Tales from the Riverside. Green-eyed in Strand On The Green

Imagine living here on the edge of the Thames in a house that is not only beautiful but a couple of centuries old and shaped by the memory of generations of notable previous inhabitants. And not only that, there are three fine pubs within a literal stone’s throw. I want to join that club. Where do I sign?

Strand On The Green was an old and pretty Thames side village that retains something of its rural charm despite being hemmed in inland by the sprawling city and having its river frontage squeezed between two bridges; the self-consciously classical stone Kew Bridge and the hefty but imaginative green painted iron Kew Railway Bridge that transports tube and overground trains across the river.

The houses are largely beautiful, as I mentioned, and of great variety. If you were to draw up a list of London’s loveliest houses (now, there’s an idea…) half a dozen of these would have to be included on it.

Strand On The Green even has a Beatles connection. The City Barge pub was one of the locations used in the film Help! And across the river is the towpath where Ringo wandered in A Hard Day’s Night. (Nearby Chiswick House was the location for the Paperback Writer/ Rain films.)

What more could you want in life than good beer, beautiful architecture, the Beatles and a river view watching the rowing boats and paddle-boarders glide by? A lovely place to visit, yes. But I probably do want to live here.