Maltby at High Elms

I took the dogs to High Elms this morning – my first woodland walk with Maltby. I didn’t have any concerns about him running off, but I was a bit worried that he’d want to play with a ball – not a good idea in woods!

But very soon he caught on to the idea of chasing sticks instead, and soon they were both running around with a stick in their mouth:

(Sorry for the poor photo – fast moving dogs and little light)

He totally ignores other dogs (and owners) which is a nice change from the last visiting dog I took to High Elms.

Later on, they had a brief tug-of-war:

However, it was a lot of work keeping a constant supply of sticks being thrown for TWO dogs!

Back home, Maltby is a lot calmer now he’s a bit more settled.

Maltby

5 years after fostering (and keeping) Rocco, we got a call from Labrador Rescue looking for someone to urgently foster a dog. We had a quick chat and decided to go for it.

Maltby was delivered the next day, very lively and full of energy. As is often the case, he was a bit nervous at first, but as soon as a ball appeared, he was more than happy.

He will chase a ball for hours and hours, and drop it back at your feet to throw again (more than Rocco ever managed!)

Rocco didn’t seem to put out by his arrival:

Later on, I took them for a walk in the park and decided to risk letting Maltby off the lead – he just ran in circles around me, so no worries about running off – which is a big bonus.

He didn’t settle very well the first night, so we put up the crate he came with, and once inside was much happier.

We took them both to the club, and he (mostly) behaved himself once he’d got used to a different environment.

The next day, I took them both to Goddington Park with the ball chucker, thinking I could launch the ball at full power and give him lots of exercise. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that if I threw the ball too high and far, he’d no idea where it went, so I had to either send Rocco to get it or find it myself. But after an hour of that, he returned home suitably tired at last and slept in his crate with the door open.

So all good so far. Sorry for the lack of photos, but without much light and a dog that never stops, getting a clear photo is a challenge!

Thames Path – Woolwich to Erith

A nice fine day today, and the trains were running, so Rocco and I headed off to Woolwich Arsenal (via Lewisham) to walk another section of the Thames Path:

We followed the same nice pedestrian route from the station to the Thames that we’d used when walking the Thames Path west from Woolwich:

And soon we were at Woolwich Pier, and headed east along the Thames:




Finally, we reached an unpaved section and a bit more greenery:

Then back to hard surfaces as we passed Thamesmead:

Across the river is Barking Riverside, which we visited in the summer:

Further on, we reached Crossness, home of the famous steam sewage pumping engines:

Then shortly afterwards, the modern equivalent:

As the route got more industrial, we passed many abandoned jetties:

Time for a break by Crossness Nature Reserve, with views of the Ford Dagenham factory across the river:

I’d watched barges with containers on heading up and down the river, these are moving rubbish from London to the Belvedere incinerator, which is also undergoing expansion:


The south bank of the Thames was becoming more industrialised, but the north bank more open by Rainham Marshes:

Nearing Erith, the Dartford Crossing comes into view:

Finally a short walk through Erith, which I last visited in 2016 for the start of my London Loop walk – see London Loop Walk 1 – Erith to Bexley

After a short wait at Erith station and a quick change at Lewisham, we were back home within the hour.

8.5 miles walking today.

Jubilee Greenway 7

A very cold day today, but we were brave and decided to walk the last section of the Jubilee Greenway route. For various reasons, we ended up doing the last few sections out of order, but we did cover the entire route.

We caught a train to Lewisham, then the DLR to Cutty Sark. After some issues finding the lift (we had Rocco with us), we eventually escaped the station and headed for the river:

Nice to pass the Cutty Sark without hordes of tourists crowding the place! Rocco was soon off the lead as we headed along the Thames Path with the Greenwich Foot Tunnel entrance behind us:

There was an interesting information board about the long gone Greenwich Steam Ferry (forgottenhighway.co.uk/greenwich2.html) – you can see what remains of the ramp for the moving platform behind the railings:

A bit further on was a statue of Peter the Great:

There were several diversions “inland” from here, but eventually we reached some green at Sayes Court Park and Pepys Park before rejoining the Thames at Deptford Wharf:

There were light flurries of snow at this point! There were a series of docks to cross, thankfully all with bridges:

By this time, we needed a pub; the first one we passed wasn’t open, but the next one was not only open, but gave the dog the best welcome he has had for a while. Nice beer too:

Suitably refreshed, we headed on to Rotherhithe:

and stopped for lunch (and more beer!) at The Mayflower. It was quite busy, so we had to sit in a semi-outdoor terrace OVER the Thames (which you could see through the gaps in the floorboards). One of the few times we were grateful for patio heaters!


A nice view of the Thames from the pub:

After lunch, we followed the river towards Tower Bridge:


This is the official end of Section 7; from there it was a short walk to London Bridge station and a train home. A nice day!

A Trip to the Theatre

Having received the last of the money from Daddy and Joan’s estate, it seemed like a fitting tribute to them to spend it on theatre tickets.  I began with Noel Coward’s Private Lives, starring Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers. Very witty, and well performed, but the treatment of domestic violence is rather uncomfortable for a 21st century audience.

It was good to wander around my old theatre-land haunts, and the lights in St Martin’s Lane were pretty.

South London Exploration

It’s been a (long) while since I had a “play” on the trains, so set off explore Surbiton Station – a classic “art deco” style station. With a fast train to Waterloo and a fast to Surbiton, I was there within an hour of leaving home!



From there I caught a local train to Hampton Court:

and walked across the River Thames through Bushy Park:

Not really a good choice as there was a biting wind in my face the whole time!

From the northerly entrance, it was a short walk through suburban streets to Teddington Station:

A very posh entrance.

From Teddington, I caught a train to Clapham Junction (via Richmond), then an overground service to Canada Water.

I’m not sure what I expected there, but again a biting wind and a bit of a building site:

From there, it was a tube to London Bridge and a fast train home.

Lunch at Downe

It’s quite a while since we’ve managed a day out, and with good weather forecast, we decided to repeat a walk we did back in July (see Lunch at Downe) though in the other direction.

We caught an R11 bus from Orpington High Street (having just missed one, of course) to Green St Green. After negotiating the busy A21 roundabout, we were soon away from roads:

Rocco appreciated being able to run around and chew sticks:

Soon we were in High Elms, gently climbing through the autumn leaves:

We needed to cross High Elms Road at Sparrow Wood Car Park:

and then followed the permissive footpath into Downe village:

And then to the Queens Head for lunch, washed down with Timothy Taylors Landlord Dark – an excellent beer we both enjoyed.

After lunch, we had a bit of road walking, then escaped across the fields by Farthing Street:

Then back into the woods:

and across Farnborough Fields to Farnborough Village, where (again) we just missed a 358 bus back to Orpington. Not long to wait for another one though!