21/5/24 London

 

     Time has come for us to attack London , weather forecast wasn't fantastic , but manageable . First up a 700m walk to the station , then the trip to Waterloo Station . A bonus today , Justin came with us for a day out ( or to make sure we didn't't get hopelessly lost 😂 ) .

 Well the station was certainly an eye opener , biggest fully undercover station we've seen !

 

From there it was down to the Tube and across to Bank Station , , where we emerged onto a street in the middle of the city . Today wasn't going to be your average tourist sightseeing trip . The tall building in the photo is Horizon 22 , and we were headed up to the 58th floor to the free viewing area ( you need to book online for your tickets ) . Wandering up the streets , we couldn't help but be a little awestruck  , the mix of buildings new & old is quite amazing . This is more the business end of town .

    This peculiar looking building is Lloyd's of London , seems to be the only building with it's aircon ducting and other pipework on the exterior of the building - certainly not the prettiest building we've seen .

    This one he's glass reaching to a peak , reflecting everything depending where you looked from .

      Here's the Gherkin , a different style of building surrounded lower down by older buildings .

     This little church is in amongst them all .

     This building is called the Cheese Grater ( you'll see why in later photo ) , and has all the lifts on the side you're looking at . The lifts stretch from left to right , and all the pulleys & hydraulics are visible , as are the lifts themselves , so you can watch them and the occupants go up & down .

     Another little church tucked in between the skyscrapers .

       This one is also beside the church .

     Our time slot was approaching , so we headed into Horizon 22 and went through the security checks before being allowed in . The elevator didn't take long , a silky smooth ride upwards - my ears popped 3 times on the way up . The views from the viewing level were pretty good , even though the weather was closing in . Top left is the Thames River 

   Some great views over the city , cars & buses mere dots down below .

    The Shard is on the other side of the river , and the odd shaped one at bottom left had a small problem . Apparently the curved shape was concentrating the sunlight and actually burning things , so they were forced to change to a special glass to stop the problem !!

     Here's Tower Bridge and middle of photo is The Tower of London .

    After quite a while checking out the views , we headed back down with plans to walk to the river and cross over to Borough Markets . The subsequent rain that started to fall changed our plans - back to Bank Station and back to Waterloo so we didn't get wet .

    This was on our way - Leadenhall Markets - a stunning looking arcade 

    Borough Markets is beside Waterloo Station , and was a hive of activity - people everywhere , didn't help that it was lunchtime , queues at one seafood stall were 100m long - they do a pretty mean paella apparently !! Renovations were happening to one section as well , making it a bit more cramped for room . Our preference for much less people was out the window , as our handhold with each other got a bit tighter !!

     Borough Markets was an old market dockyard area and has been done up quite well . We found a timber seat out of the rain with about 30 other people and had our lunch . 

    Our next walk took us down Dirty Lane , a walkway below brick archways and beside shopfronts . The arch's were cleverly lit up from the ground , making for quite a sight .

     There is the odd bit of authorised graffiti here , and of course the unauthorised stuff as well

     From Dirty Lane , we emerged out to the riverfront where we walked past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and that's about as much Shakespeare as you'll get out of us 😉

    Horizon 22 is the tallest building , and beside it to the right is the Cheese Grater , can you see why it's earned it's name ????

    The rain wasn't much more than light drizzle so we kept wandering up toward the London Eye . Beautiful light's & poles lined the walls beside the river . Definitely wouldn't be swimming in the Thames - certainly not the cleanest river !!

    Time for a break from the rain and the walking around , so may as well have a pint while we utilise the dry and warmth - temps didn't get above 15 degrees today .

    Walking up a bit further , we got to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament to the left . 

    And with that , we headed back to Waterloo Station and jumped into a train for our return trip , shame about the weather , but we still wandered around 8klms of the city and had a great day out . Justin enjoyed actually having a day where he could look around and not be on a mission to go somewhere for work . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1PFCYx4Gi5i-6VNs-zC7x5E2tAPaWLIQ&usp=sharing

18/5/24 Woking

 

    Today we venture down to ballet - yes ballet - definitely not for us , but Isla does ballet on a Saturday morning . It's held in a Methodist church hall , and a very busy one at that . Ballet classes on one side and martial arts on the other . The ballet classes change every half hour while we're there . The kids disappear and leave us to our own devices , Isla has aerials after lunch , Justin has cricket , so we head home for lunch .

   Some of the gardens , although small are brilliant - a stunning pink rhododendron with slate for ground cover . Others are as you would expect , not so good . 

