Philip Boys, our local expert on anything and everything to do with Wandsworth Common heritage matters, had been wanting to do a ‘walkie-talkie’ - a heritage stroll around different parts of the Common, with time to tell stories and relate things of interest - for some time. So we were very pleased we were finally able to host him to do a walk around the main lake.

He began with a history of the lake; it’s beginnings as a rather unprepossessing gravel pit; the campaign for its clean up and extension as a place for strolling, though not without opposition; the addition of features like the rustic bridge, eventually replaced with the current stone bridge; what people did there - not all of it good!! - completing his tour with a moving story behind the two memorial benches which overlook the lake near the railway fence, and the families they commemorate. What is startling is how much more attractive the lake is today compared to the rather bleak, concrete-banked lake depicted on old postcards. We’re looking forward to Philip’s next walkie-talkie.

Autumn is the time for ‘winter works’ and the start of a new season of Enable organised volunteering sessions. Owen and Max, the new Parks Officer, hosted about a dozen volunteers to prune the hedges around St Marks Triangle, planted several years back now and going from strength to strength. In the wild, hedges like this would be nibbled by animals, but without sheep, cows or deer on the Common, humans have to do the job of keeping them healthy. Despite the rain the job was pretty much completed in a couple of hours.

If you’d like to join futures sessions, e-mail biodiversity@enablelc.org