A day out on London's Canals

It was all The Boy's fault.  Some weeks ago now, he wanted, unusually for him, to watch television.  So we turned on CBeebies, and there was a programme about a canal trip in Scotland, going on the Falkirk Wheel, lucky them.  And we talked about canal boats, and he reminded me that he'd been on one for his Great-Baa's 90th birthday, when we'd gone on the Wey and Arun Canal.  I was thinking that a trip on the Waterbus from Little Venice to Camden Market and back might be a plan - I have vague memories from when I was little of going on the Waterbus to the Zoo, presumably over fifty years ago!

So when I got home that night, I looked up the London Waterbus Company's website, and they were advertising these day trips.  So very bravely I rang up to enquire, but got their answering-machine, and was very pleasantly surprised that they got back to me a couple of hours later to say that at the time they weren't sure whether the trip would go ahead, but they would get back to me a couple of weeks before the date to confirm. Which they duly did, and the tickets arrived in the post.

And yesterday was the big day.  We were scheduled to leave from Camden Lock at 09:30, so for a more pleasant trip in the rush hour - although, as it is August the Tube wasn't too crowded anyway - we left from Brixton and changed at Euston.  We weren't quite sure there was time to get coffee, so managed without.

The waterbus was called The Water Ouzel, and was a converted narrow-boat, with seats like an old-fashioned bus - not all that comfortable for a whole day!  Fortunately it didn't rain, so the sides were rolled up and we could see plenty.  The bodies of the 1950s and 1960s might have fitted comfortably four abreast, though, but those of the 2010s didn't, really, and there was much sucking-in of breath whenever anybody had to walk down the length of the boat to the loo at the back (they had lovely-smelling soap; I looked to see what it was but I don't think it was what it said on the tin, as that said it was tea-tree).

We set off down the Regent's Canal towards the Thames.  The canal drops about 86 feet through a series of locks, and, thanks to a girl on a bicycle, we weren't held up at many of them.  Mostly we shared the lock with another boat - a holiday let for the first part, then a narrow-boat that has been restored to its former glory called "Empress", and finally, towards the end of the day, the Tarporley. 

After the first three sets of locks, we went past St Pancras and its eponymous lock, and then past King's Cross.  Apparently the lines from King's Cross go under the canal, whereas the ones from St Pancras go over it.  Then came the horrible Islington Tunnel, which was not pleasant, but I concentrated on looking at photos of my phone and we did, eventually, come out the other end.

After this, we were held up for a bit by a digger blocking the canal.  Apparently, electric cables run underneath the towpath, and somebody had accidentally driven a spike through one, fortunately when the electricity was turned off.  So when it came back on again - ka-BOUM!  And this was being repaired.  But they were supposed to have reopened the canal at 11:00 and it was well past that - we had to wait for about 30 minutes while it did move, with serious ungraciousness on both sides!  However, we were eventually away, down through Islington, Hackney, and so on, and eventually past Victoria Park and the entrance to the Hertford Union canal (Duckett's), and arrived just outside Limehouse Basin shortly after one.  We were told to be back at the boat just before 2, so we got out and found somewhere to sit and eat our lunches, and then went off for a walk round the Limehouse Basin - one can, as I thought, walk all the way round it - and a quick look at the Thames. 

Then it was back to the boat, and we set off across the basin and up the Limehouse Cut, the oldest canal in London, past the Bow locks (which name the rather stupid couple sitting behind us thought was screamingly funny)

Three Mills

and on past what is now the Queen Elizabeth Park - we were given a map diagramming the various waterways through it, but most of them are not yet open to navigation.

Finally we turned left into the Hertford Union.

When we got to the locks, they suggested we get out at the bottom lock and walk up to the top lock, if we would like; there was a shop where one could buy ice-cream, apparently.  So we did.  But then the boat didn't come and didn't come and didn't come, and we were left hanging about at the top lock for about an hour.  Sadly, someone had failed to shut the sluices after using the middle lock, and there wasn't enough water in the basin between them.  So we had to wait while it filled up - they opened the sluices of both gates in the upper lock.  Finally it came up and we were able to continue our journey, back on to the Regent's Canal, back through Hackney and Hoxton, back through the Islington Tunnel and, finally, back to Camden. 

