IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Hartley Road, CROYDON, CR0 2PJ

At the junction of Windmill Road and St.James's Road, this building was formerly a school.

Junction of Lodge Road and Elmwood Road. Elmwood School can be seen to the left of picture.

Still not a common sight, in Croydon, but probably the same bird as photographed in November 2011. No 'breakfast' was on view, so the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) was in the garden for about a minute.

'Sammy' squirrel, enjoying his Christmas hazelnuts and peanuts. The hazelnuts were his, the peanuts he had to share with Mr.& Mrs.Jay. On the wettest Christmas Day that I can remember, I got up to heavy rain at 07.30, and it hardly stopped until 12.00. In this brief 'weather window', just before 09.00, 'Sammy' visited for some food. Sensible lad then went back to bed! Here's 'Sammy' in action, a few days before Christmas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsqyJBXX5fg

A female sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). Quite a rare sight in Croydon, in fact the last one which I saw/photographed was in August 2008. I later saw it swoop and miss its target, before moving off to hunt a few hundred yards away.

I've not seen one of these before, but it seems to be flourishing in its location, at the end of Prestwood Gardens.

The flats and houses on either side of the road were built c1976, replacing the Victorian terraced houses which lined both sides of the road. For a year I worked shifts. I remember walking along this road, one winter's night at about 11.30, on the way to start my nightshift. Damp air caused mist to form in the cemetery, which poured over the hedges and into the road. Then came the long terraces of boarded-up houses awaiting demolition. Not a soul was in sight ..... all very eerie. In the middle distance in this photograph is the residential block being built at Spurgeon's Bridge, and in the distance is the tower block beside East Croydon station.

A break in the heavy traffic on this busy road. In the distance, the new housing development is taking shape.

Looking past the 'Fisherman's Arms', in the direction of the 'Gloucester' (pub; now demolished and replaced by Tesco, which gave its name to a five way road junction). Windmill Road was named after the windmill, which stood near the Broad Green end of the road. Windmill Road was an ancient drove road; one of three which crossed Croydon Common. All three are now 'A' roads, and housing was built from c1870 onwards.

When the snow lay round about. Looking down Willis Road, towards Cornerstone House, which I understand to have appeared in a recent BBC television programme. This building is the home to several community groups in Croydon.