Are we there yet??: We love London!

We love London! It was a nostalgia trip for us back to the Docklands area of east London where we lived from 2005-2008. Docklands was the main shipping hub for London but suffered a decline in the 1950s because the larger ships could no longer access the port. It became a slum area until the regeneration projects in the 1980s. Former warehouses have been transformed into luxury flats, some docks have been filled in to create public spaces, while others have been left as tranquil bodies of water filled with colourful house boats and sailing craft. Canary Wharf is now the financial centre of London and light rail and river transport connects everything. Where we lived, around Greenland Dock and South Dock, there are new apartment blocks and more coffee shops and restaurants than we remember, but otherwise it looks pretty much the same. Further along the Thames though, past Greenwich and around the Millennium Dome, many more apartment blocks, shopping areas and public spaces have sprung up.

Our Air BnB accommodation was just a room and bathroom on the ground floor, with no cooking facilities. It meant we had to eat out a lot, so frequented The Ship and Whale – a small pub we used to go to that hasn’t changed in 200 years and did lots and lots of walking. We didn’t feel the need to take in the tourist sites we just explored and nostalged our way along the Thames, through Greenwich and Borough Market, got lost in Canary Wharf, sat and admired London Bridge from an old favourite restaurant (disappointingly now overpriced) and watched the buskers along the west bank. We wandered up and down Oxford Street and Covent Garden, rested our weary feet on the steps of Trafalgar Square and even took an afternoon nap in the deck chairs in Leicester Square. We took buses to nowhere in particular, explored and walked some more. We found a new transport mode – the Emirites skyline - a cable car that crosses high above the Thames and gives wonderful views right across to the London Eye. We made full use of the Thames Clipper up and down the river and ventured north by double decker bus for a day on Hampstead Heath. All the while the weather remained perfect – blue sky, hot and sunny.

On one of our days we met up with a friend, Sue Rushton, who I travelled across Canada, through the US and Central America with in 1976. We had not seen each other since then so it was great to catch up with her and husband Keith. With them we explored Camden by canal boat, took a walk along Regents Canal and sampled the street food. It was a lovely day with much talking as there were many years to catch up on.

After six days though it was time to move on to the next part of our adventure. With bags packed and rolling we took the bus to London Bridge station to catch the train south to Biggin Hill where our new accommodation awaited – a rather large motorhome called Gillian.