We were tired by then, and hungry, and decided to eat before we set off home.  The local Wetherspoons was incredibly busy and incredibly noisy, but next door was a Japanese restaurant called Hi Sushi Salsa, which we chose.  It was mostly sushi, which the Swan Whisperer doesn't really like, and although I like it, I have no idea how much to order for a main meal, so we both went with noodles.  He ordered udon with seafood, which he said was lovely, and I ordered gyozi ramen.  Which was also delicious, but I found the ramen and broth under-seasoned; unusually, it could have used more salt, and I would have liked a touch of chilli or Japanese ginger in it.  The pork gyozi (pot-stickers to my American friends) were absolutely lovely, delicately seasoned and I wished there had been more!  We then ordered ice-cream - at least, that's what I thought I'd ordered (the Swan Whisperer went for mint choc chip!), but it turned out to be ice-cream in some kind of skin, called mochi, which Wikipedia tells me is a kind of sticky rice cake.  Delicious, but not quite what I was expecting!  And Tiger beer to drink, which I don't think we've had since we were in Hong Kong over 30 years ago!

Then we really did head home, staying on the Northern Line all the way - and when we got off the Tube, the rain that had been promised to spoil our day had finally arrived!  Luckily there was a P5 fairly soon, so we didn't get too wet, and we got in just after 9:00 pm.  I was very, very tired!

A hot summer's day

Today was one of those lovely British summer days that is almost too hot.  We had arranged to meet at The Scoop, near Tower Bridge, to hear The Queen's Six, a group formed of Lay Clerks from St George's Chapel, Windsor.

They were excellent, although they were up against a rather uninterested crowd, who just wanted somewhere nice to sit and eat their lunches, and we were sitting at the top of the amphitheatre, so couldn't really hear.  But, you see, they couldn't really compete with this, now, could they:

Although Tower Bridge opens several times a day at this time of year, you still don't often see it happening.  In fact, my daughter said she'd never seen it before.

Once that that happened, though, and the bridge had closed again, The Boy asked if we could go down nearer the singers, so he and I went down and sat where we could hear for the last bits of the set.  They were excellent, and I do recommend them.

When the concert was over, and we had congratulated the performers, we decided to walk over Tower Bridge - the Boy was thrilled: "That's the bridge that just opened!" - and got the DLR at Tower Gateway, pausing to buy a large bottle of water (why did I think 500 ml would be enough on a day like today?) which we all shared.  We ended up in Stratford, and went into Marks to buy an outfit for Boy Too to wear at a wedding this Saturday and possibly also at his baptism in September.

And then there was yet another way home from Stratford!  The quickest way for the family to get home is to get a train to Tottenham Hale and then a 123 bus, but the trains are only every 30 minutes.  And, unfortunately, the National Rail app misled us as to the platform we needed to be on, so it was a mad dash up and down stairs with the pushchair and everything.  I took the Victoria Line home from Tottenham Hale, which was arguably the quickest and least step-ridden way so far!

Walworth bus garage open day

This year, TfL have been having a series of Open Days at various bus garages around London, but for a variety of reasons we haven't been able to get to any of them until today.  I should have liked to have visited Stockwell, as it is supposed to be a fantastic building, but we were otherwise engaged.

Today, it was Walworth Bus Garage's turn to be Open.  It is in Camberwell New Road, but is called Walworth Bus Garage to avoid confusion with Camberwell Bus Garage, belonging to another company, which is just across the road. 

There was a great deal to see - buses old and new, in service and out of it, from B-types to the very newest Borisbus. 

