Walking the Thames path - a 'retirement' project - part 1 - Thames barrier to Deptford

Retirement beckons.

OH (my other half) and I are doing a lot less work than we used to.

Neither of us has completely given up the day job, but there are a lot more days when there is no 'job'.

Which means we have to think of something to do to keep ourselves amused, trying to find something that we both enjoy, in order to avoid sending each other to an early grave through too much time spent at home together.

Some friends happily enjoy long breakfasts together and drink coffee in cosy cafes....

Another couple take it in turns each week to choose an activity that the other must join in with.

Those options might push us to the limit; I do not wish to attend a football match, and OH would hate to go to a poetry workshop.

So we must walk. An activity that we both enjoy, that gets us outdoors, and gives us something new to think about.

We will walk the Thames, from mouth to source.

It will take as long as it takes, and is a relatively easy project to start, as a short train ride gets us to the start.

Day 1

A grey overcast day.

Thames barrier to Deptford.

day 1 Thames barrier to Deptford

A salubrious part of London, much of which was new to us.

Across the river, tidy blocks of flats on the north shore.

On our side, a selection of building sites and unusual art.

You may have noticed a man in a red anorak striding off into the distance.

And this on our very first leg.

We may be doing this together, but we are not together......


Every time I stop to capture the view, OH keeps marching on. I run to catch up, and then take another photograph.....


No matter. At some point we will find coffee, and later lunch. And even talk to each other.

Quantum Cloud by Anthony Gormley 1999

There is very little vegetation on this stretch of the river, so some reeds were welcome.


Only 24,859 miles around the world , north to south, from here to here.

'here' by Thomson and Craighead 2013

Pylon art next, as we drew nearer to the Greenwich peninsula.

inverted pylon by sculptor Alex Chinneck

Building sites and industrial areas.

Not a pretty walk, but interesting, none the less.

If you would like to know more about the route there are books and guides aplenty.

There's a very detailed unofficial web guide of The Thames path national trail with much more history than you will ever get from me.

Blame that on Mrs Newsome, my history teacher. She killed history for me .

DEAD.

(She probably is too by now).

And there is the TFL guide  which tells you how to walk along the river, and that by doing so you will avoid diabetes and heart disease.

And then some trees at last, followed swiftly by new developments of riverside living.

The broken concrete pathway gave way to immaculate new surfaces.

new housing, north greenwich

everything clean and tidy in Greenwich

New gave way briefly to old in Greenwich.

Cutty Sark pub, Greenwich

 past the Naval College and our first selfie taking tourists of the day.

Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Past the Cutty Sark, sitting in its strange new housing.

Cutty Sark , Greenwich

 None of the guides tell you where toilets might be found, where you can get a cup of coffee, or something to eat.

But we did not go hungry or thirsty.

It is not in OH's nature so to do.

lunch, Deptford

All photos were taken with my iphone. Travelling with OH does not allow time for fancy photography. We are walking. Not stopping.

You get the picture.

a bit of culture on a sunday afternoon

walking the dome

What to do on a Sunday afternoon after the dog has had her muddy walk in the country?

That was the dilemma facing other half and I on the sunniest day of the week thus far. Over lunch I pored over the options for exhibitions and galleries in London. Manet? Tate Modern? White cube?

Each had good reasons for rejection ...........too busy.............exhibition that I wanted to see not yet open..............not something OH would enjoy................... I was not getting enthusiastic vibes for a trip to London. Going by train to London at the weekend has less appeal to those who do it every day in the working week.

Then I remembered.........we haven't taken the sky-ride over the Thames. I half heartedly mentioned it to OH and before I knew it we were off on a mission to ride in the air on a sunny afternoon. No trains required; we would go by car. We checked it was open and within half an hour were parking the car underneath the dome on the Greenwich peninsula. We mused over the NCP parking meters that need £13 in pound coins on a weekday. Who ever has that many pound coins handy?

I am ashamed to say that I have never been to the dome before. Not liking loud music I can't do pop concerts, and have never had good reason to visit. But here it was, right in front of me, with a group of tiny people battling the wind, climbing over the roof for the 'millennium dome experience'.

On we walked past buildings that looked like they have popped up from somewhere on the continent.

Peninsula architecture

We arrived at the cable car station.

Just one thing missing. The cable cars.

Nice birch trees though.

In the half hour since we left home the rides had been cancelled due to high winds.

So we took a stroll down to the river bank and admired the view. OH remarked that the view looked quite rural. I can only assume that he was referring to the reeds on the river bank. Or that possibly he needs new glasses. But we did get to see a bit of art in the form of a giant metal sculpture.

sculpture 

On from there to take a stroll through the dome. What a soul-less experience that is in daylight. One chain restaurant after another. Tex-mex versus pizza versus steak. Or if you really can't decide go to Jimmy's, where they have everything.

covering all options for the indecisive diner

We explored Nissan world with interactive badges. Almost cultural if you are under 10 years old.

not quite in control.....

OH drove and spectacularly crashed a car into the safety barrier ( at 30 mph) , and we didn't book a test drive in an electric car.

After all those new and exciting experiences it was time for a cup of tea. And home for a quiet Sunday evening reading the papers. Next time I shall go straight for a London gallery, train or not. But at least I can now say that I have been to the millennium dome, even if it is 13 years later than most people.