftsmanship. The site was formally opened on 6 November 2014 by King Philippe of the Belgians and Queen Elizabeth II, with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and members of the Household Division in attendance.