>Hi!
>Just wondering if anyone knows if there is anything in Wimbledon that
>relates to the Wombles. I'm over in London on holiday and want to
>visit Wimbledon. Thought I might do a spot of Womble hunting!
>Thanks.

It depends whether you're traveling by car or public transit. You can drive
right into Wimbledon Common and park by the Windmill, thus giving you a
central location for exploring the Common. If you are taking the Tube
(subway) you will get off at Wimbledon Station and either take a bus or walk
(about 1/2 hour) uphill to the Common through the picturesque village of
Wimbledon. There are a number of shops and pubs along the way.
Once on the Common you are at Wombles Central, though don't expect to see
anything Womblish unless you bring your imagination. :-) From the Windmill
walk down to Queensmere on the path. The woods around Queensmere are the
likely location for the Wombles burrow. If you can find or borrow a Womble
doll (there's an Oxfam shop along the way where I found one when I visited)
to bring with you on the Common so much the better as you can have someone
take your picture holding it or crouching beside it on the ground,
preferably by a sign. It'll be the closest you will get to the "real thing"
and is certain to impress a younger relative, not to mention give you a
wonderfly silly memory to cheer you when life gets too serious. Trust me.
I don't know if the weather will be condusive to picnicking (April is the
cruelest month, said T.S. Eliot who was referring to springtime in England
when he wrote it) but if so then a picnic is certainly in order. Bring nuts
for the squirrels and food for the ducks.

There are lots of other things on the Common besides Wombles. The Windmill
is a museum/gift shop and also the place where Lord Baden Powell wrote his
book on scouting which launched the Boy Scout movement. There's the remains
of an iron age fort on the south part of the common and a tumulus (mound
that looks suspiciously like a burrow) on adjoining Putney Heath, west of
the Windmill. Or just wander the paths and trails and marvel at the spring
flowers (assuming there are spring flowers). Or check out the duck ponds by
the road bounding the north edge of the park.

After a healthy dose of exercise and spring air you may wish to take tea at
one of the local tea shops (there was one that served delicious scones, but
that was back in 1986 so it may no longer be in business) or quaff a pint of
ale at the Fox and Grapes. It's a little early for tennis but you might
consider walking to the tennis courts (across Tibbets Corners on the north
west corner of Putney Heath if I recall correctly).

Hope this helps.

Frederick Harrison (from Canada who was in Wimbledon in 1986.)
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"A stone may change the course of the river."
C.S Lewis