We drove around central London today and it was so lovely to see the sights again. This was due to an unplanned ‘step’ into the congestion zone by about 10ft. After thinking bugger that’s £15 we decided it was an opportunity to do a tour around and it was lovely.
We were heading to Vauxhall to see Bonnington Square and it's Pleasure Garden featured in @TheStreetTree London's Street Trees. An amazing oasis in the shadow of the towers of Vauxhall that was due to be demolished in the 1980s. All of the properties were compulsorily purchased
Originally constructed for railway workers in the 1870s these fine houses were purchased by the GLC and ILEA with the intention of building a new school. However, they were left vacant and subsequently squatted. The community that grew out of those days in some ways remains
There is a community Pleasure Garden not far from the site of the original Vauxhall Pleasure Garden and a community cafe. The planting around the area is lovely
If you want to see more about the history of Bonnington Square from squats to the present day. Here is an excellent 20 minute video https://vimeo.com/36595608