South as far as the Northern Line will take me and I arrive at Morden on the edges of Surrey and now part of the London Borough of Merton, and close to Wimbledon. I’ve not been here before so I had no expectations of what to find other than as a National Trust member I am aware of the nearby Morden Hall Park. During the day of my visit, some friends claim via Twitter to have accidentally visited the station after a night out by missing their intended stop en route; I only hope they had forgiving partners…
Suburbia
The streets of Morden and the immediate surrounds are similar to many other ‘ends of the line’ and I have some difficulty in finding something of particular interest. The main bus station outside the station is where many commuters head for as this end of the line seems to be a short respite for commuters heading elsewhere.
The immediate area is defined by a relatively short figure of 8 road network used to manage the traffic through the area, and shaded reminders of a police campaign to warn of the dangers of drinking and driving are still evident.
Architecture
There are some art deco buildings nearby which typify the style of buildings erected during the area’s period of growth with the advent of the railway at that time, and the strikingly tall 60’s style Civic Centre and Library dominates the immediate skyline. The patterned front is fairly typical of the era, and whilst visually striking and eye catching, I recognise that it’s not to everyone’s taste.
Without realising, I find I’m heading south towards Morden South mainline station as I’m drawn to the towering minarette of The Baitul Futuh Mosque, the largest mosque in Western Europe. As I approach, there’s evidence of extensive building works being carried out here, and I begin to wonder if this is in any way in response to a fire there in 2015 or for some other reason: maybe you can let me know?
Morden Hall Park
The triangular shaped park sits in the north east quadrant on the fringes of the town and is defined by: on the westerly side by a main road, and on its northerly side by the tramline running from Wimbledon and Croydon. There are two tram stops in the park’s confines: Morden Road at the northern tip, and Phipps Bridge half way down the edge of the park.
This is a pleasant woodlanded park with open scrub and tree lined avenues harbouring the River Wandle which meanders from Croydon to Wandsworth where it eventually enters the Thames. Morden Hall, now a private venue for wedding hire, isn’t open to explore, but the surrounding grounds, even on a dull wintry day provides an elegant backdrop for some attractive photos of the manicured lawns, managed waterfalls and visiting wildfowl.
Despite the cold conditions, the park has many visitors enjoying the scenery either out rambling, walking their dogs and/or children, or like me taking photographs.
Garden Centre
The park houses the National Trust’s only Garden Centre which draws in many visitors, and at this festive time, allowing them to enjoy the Christmas themed decorations and providing an easy place to park to buy a christmas tree, or simply enjoy the restaurant facilities. I took the opportunity of wandering around the garden centre’s grounds taking an alternative eye to the shapes and patterns created by the displays and surrounds.
Picture of the Day
The station is typically 20’s/30’s in design and as I’m leaving the station, I stop to admire the Underground Roundel above a cavernous entrance hall which is sympathetically offset by an elaborate circular light fitting.
I’ve slightly cropped the picture to balance the roundel with the light fitting, and transformed it into black and white applying a ‘vista’ filter within Google Photos. I think the individual lights on the hanging light display complements the light through the high window as your eye is drawn up to the reversed ‘DnuorgrednU’ sign.
Settings: Camera – Canon EOS 200D; Aperture – ƒ6.3; Shutter Speed – 1/250; Focal Length – 35mm; Film Speed – ISO100; Google Photo Filter – Vista
Social Media
YouTube, Instagram, Google Photos, Triptipedia – here I share some tips I use when travelling around London. A different twist on my ‘end of the line’ story
The End Of The Line 
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