Camden Arts Centre: Finchley Road Stations

Camden Arts Centre is always worth a visit.  The staff are very friendly and approachable.  I had not been for a few months since my hip problems and at the desk I was filled in about some developments concerning accessibility.

Near the café there is a flat screen and audio system and as the Zoe Leonard photo and Observation Point was in its last days,it was interesting to listen to the artist.  The other exhibition featured the Artist in Residence, Rachel Champion from New York, with whom we later had a chance to chat.

Jackie and I went upstairs and into a newly constructed darker corridor to a room above Finchley Road.  After our eyes had adjusted it became apparent to Jackie that there was a Camera Obscura installation in the room and the other side of Finchley Road was screened on the opposite wall and ceiling upside down.

I mentioned to Jackie about the special upside down glasses one can wear and eventually the brain inverts the image the right way round (it does this to start with) Experiments had been done in the 1960s and I remember people on a BBC TV programme wearing these glasses for some time.  At some point the glasses were removed and some people had difficulty getting back to normal.  I started on Diana Ross-Upside Down and Jackie countered with Lionel Richie-Dancing on the Ceiling!


We then went to a large room with perhaps 10 photographs mounted with a black border on a white wall. I am afraid I did not get this. I commented that photographs of the sun were an area of special interest and mentioned the Transit of Venus. I felt rather as if I were in a snow blizzard and look lost in this photograph which Jackie took.

Lost for words

Zoe Leonard exhibition

Camden Arts Centre, London

23 June 2012

© Prof Whitestick

Not impressed, we moved to the 3^rd room which had piles of postcards of Niagara Falls arranged in what appeared in an obsessive manner.  I could make out 2 cards on a wall with Observation Point.  Was this a hint of a telescope for which you drop a quarter/coin and you get a stereoscope image?  Were the pile of postcards real or a ruse?  We were both underwhelmed and moved on.

Niagara Falls postcards

At this point, Jo from the Camden Arts Centre joined us and filled me in on an exhibition I had missed.  We also chatted about recent exhibitions at the centre.  Jackie and I had both visited the Claymation exhibition by Swedish artist and had not liked it.  Jackie thought the violence was contrived and I thought a dark side of Scandinavian post-feminism seemed to be popular with crime fiction (detective stories) Jo, however, had enjoyed this exhibition and having enjoyed our comments found me the file notes of the exhibition that I had missed – Launching Rockets Never Gets Old by Raphael Hefti.

Next, we entered a room where Rachel Champion was working as Artist in Residence.  This was a pleasant surprise.  The work is called Ornithopter Garden.  It had lots of colours and smells from the vegetation (mainly grasses) and an interesting corner piece which to my eyes looked like the Island of Staffa (Fingal's Cave) decorated with turf on the horizontal sections.

with Rachel Champion

Ornithopter Garden

Camden Arts Centre, London

23 June 2012

©Prof Whitestick

Asking for permission to take photographs, Jo said that we could take some of Zoe Leonard work and she would check with Rachel Champion for her consent. We all chatted about the installation and I asked about the rigidity of the corner installation.   Rachel described how she had climbed up the installation to fit in the top section.  It reminded me of the Boetti use of building trade pieces of pipes, tiles, lights which I described in my post Boetti and Kusama at Tate Modern.  However, Rachel had not seen that exhibition.

We also spoke with Jo about touching policy in some exhibitions.  Sometimes friends of mine have been ticked off by guards at exhibitions when they exaggeratingly point out items in the show.    Often the public are discouraged from making contact with some artworks though exceptions are made for visually impaired people.  Jo spoke about access to installations for some people.  I had enjoyed playing the drums and percussion at the Haroon Mirza exhibition ( http://profwhitestick.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/culture-on-london-overground.html) but Jo said that some had gone too far with their “interactions”.

To round off our visit, we had coffee and cake in the café.  I have always enjoyed visiting the centre whether for talks by artists, book launches or just to drop in for a coffee.  There are lifts, accessible toilets and a bookshop which has a wide selection of material.  The centre also runs courses, though I have not tried any of them so cannot vouch for their suitability.  A series of file notes on individual exhibitions are for sale at £1, which I usually buy and have read to me.