We were allowed to go on a bus going through the bus wash

and we ended our visit by taking a Routemaster along Route 40 to Dulwich Library, and back as far as Goose Green, where we stopped to have some lunch in a restaurant called Le Chardon.  I had steak and chips and the Swan Whisperer had chicken livers, and very good it all was, too.  We watched the heritage buses attracting attention as they went up and down:

 

 

Then we decided to go home on a 37, and it all went horribly wrong.  Partly, I think, because of huge demand for the route due to the Lambeth Country Show, but first of all there wasn't one for ages - the apps kept saying 4 minutes, but then when the 4 minutes were up they were still saying 4 minutes!  Anyway, eventually one came and I managed to grab a seat, but half way home it suddenly broke down!  We got off and walked to Herne Hill, which wasn't that far by then, stopping off for an artisanal ice-cream when we saw one, and then the Swan Whisperer decided to walk through the Lambeth Country Show, but I had already decided I had had enough.  However, just as I got to the bus stop, an empty 37 came along - I am not sure if it was the one that had broken down, or another one - and I got on.  It didn't stay empty for long, and was overloaded again by the time we got to  the top of Dulwich Road.  And by the time I got off, there were already two buses immediately behind it, and the one I was on had decided to turn round at Clapham Common.

So a quick dash round Lidl - well, they had women's T-shirts at £1.99 or three for £5, so it would have been rude not to - and then home to a nice cool drink!

Day Trip to Salisbury

On Tuesday of this week I went to Salisbury to meet some friends for lunch. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, involving delicious food from Cranes Wine Café, lots of talk and laughter, some buying of cotton yarn (ahem!) and some buying of books (I only bought ONE, honest, and it was a birthday present for The Boy), a lovely walk through the Close, and a cup of tea at the Museum. This is only a short post, but I wanted to share these pictures of the Cathedral:

The Tour came to the Stow

Today was the long-awaited day when the Tour de France came through Walthamstow on its way to the finish in Central London.  As it went right past my daughter's church, it was a no-brainer to go and watch there.  The Swan Whisperer took the day off to watch it, and we set off, armed with packed lunch, at about 11:30, and got to Wood Street Station at 12:35, where the Daughter and Boy Too met us.  The Boy was at nursery, and the Son-in-Law working.  The Church is only a short walk from there and the "Caravane Publicitaire" was due to come past at about 13:15.

Sadly, the Caravane was very disappointing.  It roared past and didn't really throw anything except trouser-clips.  It was supposed to take 40 minutes to go past, but had finished in about 10, really not worth having to sit for two hours after it to wait for the Tour proper.  So we sat down and had lunch - I was found a chair - and we sat and waited and waited and waited.  I had my Kindle with me, so read for a bit.  The neighbouring club told us when things were finally starting to happen by stopping the loud and rather tuneless music it had been playing. 

And then the two who were in the breakaway, Barta and Bideaux:

 And very soon, along came the main peloton

 And went on coming

 And there were one or two stragglers.....

Finally it was all over, and the "broom vehicle" came past.   You don't appreciate how fast the cyclists are going until the team cars come past - they are going at practically  normal speed! 

We packed up our stuff and made ourselves comfortable, and then walked down the road to Whipps Cross Roundabout where there was a big screen and - it was raining - we stood under a tree and watched until the very end of the race.   Which was, as anybody could tell you, won by Marcel Kittel. 

And also by my friend Jilly and her team, who have been responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Tour while it was in the UK.  They have done a superb job.  And I'd like to thank the staff of St-Peters-in-the-Forest for opening the church and allowing us to use its facilities.  This was the cycle they had decorated at the church gates:

Bus Cavalcade

Today, in Regent Street, was the special Bus Cavalcade to celebrate the Year of the Bus.  Even if the family hadn't wanted to come, we would have gone.  As it was, we arranged to meet at the first bus, down at the Piccadilly Circus end, at about 2:30.

