Warm up for the tennis with this delightful ramble in the Wimbledon Park area based on Raymond Briggs' homage to his parents Ethel & Ernest.
Southfields, located at the end of the District Line around Wimbledon Park, has rich history beyond being a tennis gateway. Raymond Briggs immortalised the area in his 1996 work 'Ethel and Ernest', later adapted into a 2016 animated film.
The guided walk visits locations familiar to Briggs' parents, including Wimbledon Park, the Southfields Grid, Coronation Gardens, Fazl Mosque, a pet cemetery, the Frame Food Factory, and 'Darktown Villa'. The walk explores population growth and suburbanisation through the lens of Ethel and Ernest's move to a villa near King George's Park almost a century ago.
Geoff Simmons, a Wandsworth resident for 30+ years, runs Summerstown182, a community history project in south west London – specialising in walks, talks, tours and putting up plaques.