The Beverley Brook has been on my list of walks for a number of years now. I’d passed its confluence with the Thames near Putney on at least two occasions. Then I looked across its valley when seeking out Ceasar’s Camp on Wimbledon Common. The clincher should have been the crucial role played by the deity of the Beverley Brook, Bev, in Ben Aaronovitch’s excellent Rivers of London novels. But in the end it was London Rivers Week that gave me the final push to walk the Beverley Brook, or the Bev as I ended up calling it.
I found a Merton Council map and guide online and decided to use this as my definitive text. This route starts at New Malden, however multiple YouTube commenters pointed out the Beverley Brook rises in Worcester Park. Nevermind. The guide was excellent nonetheless. I picked up the river beside the A3 and pretty much the whole course out to the Thames was a bucolic amble across Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, Palewell Common, and Barnes Common. All rivers deserve a deity, but it’s easy to see why Ben Aaronovitch chose Bev to play such a pivotal role in his books.
Loved this. I too have grown fond of Beverly Brook in the series:)
Thanks Joy
`All Rivers deserve a deity’ in our day and age of incessant River Pollution there has to be a holy redemption in cleaming them all to make fit for their divine purpose of Nature and for enjoyable riverside walks today.
Fine words Patrick
Hi John
Thank you for all the interesting videos you post. The Beverly Brook was great to watch.
Also watched the Norwich city walk. A suggestion for your list is King’s Lynn. This is the link to the local civic society https://www.kingslynncivicsociety.co.uk/.
The Zed
Many thanks Zed Bee. Great idea, I had a great day in King’s Lynn last year and took part in a group walk around the town. I wrote about it here https://thelostbyway.com/2022/06/a-walk-around-kings-lynn.html