Mum in London

For the past 3 years or so I’ve had a mostly abandoned cooking blog. Recently I decided to take it seriously, and I even started writing PDF books.

With everything that’s going on in our life right now, I would have to abandon The Cooking Experiment once again. But, I don’t feel like doing it. And since cooking will become a major part of my life from now on I decided to combine it with this one and have everything in one place.

Last Sunday I started walking the Capital Ring with a friend. He wants to see nature and discover London, and I want to get some exercise that doesn’t involve standing on my feet all day at work.

We started at 11 (more like 11.30 due to the London marathon) at Woolwich Arsenal.

The beginning of the Capital Ring was a bit of a disappointment. The Woolwich Footpath is not only close due to renovations (long long overdue) but also completely impossible to even take a look at.

I’ve walked past this area of town several times, and I know there’s a sign showing the beginning of the Capital Ring, but now it can’t be seen.

South entrance to the Woolwich footpath (still undergoing works)

Woolwich is a hub of transportation with buses, DLR, train, walking paths and the ferry. They all take forever, but none is slower than the ferry. (I’m not telling the truth there, a car is actually slower)

Woolwich ferry.

When you keep going you go past a reservoir. A lot of water, some plants and a few ducks, as well as some people fishing, so I’m guessing there’s fish in there as well.

Reservoir in Woolwich.

Another one of the things you walk past is a ground mosaic. It represents the planet and has the symbols of the zodiac signs or constellations (depending what it is you’re more interested in).

Of course my friend and I lead very sad lives,  so we spent some 15 minutes looking at the map appraising its accuracy. Note for normal people: please refrain from such behaviour.

It would be nice to learn a bit more about the creators of the mosaic.

Riverside Walk Project mosaic in Woolwich.

Woolwich history shows in the walk as you go past the two cannons on the riverside.

One of two cannons from the Gun Drill Battery in Woolwich.

All throughout this stretch of walk you can see the Tames Barrier. This is the world’s second largest movable flood barrier. It was built after a severe flooding o the city and the gates can be risen in 45 minutes.

Thames Barrier.

Last Sunday 17th was the London Marathon.  Apart from making people run and making people late, it also left some of the most traffic-heavy streets in London completely empty. Quite a bizarre sight.

Empty streets of Woolwich after the London Marathon 2011.

Maryon Park is mostly up a steep hill, with loads of steps! Just underneath it there’s a tunnel for the train.

Surprisingly enough, even though the train passes once every 3 hours (especially when you’re running late for work), we managed to see it going through.

Southeastern train passing through Charlton.

After going up the 400th step and when you think you could just die you get to the top of the hill and are rewarded with amazing views of the city.

Views of London from Maryon Park.

From Maryon Park you go to Maryon Wilson Park, another one of those places with climbs, though not as disheartening.

The best part of the park is the Children’s Zoo with all its farm animals, most of which could easily classify as mega-fauna (especially the pigs).

Children's Zoo in Maryon Wilson Park.

The section continues from here. But, since the post is long enough, I’m only going to cover the first half of Section 1. The second half and Section 2 will follow soon.

• Rambler’s opinion of the walk: nice and varied, you get to see several different landscapes and the signs are spot on.
• Londoner’s opinion of the walk: one word: brilliant. Amazing views of some of the most iconic buildings of the city.
• Pregnant lady’s opinion of the walk: quite easy, except for the climbs. I got out of breath 2 or 3 times. Several public toilets along the walk, and benches to rest your feet or get some air into your lungs.