Emmetts Garden

Making the most of the nice weather, we booked a visit to nearby Emmetts Garden. We did the usual due diligence and printed out the ticket AND put a copy on each of our phones, only to be surprised when we turned up that they only wanted our surname…

In common with other National Trust places, it’s all been rearranged to be “Covid Safer”, with one way systems and lots of notices. But they do allow dogs!

Rocco was very good on the lead, but needed a run around, so we escaped into the adjacent ‘forest’ at the end of the garden. There is a working ram pump below a small lake there (it’s in a shed, so difficult to photograph) but there was an informative poster:

Then finally, Rocco could let off steam with a stick or two:

Not far along the track was a welcome sign:

So it was back into Emmetts for a cup of tea:

Back in the main garden, some autumn colours were appearing:

The rose garden also looked nice:

as did the rockery section:

A nice afternoon out!

 

Greenwich Peninsular

We decided to use the “Emirates Air Line”, more usefully known as the cable car, from Royal Docks to North Greenwich as part of our journey home today.

Online research showed that we could spend £3.50 with a contactless card at the barrier and avoid the £10-£20 “fleece the tourists” experiences heavily advertised at the entrance.

It wasn’t very busy, so we were ‘allowed’ a car to ourselves. The views over docklands and the river were great, though the sun (and windows) got in the way of some of the photos!







We then had a quick look at the busy retail park surrounding the O2 dome, then headed home for a cup of tea:

Canary Wharf

While we were in London, we decided to visit the new Crossrail station at Canary Wharf (due to get trains later this year). Part of the top level is a partially enclosed roof garden:

Well worth a visit; I’m looking forward to using Crossrail trains to get there!

Rotherhithe

We decided to visit the Brunel Museum today. It’s in Rotherhithe, traditionally not the nicest area in London, but it’s now really pleasant and quiet. The museum is a short walk from Rotherhithe station:

This is the entrance shaft for the Thames Tunnel, the first tunnel dug under a navigable waterway in the world. The tunnel was originally designed for horse and carts. Later it was used for the Underground, and today it’s used for Overground trains:

Inside the adjacent house, there is a small gallery with a documentary about Brunel and various models and displays relating to the tunnel construction.

The Grand Entrance Hall (inside the entrance shaft) was made accessible in 2016 and is now used as a ‘performance space’:

There are various benches outside based on some of Brunel’s more famous bridges:


An interesting small museum.

A visit to Lucy 

Having driven to York yesterday to bring Lucy her belongings, we are spending today doing some shopping while the car is here, and a spot of gardening.

She now has a compost bin.  We have agreed to encourage each other over the next few months…