London Day Out 12th September 2018

Marian, Jane and Tim led this walk to London Town. We had a few misgivings about the weather but apart from one damp walk, we avoided the rain. Catching trains at Liss, Liphook and Haslemere, we all managed to arrive in Waterloo together and then caught a bus to Borough Market. Fascinating food market with lots of samples along the way - some people couldn't resist buying oils, cheese and even a dish of exotic wild mushrooms on toast. We had a damp walk along the Thames to a bus stop beyond Tower Bridge and then a ride on the top deck to Greenwich. Greenwich was our lunch stop in Café Rouge where many enjoyed a late lunch. Starting from St Mary's Gate we went south in Greenwich Park until we reached Queen Caroline's bath. She was unhappily married to George IV and when she died he had her house in Greenwich demolished. All that remained was her bath, recently excavated. It was an arranged marriage which solved his financial problems but gave him a supposedly malodourous wife. In any case he was already "married" to Maria Fitzherbert. She was a commoner, six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic. Our next stop was at the Royal Observatory where we enjoyed incredible views and a chance to stand on the Meridian line and be in the East and the West at the same time. Walking away from the observatory we came across many rose-ringed parakeets feeding on beech nuts. They are competing with bats and native birds and are not really welcome. On the bright side, sparrowhawks, falcons and hobbies find them quite tasty. Natural England has added feral parakeets to the “general licence”, a list of wild species that can be lawfully culled without the need for specific permission. We walked through the magnificent buildings at the bottom of the park before catching the boat back to the London Eye and a final stroll along the Thames. A last refreshment stop in Le Pain Quotidien, next to the Festival Hall, was much enjoyed, partly as we were seated in a railway arch with regular trains passing overhead. It was dark when we got back to Waterloo for our trip back home.