Resolutions: Esoteric Explorations from London

I aimed to do a lot of walking, exploring and visting magical sites this year. Back in January I did a list of 10 New Year Resolutions. These were four out of that 10:

• Walk a lost river in London
• Do a ley line walk
• Visit a historic or sacred or witchcraft-related site outside London I've not been to before 
• Every month visit somewhere in London that’s blog-worthy

Here's how I did:

Walk a lost river in London

Back in April I walked the entire course of the River Westbourne, which is now mostly below London's streets. It starts at Whitestone Pond on Hampstead Heath (pictured right) and ends at the Thames. You can read the full post about it here.

In September I also did the River Pool Linear Park Walk, but that's not lost - it's above ground and is in an absolutely beautiful green setting despite running through South London's urban sprawl. You can see a picture I took at the top of this post.

Do a ley line walk

I'll admit I haven't done a ley line walk this year - although I guess I have a few more days in 2023 to give it a go. I probably won't though as I'm busy with other things in the next few days.

A sacred site outside London

Holywell, in Eastbourne, Sussex, is the name of a part of the town with lawns and beaches. A little further along the cliff top and down a narrow path and steep steps is a freshwater spring that gives the area its name and is still visited as a sacred site.

London visits month by month

This was something I more than achieved. The full list of London places I blogged about would be very long. Here are some highlights, focussing on London's green spaces where nature thrives but also a few other esoteric places:

January: I photographed Bloomsbury Square Gardens in winter and went to an exhibition over the road at Swedenborg House.

February: Brixton, in South London, has two fabulous spiritual and esoteric shops within walking distance of each other. One's called Powerfulhand and the other's called Original Product. You can read my post about them here.

March: Cherry trees in blossom were a sign of spring in Aldgate Square. I also blogged about a maze and labyrinths in London' Transport's Underground art. 

April: Walking the Westbourne is mentioned above. I also popped in to Atlantis Bookshop in London for the launch party of an exhibition: Visualisations: Magical Drawings

May: If you're in London and like things weird, creepy and a bit occult, then do visit Sir John Soane's Museum. It's deeply strange and utterly worth seeing. I can't believe I'd not been there before!

June: This month I visited a new esoteric shop that had opened up near me in South London: Crystal Wicca in Hayes. Even closer to where I live is Betts Park. I blogged about tales of an ancient common.

July:  St James’s Park lies between Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards to the east. As well as being  one of the poshest of the eight Royal Parks in London, it is also supposed to be haunted.

August: The ruins of St Dunstan's in the East has one of my favourite gardens in the heart of the City. The historic church near the Tower of London was deliberately given over to nature after it was bombed during WW2. 

September: I celebrated the autumn equinox with druids in Richmond Park Nature Reserve and took photos of deer in the distance.

October: Queen's Wood in Highgate was the perfect site for a Druidic Samhain ritual. I blogged about this wonderful wooded area.

November: Victoria Park is London’s oldest public park and contains some relics of the history of the Thames. 

December: I went to the British Library to see the exhibition Fantasy: Realms of Imagination and popped over the road to see the Yule tree of books at St Pancras Station (linked to below).

Here's links to posts about how I did in other resolutions
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/12/resolving-resolutions-magical-books-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/12/resolving-resolutions-year-of-witchy.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/12/resolving-resolutions-rounding-wheel-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/12/the-high-priestess-tarot-card-for.html