A while back my friend had sent me details of a fabulous shop in Moseley (just near Hampton Court Palace) that specialised in gifts for pets. With a wet, rainy Bank Holiday in prospect we decided to strike out on an adventure to find it. We took the 111 bus through all manner of interesting places such as Feltham and Hanworth until we reached the Thames Riviera in Hampton. That’s a mighty fine place for a riverside walk I must say.
The traffic was heavy as cars poured in and out of the Foodies Festival which was taking place on Hampton Court Green. We were tempted to go in but thought that they probably wouldn’t allow dogs – not with all those lovely aromas and all that food. So we walked up to the Bridge and crossed over the Thames which was full to almost bursting point after all the recent rain.
There’s lots of riverside bars and cafes here – and they were doing a brisk trade despite the weather. I couldn’t say the same for the ice cream stall though. Anyway, we walked along to Bridge Street which must win the award for the road with the most cafes with al fresco tables. They were all quite busy and there were a fair few canine friends sitting beside their owners’ feet waiting (often in vain) for a tidbit or crumb of cake.
We passed some lovely antiques shops and the fabulous Emporium which is a must-see for those who like browsing around bric-a-brac from times gone past. Now Beanos is usually closed on a Monday but was open as it was Bank Holiday. The window is plastered with signs offering Dog Beer and Dog Ice Cream. Oh yes.
Alfie took advantage of the bowl of water outside and growled at the wooden dog statue. He can be so rude at times! One window display was awash with Great Britain goods – dog bandanas, coats and even bow ties. Our eyes were drawn to a delightful coronet small dog bed – some lucky dog would be the very proud owner of that! The other was aimed at the action dog – lots of camouflage goods including dog carriers, jackets and bags.
We entered the shop and were greeted enthusiastically by the owner who had spotted Alfie pottering about earlier. Alfie was too busy growling at Beano the Beagle who was sitting good naturedly on his rather fine Union Flag cushion minding his own business. Literally.
We browsed all the dog toys, dog bowls, dog collars and dog shampoos. You get the idea. There were so many interesting things on offer we were quite spoilt for choice. I should mention that there are also gifts for – whispers softly – cats!
We settled on a rather fine cream fluffy monkey with red and white striped legs that pull out to make a long arm and short leg and vice versa. This is now an Alfie favourite – much to the upset of Flounder the Fish – his previous bestest toy.
We tried on a camouflage flak jacket – after all, it will keep the rain off when we meet my daughter from Air Cadets – and he’ll fit right in with everyone wearing their greens. We admired the gorgeous leather dog sofa in a sophisticated chestnut brown. While I paid the bill, Alfie was given free access to the bowl of dog biscuits on the counter – but they were too big for him and had to be broken into smaller pieces.
We said our farewells and wandered back down Bridge Street, stopping for a coffee and hot chocolate at Five at the Bridge café. Back across the river and through the crowds at the Foodie Festival – Alfie’s nose went wild. And around the corner we went to the entrance to Bushy Park.
Now normally we enter the park at the Kingston, Teddington and Hampton Wick side so it was nice to be so close to the Diana Fountain – a round pond with a statue in the middle where the road and cars go around.
It was rather peaceful looking across under all the trees that are nibbled to a perfect uniform height by all the deer here. Last year we had wandered over to the stream and watched the deer wading and on another occasion had seen them all tip toe into another pond at sunset. It was a magical moment – a bit like being at the watering hole on some African safari. But we couldn’t see any deer today.
We consulted the map and noted how many ponds there were – and realised that it was probably a bit far for us to walk over to the Water Gardens which are quite beautiful with the fountains. We walked along Chestnut Avenue which runs through the centre of the park and half-heartedly looked for the Pheasantry Centre which has a café. But the weather was grim and we were cold and hungry so decided to go home and return in the summer with a picnic.
Bushy Park will feature on the routes of the Olympic Cycling Road Race and Time Trial cycling events.
http://beanos-shop.com/
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/bushy-park
http://www.visitsurrey.com/events/foodies-festival-at-hampton-court-palace-p834311 (the actual site was down at the time of writing)
