Miss Elaineous: July 2020

I took advantage of the free lockdown bus and headed to Fairlop Waters, Essex. Before you judge me, may I just point out that everyone I know was bending the rules and doing the same- and that's before you take into consideration those nipping into their cars and craftily seeing friends and family...

Here is the entrance, not far from Fairlop Underground Station...

'Watch out for balls' warning! You don't want one of them clocking you in the face...

Deserted golf course...

This snowy plant is cow parsley. There was an abundance of it and it was as light as gossamer...

Blossom...

There was talk of developing this area back in 2011, to include housing. Obviously the idea was rejected- I have to say, I'm quite glad, although these derelict buildings need to be torn down...

I did have a nosey inside, and no dossers appeared to be living there...

Fairlop Waters is three miles north of Ilford town centre and consists of open land providing space for sport and outdoor activities, on an area originally known as Fairlop Plain...

The Lakeside Suite can be hired for functions and is licensed for weddings...

The lake is not accessible to the general public. You have to be a member of a club to take part in water sports including swimming, canoeing, paddleboarding and rowing.
Many clubs offer a pay-per-go service...

Swans and buoys...

Launching/ landing deck. It was actually quite peopley around the lake, and I had to work hard to include as few as possible in my photos!

Boat dock...

The walk was certainly picturesque...

I made some friends on the way...😁

The centre holds approval from various watersport bodies, including British Canoeing and the Royal Yachting Association.

The district took its name from an old oak tree, the Fairlop Oak, which stood in Hainault Forest when the area was much more bosky than it is today. The oak is said to have had a trunk which measured 66 feet in circumference! 17 branches sprang forth from the tree, with most of them measuring more than 12 feet in girth.

In the 18th century, a pump and block maker from Wapping named Daniel Day would take his employees on an annual fair in the forest on the first Friday in July.

They dined on bacon and beans, and it's thought that this could be the origin of the English phrases bean-feast and beano (meaning a get together/ day out/ shindig...)

By the mid 18th century the annual excursion to Fairlop had become one of London's most popular entertainments. As a result the area became known as "Fair" (after the fair) and "lop" (after the tree flourished after part of it was used to make Daniel Day's coffin). He is believed to have died in 1767.

A society of archers- the Hainault Foresters- met under the Fairlop Oak.

Quackers...

For lockdown this place was quite busy, with walkers and cyclists abounding...

Close-up...

Webbed friend showing me his bum!

Webbed friend and a view across the lake...

Gaggle of geese...

...And a family of geese...

Family photo...

The Lakeside Suite from over the water. The lake is not that big and I was quick in circling it...

You can take part in night fishing on the lake.

Roach, carp, bream and pike live here, with some specimens weighing up to 30 lbs.

Legend has it that Queen Anne visited the Fairlop fair. One of the songs sung at the fair was called "Come, come, my boys."
One verse states:

The Hainault Forest Queen Anne Did Ride,
And saw the old oak standing by her side,
And as she looked at it from bottom to top,
She said to her court, it should be Fairlop.