We've had a few days of good weather so what better to do than to head into London and wander some of its streets. My eventual destination was Shoreditch, which I'll share in a future post but my route from the City took me down Petticoat Lane and then along Brick Lane. Both of these famous for their market and curries respectively.
One of the great things about London is the mix of buildings, you can see modern skyscrapers and older, more traditional buildings living comfortably together. This picture was taken close to Liverpool Street's busy station and it was great to see there's still room for trees, primroses and daffodils amidst the hubbub of busy, city life. And just look at that sky!
Shortly afterwards I turned the corner and was in the thick of Petticoat Lane Market. Many years ago I'd make visits in my lunch hour, rushing along and through the market buying whatever took my fancy before dashing back to work. It's been a while since I'd visited the market and it was much less busy than I remember, even though it was a weekday.
There were a number of market stalls "parked" in a side street - Infact there always seemed to be, as th market comes alive on the weekends - and they made for some great photos. The shops behind the stalls are colourful and a feast for your eyes, and it's a place where you could buy material of every colour you could imagine several times over.
I reached the end of the market and crossed the busy Commercial Road and headed further East. And without realising it, all of a sudden I was in Brick Lane, famous for its curries. We've had some great curries - and some mediocre ones - here on many visits. During the day though it had a different feel, but I still got offered a deal for the "best curry ever" as I walked past the many restaurants. And for the record I refused!
I stumbled across these railings, and well you know I've got a thing for railings so I couldn't help but stop and admire them and their fabulous blue colour. They belong to a school which wasn't what I expected.
I'm not sure what this is, but isn't its design intricate and beautiful? I got some strange looks from the builders as I photographed it. And the I turned and saw another tower, this time of the Old Truman brewery.
This is no longer a brewery but is now a "revolutionary arts and media centre" and home to creative businesses as well as shops, galleries, bars and restaurants. It's currently hosting the Art of the Brick exhibition which is created with millions of Lego bricks. It sounds interesting in a Lego-nerdy kind of way, but I didn't have time for that. For more information on the exhibition and the Old Trueman Brewery click on the hyperlinks.
I continued on my journey to the end of Brick Lane and towards Shoreditch High Street and Boxpark. I'll share more about my visit there and another discovery that fascinated and surprised me too in in a future post - and yes, I'm going to make you wait to learn what that was.
Until then, let's hope this warmer Spring weather continues.