It's funny , what we think looks unkept , is actually like that for a reason - No Mow May - It's growing season , so there's lot's of new growth and with that there's lot's of insects needing food from nectar etc , so with that they are looking after the ecosystems , and is promoted by local councils etc. We are hoping they'll tidy things up in the coming months. 

    Here's some of the typical housing here - this is their front yards .

      More rhododendrons , there are many different colours about .

      Small pink roses also grow happily beside the canal .

     I'm sure someone will know the name of this tree , it has long sprays of flowers , which breaks up the green canopy 

                                           Another pretty pink one on display near the canal .

         And some more 

     New growth is bursting out everywhere , seems we timed our arrival at the best time .

    There are alleyways at regular intervals around the streets , allowing access to other streets , shops & the canal . Generally they are bitumen , some have a rather large amount of stinging nettles growing on the sides . Add the blackberries as well and the usually 3 person wide track is down to one .

     After some lunch we decided to go for a walk towards where Justin was playing cricket at Old Woking Cricket Ground . The track took us over the railway tracks - which there are numerous - and into another section of town . The gardens and flowers on display were excellent , here's a stunning rose that was beside our path .

    This tree- about 500mm thick was covered in this vine which looked like Ivy - the tree was covered in vines .

   Another rhododendron , this time orange .

    Some peonies .

    We found a gateway that lead down a 2 lane road/pathway to Woking Park . It was covered overhead with Elm trees and made for a stunning walk . It lead us down to an area that opened up into parkland , tennis courts , the Leisure Centre where Isla does swimming classes and eventually to where we found the cricket ground .

   Had an encounter with one of the locals on the way - a squirrel that was equally inquisitive about us as we were of him . He approached us from 10m or so away , came within a couple of metres before scooting off up a tree .

   From here we went around to the cricket ground and had a pleasant afternoon - the sun came out and it was nice and warm - something that's bit hit & miss over here 😂. We are certainly feeling the weather difference here - don't think we packed enough warm clothes , but we're surviving . The cricket ended and we chatted to some of Justin's team mates , who were all quite happy to come over and say hello . Might have enjoyed a beer as well - the clubhouse is licensed !!

Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1qReu_CTdfW-CfB8GpPY4gjKj77QBqAU&usp=sharing

17/5/24 To & from Leith Hill

 

      Today we head a bit further out to Leith Hill , which is the highest hill in Surrey . The drive here was stunning , through English countryside as we had imagined , but better than expected . Here is a local church and cemetery in the church yard ..

  Typical English country roads . 

   Another section of the road took us through this cutting , which at one point goes down to a single lane through the hill . All green with trees & moss , it certainly made for an interesting drive .

  The road then took us through some forested areas , this one was partially cleared , not sure why , but it was delightful .

Arriving at the carpark in a forest was interesting - we were expecting Robin Hood to leap out in front of us at any moment . There are many trails to walk , going in all directions , most leading to the top of the hill . This tree had obviously fallen at some stage , but wasn't going to lay down & die .

    The walking tracks are narrow , but there's also vehicular access for maintenance / emergencies .

    The forest is a vibrant green and had plenty of new growth .

   Emerging from the forest we came to a view over the surrounding countryside , and more rhododendrons growing wild on the downslope .

   Buildings from a village popping through the treetops .

   Further up the hill we found a strange looking pine tree - obviously only because we hadn't seen this type before .

       All the branches are tough with leathery leaves/spikes .

      We emerge at a clearing with innovative seating , an info sign and a cattle drinking trough , oh and the Leith Tower !

   This is a Gothic style tower from the 18th century , and now has a cafe at the base - a popular spot for walkers , cyclists & dog walkers . The tower is a National Trust building , and does open for inspection on set dates .

     Back down to the car , through the moss covered ground with the odd flower showing through .

      We headed down to Wotton Hatch for lunch . It's in a quaint little village , and we got a surprise when walked in , we thought we'd come into a dining room set up for a function , but no , this was normal . The bar was down a little further , where we ordered lunch and a couple of pints , then returned to the sunshine outside .

    Quite a nice grassed area outside the pub with tables, chairs & umbrellas - more suited to us 😆😂🤣.

     After lunch we had a bit of a drive around on the way home , couldn't resist a photo of Cuckoo Corner , an old tudor style building .

 

   That's it for today , an excellent day out . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1IqfTIpe50smMetKKMfhHYtGOIjrqTC8&usp=sharing