MERTON PARKLIFE 28/01/07

We must be doing something right! 17 riders at the library including a
few new faces and a latecomer meeting us en-route for today's ride
around the green spaces and parks of Merton. Not bad for January.

The idea was to cycle through or past as many parks as possible whilst
keeping the ride moving and getting to lunch on time. First up was the
over-looked park on Rowan Road (it's got a mini climbing wall!) before
riding past the virtually derelict park at Lonesome. We would have
ridden through but the gate is permanently locked at the other end. No
wonder it's run down.

Figges Marsh is a staple of our routes but we normally head off along
the Myrna Close nature reserve. Instead, we rode through Colliers Wood
Rec (has a paddling pool with a life-sized model of a crocodile!) and
onto Wandle Park.

South Park Gardens near Wimbledon is a forlorn Victorian park.
However, a lottery award means that the drug users will be replaced
with a bandstand and drinking fountain which will be much more in
keeping with the huge double fronted houses that border the park. Read
more here: http://tinyurl.com/yte7aj

Wimbledon Park provided our morning stop before the short but steep
climb up towards Wimbledon Common where we passed the Kingston LCC
group on their Bread Pudding ride. Cannizaro Park is well worth a
visit in the summer but you can't really cycle around it. We just
nipped in past the Millenium Fountain to look at the house.

A great route through Copse Hill, under the A3, through Malden Golf
Course and along a traffic free path adjacent to the railway brings
you out right by the sports grounds and Woodies, our lunch stop. In
keeping with recent tradition, we got there before it opened. A minor
blow was that food started 30 minutes after the pub opened so we took
a longer 90 minute lunch break. Good value food here and a quirky
interior.

It was pointed out that all the areas nearby have 'Park' in their
title; Motspur Park, Raynes Park, Worcester Park, Cottenham Park,
Merton Park etc but they don't actually have a park carrying that
name. Sir Joseph Hood park is presumably named after the Conservative
MP and former Mayor of Wimbledon. It leads onto a muddy path through
some horsey fields and onto the Green Lane byway.

The garden centre on Lower Morden Rd seems to have suffered a lot of
damage from the storm two weeks ago. A whole row of trees had fallen
onto it. Morden Park looks to have had it's path through the trees
resurfaced with woodchippings (from the fallen trees?). This would be
great because the path gets very muddy but we didn't risk it. Instead,
we skirted Cherry Wood and rode past the lake on Cannon Hill Common
and then through the John Innes conservation area at Merton Park.

Kendor Gardens has the same Victorian layout as South Park Gardens and
looks equally forlorn. Fortunately, Morden Hall is always a delight
and we stopped off for coffee at the National Trust cafe. The group
started to dissipate and so only a handful had to negotiate the
tiresome barriers of Ravensbury Park. Cricket Green and the Canons
gave us the last couple of green spaces before the inevitable finish
over Mitcham Common.

23 parks or green spaces, 24 miles (not 30!) and out for 6.5hrs. The
pix are on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157594504546365
or
http://tinyurl.com/29q2re

A tip: If you're interested in finding out more about the places on
our routes, look at the report of the website. Today's report also
links to PDF downloads giving detailed histories of the nature
reserves. We always link to relevant websites. Over 150 places of
local interest are currently linked.

http://www.merton.gov.uk/living/environment/naturereserves.htm for
info on the nature reserves

===

Also on Flickr, Robert's pictures from the Yew Tree Way ride. See:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157594504652531
or
http://tinyurl.com/yq2w8b

Cyclism have a maintenance class on Sat 24th Feb from 9:45am to noon
at the Sutton West Centre in Sutton. A fiver. More from 020 8642 3720
or 020 8647 3584.

Next week is the Mitcham Loop in reverse. That means lunch in
Carshalton. There's a choice of pubs but we'll take recommendations if
anyone knows them well. If it's muddy, we'll avoid Mitcham Common.
10:30 start. The classic version of the route is posted on
http://www.sanoodi.com which is a great place to share routes. Have a
look at http://tinyurl.com/ynva96

Don't forget to update any old links you have to the website. It moved
from the Aviators servers. New rides on there right into the summer.
Charity Rides page coming back soon.

Cheers
Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk
07711 688189