24th consecutive weekend hike!
The forecast was for cloudy weather in London, so for this weekend’s hike I decided to explore the Capital Ring Walk. This 15-segment loop encircles London, covering 78 miles of terrain including forests, parks, and historic areas. Today I began at the beginning: Section 1: Woolwich Foot Tunnel to Falconwood. It was a fascinating mix of engineering, nature, and history.
Cooking for a good cause.
We just spent a lovely evening at a Migrateful Cooking School, a London organization that offers cooking classes in a wide variety of cuisines from around the world. Migrateful is a non-profit organization with a wonderful mission – to “support migrants and refugees on their journey to integration by enabling them to teach cookery classes to the general public” [per their story]. Their classes are incredibly popular – we booked tonight’s class over a month ago, and it was one of the few with available slots. After our group of 14 made four interesting dishes, we sat down to enjoy a delicious dinner:
A gallery of photos from my wanderings.
As regular readers know, I like to wander. Even when I have a destination in mind, I often ignore the map and “follow my nose” by aiming in the right general direction and hoping some combination of left and right turns will lead me to my destination and new discoveries along the way. Today, I’m sharing a gallery of photos taken in London, in January or February. It’s quite a random collection – just things I found beautiful or interesting. None appear in my other blog-posted galleries. Enjoy!
Barely noticed by anyone passing by.
I have to admit, I’d never noticed them either. Hundreds of commuters pass over the Thames on Vauxhall Bridge every morning – on foot, on bike, on bus, or in a car – and they don’t notice them. These little-known sculptures are really meant to be seen from the water – from boats plying the swirling currents of the Thames – but they are nonetheless worth a look from the bridge. After all, they include Britain’s smallest cathedral.
A walk through northeast London (23rd consecutive weekend)
The three-day forecast for this weekend indicated today might have the best weather – or at least, little chance of rain – so I headed out for an afternoon walk along a rail trail (an abandoned railway converted into a pedestrian trail) between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace in northeast London. It was a grey and cloudy day, but the walk passes through parks and ancient woodlands where the birds are singing and the first flowers of spring are blooming.
Bicentennial exhibit at University College London.
During my London sabbatical I have visiting positions at both Imperial College and University College London. As it happens, UCL is celebrating its bicentenary this month, so I stopped by their main building and student center to view the exhibits. It is open to the public and is worth a visit.
a loving memory
Twice in the last week, on my rambles through London parks near our home, I’ve encountered a park bench covered in flowers. This afternoon, in a small Westminster park along the shore of the Thames, I found this bench. The two Happy Birthday balloons and the “15” balloons implied a 15th birthday for someone named “C”. Colorful and cheerful… but the dozen bouquets of flowers warned me of a sadder story behind this bench.
21st consecutive weekend of hiking!
It has rained nearly every day for two weeks, here in London. So when this morning broke sunny and clear, it was time to go hiking! I headed for Epping Forest, an extensive area of forests and meadows on the northeastern edge of London. The sunny (though chilly) weather inspired many other people to get outdoors – walking their dogs, riding their horses, strolling with friends, or jogging the muddy trails. Two weeks of rain + heavy foot traffic = muddy trails!
Five miles across west London.
It has rained nearly every day for the past week, and the forecast today appeared to promise on-and-off drizzle. At best. Nonetheless, I was determined not to break my streak… and go hiking for this 20th consecutive weekend. I chose to walk end-to-end across the three Royal Parks in London’s West End: Hyde Park, Green Park, and St James Park, on my return from Saturday-morning coffee with colleagues to my home near Victoria Station. It was a surprisingly pleasant five-mile walk, and it seemed half of London was out to enjoy these parks today as well.
Marking history.
London is so steeped in history, it’s hard to go anywhere without running into it. Today I was walking through the London drizzle to an appointment at University College London and passed the Darwin Building. Really. How many universities have a biology building named after Charles Darwin? Wow. Although Darwin apparently never had any connection to UC London, he briefly lived in a home previously located at this site… so there is a historic marker on this building, and his bust is displayed prominently in the entrance.
Continue reading “Darwin again”
David Kotz 