So this morning first of all, I was preaching, and then we decided to have lunch en route.  Actually, it was more brunch - we went to the Duck Egg Café, one of the many local restaurants.  I had a Full English breakfast (huge), and the Swan Whisperer, who was being rather silly about eating today (this was, I warned him several times, going to be our main meal), had an Egg and Bacon muffin, which he found rather dry.  My Full English was lush, only too much toast, so the SW ate one of my slices.  I drank coffee and he had a San Pellegrino.

Then it was time to leave and we got the Tube to Piccadilly Circus, changing at Green Park.  The Boy, when we met him and his mother, said they had come on the Bakerloo Line from Oxford Circus.

The Cavalcade was boy heaven!  And us heaven, too, if I am honest.  It started with a horse-bus, and ended with a Boris Bus, and all points in between!  Rather excitingly, the horse bus had, in its lifetime, followed the route of the present-day 35, right past the front door! 

I don't see how to put the photos side-by side.  Sigh.  Anyway, we were on a 37 earlier today going into Brixton, and it didn't look like this one!  The route was much the same, though.

 

As the buses grew more modern, we were increasingly able to board them, and some of them even allowed you to sit in the drivers' seat, which our menfolk took great advantage of:

About 3/4 way up Regent Street was a children's theatre company performing "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", one of The Boy's favourite books.  I took advantage of a row of seats in the middle of the street to rest my legs for a bit, so although I could see what was happening, I couldn't hear.  Not that it mattered - it was very interactive.  Not sure how much The Boy enjoyed it, but he certainly loved all the buses.  When we got up to Oxford Circus, after a look round a Boris Bus, which neither he nor his mother had been on before (we have, and don't think much of them) we discovered they are now running on the no 10 to King's Cross, so the boys (Boy Too had been quietly in the sling all afternoon, although he was getting bored of it now) and their mother went off to catch one, while we headed home down the Tube and home for a much-needed cup of tea! 

Blissful, and highly recommended if they ever do it again!

 

And.... home!

We left Verdun by just after 09:00 - it was a case of having to, really, as the paid-for parking in the street outside the hotel kicked in then!   We bought a sandwich and some chouquettes from the patisserie across the road for our lunch, having had breakfast at the hotel. 

As we had plenty of time, we decided to do the first part of the journey cross-country, rather than going on the autoroute, and asked the SatNav to take us to Cambrai, which it duly did.  Very cross-country, but it was a lovely drive; for much of the time we were the only car on the road, and the scenery was delightful.  We arrived in Cambrai at lunchtime, and ate our sandwiches, but unfortunately it was raining so we decided not to go for a walk, but to do our shopping.  There was a Cora on the outskirts of town, so we went there and stocked up, although they didn't have any of the lovely poppy-seed bread mix I really like. 

By the time we had finished and had an ice in the cafeteria, it was time to set off, so we went straight towards Calais on the motorway.  We decided to pop into Auchan to see if they had any poppy-seed bread mix (they didn't) and one other thing, and then, as it was now less than two hours before our scheduled crossing, headed straight for the terminal.

Sadly, we didn't get home early!  There was an ominous comment that "All services were suspended" due to a train stuck in a tunnel, and the automatic check-in (I do like the way the check-ins at the French terminal recognise your car number-plate and you don't have to find your booking number) gave us a number which I think corresponded with our original booking.  So we sadly went into the terminal and sat down with the free Wi-Fi, but as we went in, the log-jam broke and people started to return to their cars who had been held up on earlier crossings.  Our crossing, N, was subsequently advertised as an hour later than we'd booked, but we noticed they called N cars along with M cars for the previous ones, and rushed off  (we were already sitting in the car reading at that stage) and got on a crossing only half an hour later.  And the Shuttle wasn't full, which we thought a bit bad as there had been such delays.  Still, the crossing was uneventful and we got home at a reasonable hour. 

And look what was waiting for us on the window-sill:

 I haven't known that particular cactus to bloom at any time, never mind in June!  The other one is very much an Old Faithful and I only keep it because it blooms so regularly in December....

And so, back to the grindstone.  This blog will be updated when I do anything interesting, either out and about in London or on a short break.