From Limehouse to Greenwich

So after our museum visit and a spot of lunch with the city workers, we pressed on.

We walked the Thames Path from Limehouse down to the tip of the Isle of Dogs through Milwall (named because of the 6 windmills that used to be dotted around the walls).  A lot of fancy (read expensive) gated apartment buildings have been built around the edge of the Isle.  We had to divert off the path in places, and the middle bits are not quite so fancy, but they seem to make great use of the old docks for sailing clubs etc.

We loved walking on this very peaceful path observing the wildlife on the Thames.

Once on the bend, we could see Greenwich on the south bank of the Thames.  We decided that we would cross and go and visit the Maritime Museum (we didn't get time when we visited last time).  We knew that we could cross UNDER the river through the Greenwich foot tunnel.  You can see the exit on the Greenwich side - the round brick building with the glass roof.

I think Sir Chritopher Wren's architecture in Greenwich is as equally (if not more) as impressive as St Paul's Cathedral.

Regular readers will know that as well as heights, I am a bit of a wuss in tunnels too - but I was very brave and it didn't seem to take long to get across (although I could have given Jess Ennis a run for her money!!).

There is so much to look at in Greenwich ..

In the museum, I learned a lot about Lord Nelson (whom I have to confess to my shame I have largely ignored up to now!).  This is his original coat that he was wearing when he was shot - see the musket hole on his left shoulder?  The displays also house his pony tail that he had cut off and sent to Lady Hamilton after his death!

Afterwards, we took a stroll through the park as it was such a glorious day.  You get great views from up here - one of the few hills in the city.

The Queens orchard wasn't open - but I did take a peak through the beautiful gate.

We walked past the very ancient Naval Hospital.

And strolled by the side of the Thames as the sun was setting.

We caught the Docklands Light Railway back to our hotel, but couldn't resist jumping off for a nother look around Canary Wharf to see all the windows lit up in the dark.

I calculated that we had been on our feet for almost 10 hours - with just a 20 minute sit down for lunch.  I do like to pack a lot into a day, but as Shakira says "Hips don't lie"! and mine were beginning to grumble loudly!

I think I was fast asleep by 8.30pm!!

Canary Wharf

Hubby and I have just returned from a very lovely weekend in London.  You may remember that we had a brief impromptu visit just before Christmas, and that really whetted my appetite for a longer and more in depth trip - so off we went.  I am totally captivated by "Call the Midwife" and I have also recently read a book by living members of the Kray family, and so I particularly wanted to have a look around the east end of London, and the docklands area.  Most of these area's though now look nothing like they did back in the 1950's and 60's - but there are still some snippets left, and I am very interested in how they have regenerated these often run down area's.  We had never been to Canary Wharf, so just 4 stops away on the Docklands Light Railway from our hotel, and we we there.

 I thought at times it looked like Toy Town with the block style offices and apartments, with trains and buses riding through.  It is one of the financial districts of London now (since the 1980's) but most of the old docks have been retained and it is lovely to walk around.

 A very nice man handed us a map of the area and told us that all the shops and some restaurants were underground.  It is quite an amazing place.

 I love the way that they have left some of the relics from the when the docks were in full use though.

 The purpose of our visit was a trip to the Docklands museum housed in one of the only warehouses left after the London Blitz.  It is a brilliant little museum that tells the tale of London and especially the Docklands area from Roman times right up to present day.

 It is heavy on reading materials and not so much on exhibits, but we found it fascinating and spent hours in here.

 Apparently they built the docks because the Eastender's were very light fingered and they were losing too much money through thefts - I don't think building the warehouses made all that much differnce though!

I find the social history of area's like this very moving.  Life must have been incredibly hard.  I'm always interested to read about the philanthropist's that made life that little bit better for the working families through the ages.

 I did manage to eavesdrop on this lovely lady who was a publican's wife telling a group of school children about her life in the dockland pub in "sailor town" .  I thought she had a fab job - on some days she is Florence Nightingale in another museum!

We enjoyed our morning in Canary Wharf submerged in all the history, learning about a place that was alien to us.  I wish I could have stepped back in time here (I do that a lot don't I!).  So where did we go next?

Derwent Edge - on top of the world

On Saturday, we were treated to a most glorious day for our walk with the walking group.  We were to meet at The Visitor Centre at Derwent Dam - just on the edge of the Peak District.  I knew that this was going to be  a very different walk to the ones we usually do as I try to avoid big hills at all cost!!!

You won't be surprised to see that the dams around here are 100% full to the brim.  We wondered how long it will be before we are being warned about droughts!!

The walk was 7.7 miles in length, and according to our walking leaders fancy gadgetery, we ascended 1402 feet!  It wasn't too bad a climb, and they do take it at a very steady pace.  Of course I was very kind and offered to stay at the back with the stragglers!!!!

We had to stop many times to admire the stunning views on this gorgeous day....

.. and once the main bulk of the walkers had gone ahead, we stopped a few times to listen to the stunning silence that surrounded us.  Such peace is very difficult to find these days.

The dams here were used to train the Dam Busters in WW2 - they are very spectacular....

..as are the surrounding moorlands.  The furthest one in this photo is the border of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and I believe is the highest point in South Yorkshire.

We were lucky enough to see (and hear) plenty of Red Grouse, and also an almost white Mountain Hare - something I have never seen before.

You can see for miles when you get to the top of Derwent Edge.  This is a walk that I never thought I would be able to tackle, but I will definitely do it again.

We were treated to some stunning rock formations on top of the hills.

And even though the sun was shining for most of the day, we were sprinkled with a smattering of the white stuff on top of the hills.

I had spotted a few controlled fires in the distance when we were climbing, and was quite surprised when a Park Ranger came and started one right at the side of us.  They burn the heather so that it grows back more vigorously in Summer.

Look how high we climbed!  I was very proud of myself!

I was still at the back on the descent!

We all commented that we got a very lovely sense of changing seasons - it was the first day of Spring and it felt like it.

We are really loving walking with the walking group.  They are a great bunch of lovely people and we get to do walks that we wouldn't otherwise tackle.

It was a perfect day and I really didn't want to go in once we had finished (we did call at a gorgeous pub for a de brief en route home! ).  However at 9pm, I was spark out on the sofa - I love the kind of "tired" you get after a full days walking.

Lizzie Ward

Like most towns and city's around the UK, in Sheffield we are telling local tales from World War 1 with it being the 100th Anniversary this year.  Weston Park Museum has dedicated a room to exhibiting artifacts and stories about how the war affected the city and local people.  One of my favourite stories (and one I didn't know) is the one about Lizzie Ward.  As we all know, most horses were rounded up and sent to France for the war effort, leaving a huge shortage of working horses back here in the UK.   Likewise, a local travelling circus found their business curtailed because of the war with most of it's young men sent away and restrictions on travelling around the country, and so Thomas Ward approached Sedgwicks Menagerie  and managed to secure the services of a magnificent but docile Elephant to help pull his waggon's for him.  And so Lizzie Ward became a regular sight on the streets on Sheffield.

We are nothing if not resourceful here in Sheffield!    Read the story here.