Discovering Battersea’s Open Spaces: a walking guide - Book review
Here’s a review I wrote for the Wandsworth Historical Society Issue No. 112, Autumn 2021.
Discovering Battersea’s Open Spaces: a walking guide by Clare Graham (Battersea Society, 2020) 26pp. £5 (including p&p) via openspaces@batterseasociety.org.uk.
Lockdown’s travel restrictions indisputably generated an increased interest in local heritage and a corresponding rise in publications and initiatives to supply that growing demand. One of these, Discovering Battersea’s Open Spaces published by the Battersea Society, is a practical pocket-sized booklet offering six self-guided routes for walkers linking the park, the commons and smaller hidden green spaces around the area.
Adorning its cover is the Battersea Peace Pagoda
The introduction covers a brief, but comprehensive history of Battersea from the Victorian period to the present, which helps contextualise the creation of smaller open spaces, whether the product of the Battersea Tangle, bomb damage or housing development schemes. Each walk is introduced by an overview alerting the user to what to expect along the route. These generally start at a conveniently accessible location (bus routes and stations are listed) and ends at a refreshment stop. The maps are laid out topographically, showing notable heritage sites, leisure venues and, most importantly, public toilets along the route.
Wandsworth Historical Society journal
Symbols denoting the hard and soft surfaces that walkers inevitably have to encounter, the location of playgrounds for families, and restrictions for dog walkers are all clearly listed and much appreciated. The walks range from 2 to 3 miles (3-5km) in length and each links to another, allowing the option of walking consecutive routes. Four of the walks may even be navigated continuously as a closed circuit for those up for a workout.
Walk 1 is one of two along the river front, from Vauxhall Bridge to Battersea Park, via the Nine Elms development. With the American Embassy, the burgeoning Battersea Power Station complex and the park, this route showcases Battersea’s many faces. Think Canary Wharf, Drop Coal Yard, Hyde Park all within a two-mile distance, topped with fantastic views of the River Thames. Battersea Park, arguably the district’s emerald Crown Jewel, does not get its own walk, but a detailed map of its attractions encourages ‘a spot of DIY exploration’. This makes perfect sense due to the compartmentalised layout of the park and its unique vistas. Surely, most of us have discovered the park’s wonders just by wandering about it!
The seasoned WHS member may be familiar with the heritage content of these walks, but there is great value in an organised set of rambles focusing on Battersea’s open spaces. I would recommend trying them with friends and family, and fleshing out these enchanting routes with all the wonderful stories Battersea has to offer. Chris Van Hayden