Train Connections to Underground and Overground

In this area there are two railway stations.  Finchley Road is on the Jubilee Line and Metropolitan Line and has convenient changes.  However, mind the gap, especially on the new Metropolitan Line carriages.  While some stations such as Euston Square have flush and step free access to the train from platform, others, like Finchley Road, which bend, can have a surprisingly wide gap.  You need to check the gap with a cane.

Once outside, turn left and staying on the left side of Finchley Road you may find a bus stop and take any double-decker red bus for 2 stops or walk. After the other station (Finchley Road and Frognal) cross a side road with a light-controlled crossing and then facing right there is another crossing across a very busy Finchley Road (there is an island in the middle). Camden Arts Centre is at the corner.

London Overground at Finchley Road & Frognal

23 June 2012

© Prof Whitestick

Finchley Road and Frognal is a London Overground station which is useful for the Arts Centre and also for getting to Hampstead Heath, as the tunnel starts here and finishes at the next station. Mobile phones conk out here and there is some peace and quiet.

Getting off at Finchley Road there are 3 sets of 11 steps up to the Finchley Road exit.  There is a touch pad for access with a pass or Oyster card. Make sure your companion touches the yellow pad or they may be overcharged at another ticket gate.  

Jackie and I used the London Overground to get to Hampstead Heath station for Keats House and we went back to West Hampstead and on our separate ways.  I am continuing useful hubs and stations for meeting points where one can meet friends half way and go on from there.  Finchley Road on the London Underground is useful as is West Hampstead.  Both have useful bus connections though as unmoveable as train stations are, bus stops are sadly subject to suspension, roadworks and diversions.

Buses for Camden Arts Centre: 13, 82 and 113.

Zoe Leonard exhibition

Camden Arts Centre, London

23 June 2012

©Prof Whitestick

Trainspotting:Thameslink from West Hampstead to Blackfriars for Bankside and Tate Modern

Update: 6/6/2012

Being more mobile, I am now allowed to sit down on the London Overground and so made a trip to Richmond using this line from West Hampstead Overground station. 

Going through the ticket gates, turn left for Richmond, Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction.  Turn right for Stratford and for other connections to Barking via Gospel Oak or the West Croydon and East London lines changing at Canonbury. In both cases there are two sets of steps, 14 and 15, to negotiate. 

The thin platforms have tactile markings roughly half the width and there are obstacles such as benches (with passengers’ outstretched legs, though they have always been considerate and pulled them in when I have approached!) and assorted railway platform fittings. 

Stratford bound train approaching West Hampstead Overground - stand back!

There is quite a gap between the platform and the carriages and some nifty cane work is required. 

Platform 2 West Hamsptead Overground station with train - mind the gap!

If unfamiliar with a station you should ask for assistance. This is often offered if you are spotted by the staff and the train conductor will answer any questions. I noticed that they give stations and the running status of the connecting Underground services.  Announcements in train are audible and clear and the platform announcements have been much improved.

*** end of update

Update: 20/5/2012

Some pictures were taken on Sunday 13th May, 2012 which show the stations in West Hampstead.  On that afternoon there was a big football match and the area around West End Lane was relatively quiet.  The pictures were taken of the station areas including some of the platforms on the underground and the layout of the Thameslink station showing recent developments. 

For the sake of railway enthusiasts, I arranged for a picture to be taken of the Thameslink / Midland lines going towards St Pancras with a view of the London Overground crossing the railway bridge.  The new wall with its shade of green tiles can be seen and indeed touched. 

There is also a shot of me handling a touch screen on one of the ticket machines outside West Hampstead Thamseslink station.  On the day in question, the two ticket offices were closed.

*** end of update

My reduced mobility due to my left hip problem has meant that I have had to avoid certain travel routes which I had carefully learned over the years. Visually impaired people often have preferred ways of getting about, not obvious to the sighted community.  We develop favourite crossing points, favourite exits from train stations and usually pay more attention to our surroundings using sound. 

