In the book, Stuart applies the following rule to council estates. "...a walkway between two tower blocks could remain untrodden, but a genuine road where cars or milkfloats or dustbin lorries could pass would have to be walked down." (p.80). That seems an eminently sensible rule but many estates these days are largely pedestrianised with 'roads' being for emergency access only. And milkfloats are largely a thing of the past now; must have been on their way out even in 1997 when the book was published. So I decided that, for my purpose, roads through estates would only count if they are shown as such in the A-Z. That means I can ignore the Tremlett Grove estate which just appears as dotted about 'Houses' and 'Courts' but not the Girdlestone Estate which appears as an interconnected series of 'streets'.
Suddenly the likely reason for this difference struck me and I dug out my repro 1938 A-Z to check. Sure enough, it shows the streets - Anatola Road,Salisbury Road, Annesley Road, Girdlestone Road - that would have been demolished when the estate was built in the late 1960s. These names have been retained, although all apart from Anatola are now 'Walk' instead of 'Road'.
And the Tremlett Grove estate? In the 1938 A-Z there's just open land below the reservoir so when it was built (1970s?) there were no streets to replace.

Like many estates, the Girdlestone looks pretty straightforward when you look at the map but becomes a maze once you walk in to it.


I started by the red arrow on the map above, walking into the estate via...

Anatola Road

Salisbury Walk
Where I discovered that no cycling is allowed on the steps.
At the end a row of green rubbish chutes stood like sentries.
I walked down a flight of steps beside the chutes into...

Annesley Walk
Here I found that children are forbidden to play in the playground.
"Apologies for any inconvenience caused while we improve your park," says another notice. People were invited to a consultation. "We also need to know if you think we are getting it right!" But that was last October, six months ago now. I hope the redevelopment hasn't fallen victim to the cuts (as the yoga class in the community centre has).


Emerging from Annesley Walk, by the red arrow in the pic above, I found myself in...
Macdonald Road
With its eponymous (give or take an 'a') burger bar.
The adjacent office block, currently empty, is scheduled to become a Premier Inn soon. Just imagine, tourists in Archway!
Next comes the swimming pool. Opened in the '90s. I remember taking my daughter to the opening day and sliding down the flumes.


See all pictures of Macdonald Road
As it reaches the bus station Macdonald Road morphs into...

Vorley Road
It's more a bus stand than a bus station. You can't get on or off the bus there; it's just a place where they assemble before setting off for their respective stops on Junction Road.
After the bus station are Council offices; used to be the housing benefit office now 'Services For Older People And People With Physical Disabilities'. The opposite side is dominated by the blue facade of a nursery with a non-climbable fence next to it.

The road then continues past the back entrances to shops on Junction Road. I headed back the other way into the estate along...

Girdlestone Walk

Where I saw washing and a play mat drying on the balconies.
There's little to differentiate Girdlestone from the other 'Walks' of the estate; all are brick-built, four-storey blocks of flats and maisonettes. It would be interesting to know what proportion of these have been sold under the right to buy - and are now being re-sold for a healthy profit (average asking price for a 1-bed flat currently around £300,000).

An archway through the flats, toward the end of Girdlestone, took me out into Bredgar Road which will come in a future installment.

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