Currently I can manage to climb the odd stair but descending stairs with a crutch and cane is frightening as well as hazardous.  Walking too far also is painful, so when Stephen offered to take me to Tate Modern I thought we would have to pick up a minicab from Southwark Underground station on the Jubilee line.

Stephen and I made arrangements to meet and get to Tate Modern.  On the day of the visit (22^nd March 2012) I learned, through Twitter (@ThamesClippers), that  there had been a problem on the Jubilee Line, so I arranged with Stephen to meet at West Hampstead Underground and we would try out the new West Hampstead Thameslink station and the new exits at Blackfriars Bridge on the South Bank.


West Hampstead has three stations. Going in a northerly direction up West End Lane one comes across West Hampstead Underground which is on the Jubilee line, though trainspotters will know that the Metropolitan Line passes through non-stop.  What is not well known is that the Chiltern Line from Marylebone to Aylesbury and Birmingham also passes through the station.

West Hampstead underground station from footbridge showing Metropolitan and Chiltern lines

©Prof Whitestick

Further up on West End Lane's left side is West Hampstead Overground station.  The Overground has connections to Clapham, Richmond, Watford, Stratford and South London via the East London Line connecting at Canonbury or Highbury & Islington. (I prefer Canonbury)

Entrance to West Hampstead Underground Station

©Prof Whitestick

 

West Hampstead Overground station

©Prof Whitestick

There is now a significant amount of transfer between the 2 stations at West Hampstead.  The pavements (sidewalks) on both sides of the road have clutter though I tend to cross at a controlled pedestrian crossing outside the Overground Station. If it is not working then other passengers usually assist.  Staying on the left side of West End Lane it is possible to cross over Iverson Road at a Costa Coffee placed on the corner and the new West Hampstead Thameslink station can be noted.

 
 

West Hampstead Thameslink Iverson Rd tiled wall -green shades
©Prof Whitestick

 

The new wall on Iverson Road in NW6 from West End Lane to the station is made of ceramic tiles placed at corners to prevent fly posting.  The shade of green ranges from the shades and tones which we had described to us at the Royal Academy and in the Corot Landscape at the National Gallery.  The station was opened recently and I had already had a preview of the new facilities. 
 

Visually impaired person using touch screen

©Prof Whitestick

This offers a new footbridge with lift (elevator) access to the platforms.  The new footbridge is covered though open to the elements.  Although the walk surface is of the cheese grater non slip type, being exposed it could be prone to icing. The lifts have waist height controls and with only two options are easy to use. (I had a guided and escorted tour on request.)

 

Midland Railway northbound and showing new West Hampstead Thameslink footbridge and station

©Prof Whitestick

Midland Railway towards St Pancras

©Prof Whitestick

  

We got on a southbound train at Platform 1 and got off at Blackfriars. Blackfriars station is really a bridge over the Thames and platforms have been extended to provide a new exit and station on the South Bank convenient for Bankside.  If you continue along the platform there is a lift to take you down to the walkway level on the South Bank. 

There is a lot of construction work.  Turning to the left and walking along the River Thames brings you to Bankside and the two entrances to Tate Modern. Either down a ramp into the Turbine Hall or directly into the gallery areas on level 2. 

On the return we noted that the lift only gave access to the southbound tracks. An elevator is under construction/repair on the northbound side. On going northbound we had to climb the stairs.

Some of the Thameslink train formations are only 4 coaches and many of the trains approach the 2 tracks through Central London with short notice time changes.  If you are travelling with a sighted passenger, ask them to notice how many coaches are mentioned for your destination.  As we were returning to West Hampstead a fellow passenger told us that the next stopping train for West Hampstead had only four coaches and that we would have to walk along the platform. 

From experience I would get on any train and change at City Thameslink where there is a staffed information point on the platform. If  you are on your own the staff are helpful, though if you are with a sighted friend it may be an idea to listen for information about coach formation.

West Hampstead is served with Buses numbers C11, 139 and 328. There was a grand plan to realign all the rail tracks and build a single station with even a Heathrow Airport link.  West Hampstead is served with links to Gatwick and Luton Airports from the Thameslink station.