Being wowed by The Sail Loft

All too often we hear of pubs shutting, so when we cycled past a new pub in Greenwich right on the River Thames I made a mental note to visit it at some point. That mental note got lost for a while, but recently one lunchtime by a quirk of coincidence I found myself at leaving drinks in the very same place I'd made a mental note of months before. And wow, what a place The Sail Loft in Greenwich is.

I couldn't help but take a few pictures, and try their lunch menu - although I was too busy eating, as usual, to photograph that!  I knew when I walked in and saw the floor, it had potential.

The whole interior has an industrial style to it and some glorious wood too. It has that feel of being well put together and it'll be interesting to see how that develops as it ages. It was one of those places that everywhere you looked there was plenty more to see.  And it looks a practical space too, just look those tables are on casters.

The concrete pillars were embraced with ironwork that wasn't only decorative but functional. It housed the lights and yes, they are coat hooks on the bottom of the light too.

It was also interesting to see how such a modern space was decorated for Christmas, and as I was coming to expect it was done with style. These glass orbs were subtle but totally in keeping with the space. There were more decorations - more on those in a bit - and the staff were in Christmas jumpers, but it wasn't overly decorated which worked here. And I bet there was a bit of "we've just decorated so you're not sticking that there" going on, which let's face it is real life in action isn't it? We still don't put things on our 2013-wallpapered walls.

The pub is right on the river so it has good views of the Thames, and there's a fantastic outside space, which no doubt will be well used in warmer weather, and perhaps the not-so-warm too as it's equipped with patio heaters. I've not seen people out there yet, but I expect it'll be hard to find a spot as the word gets out and the temperatures rise.

There's plenty more to discover in the Sail Loft, but as my lunch arrived - a Grilled Brie, Black Cab Stout & fig chutney, roasted cherry tomatoes, ciabatta sandwich arrived, there was much more important things to do. Lunch was good, the sweet potato fries excellent - I *might* have tasted one or two from a colleague, and the pumpkin and chilli soup looked good too.

Back at the bar I had a chance to take in more of the surroundings and decor and spot some more of their Christmas decorations. It'll be interesting to see how this pub adapts with the seasons as it definitely has the potential to become a special place in Greenwich. 

I've already been back for an evening visit where we enjoyed a fantastic meal and a bottle of wine while in comfortable leather easy chairs watching the world go by. And I'm certain I'll be back, because there's a whole upstairs area to discover too. The toilets too are likely to feature in a future Loo Series, but I'll have to go back for that as those posts need pictures and I currently don't have any!  Did you spot my cunning plan?

A year in Greenwich Park: November and new routes

My month in Greenwich Park this month has been one full of colour and one full of new routes. Partly that's been because I've been leaving work later and because it's darker now the clocks have changed, but my new route home rarely includes a walk through the park. Initially I missed the amount of time I had in the park, but that was short lived as I've taken many different routes through the park this month, and so I've probably seen more of it than usual.

It does mean this is a photo heavy post. I've taken so many, and these are just a few of those.  At the start of the month you can see how green the trees still were, with the yellowing of the leaves just starting to take place.

But as the month went on the yellow started to take over - no bad ting if you ask me! And the tree that I've taken a shine too looked just as good with yellow leaves as it did with green. As it dropped its leaves I started to notice a birds nest towards the top of the tree.

And while there's been lots of colour, the line of trees below against the skyline looked so much more dramatic in black and white.

Leaves. Well if they're not on the trees, they have to go somewhere don't they? I've walked through piles of them both in the park and in the surrounding streets. No wonder they sell leaf mulch. We have our own supply in the garden, which we need to capture this weekend. We've had our sycamores pollarded again, but of course not before the majority of the leaves came down...

There was heavy rain this month too and I had a squelchy walk to work one day in my trainers. So much rain that puddles formed on the grass, and of course I took a photo or two, I was captivated by the reflection in the puddles.

Going through the photos for this post it's easy to see how the colours have changed, but day to day it's been more gradual.  The shot below is the same avenue of trees as the first photo above. Quite a change isn't there?

And the majority of leaves have gone from my favourite tree. There's just a few remaining at the bottom, and the birds nest is much more exposed now and I can't help but think it's become just a little more draughty up there.

The new routes started around the middle of the month, I've walked many of the paths now and even walked around the edge. One morning I thought I'd walk the reverse of my non-park route home, to see what it was like in the light. But in doing so, I captured this view of the trees through the railings. 

And when I couldn't bear to watch from the outside any more, the view got even better. The sun and shade, the blue skies and fluffy white clouds and the colours of the trees, along with the path leading me through it. What's not to like?

And then it got cold. It's been quite a month for weather. The first frosts were still evident when I arrived in the park and this next photo is looking into a frosty flower garden.

As I walked further into the park the frost was still heavy and the bare trees provided the perfect foil for the view. 

I never expected November to be the most bountiful month picture-wise so far, but it has been. The colours, the sun and the frosts have all contributed to that, and I'm learning so much more about the park that I walk through every day on the way to work.

What have you noticed about your special place this month?

Back on the bike in Norfolk

We spent a relaxing weekend in Norfolk, a weekend that was much needed after the hubbub of life lately. As usual we strapped the bikes onto the car in the hope that the wintery weather wouldn't be, well that wintery. And we were in luck. On Saturday we woke to sunshine and forecasts of very little wind, so our tentative plan to cycle to The Fish Shed in Brancaster Staithe, a firm favourite of ours, was on.  

It'd been a while since I'd actually pushed my bike over the threshold, but it was only when we got home later that I realised my last bike ride was actually on 28 August. I'm not quite sure how that happened, or how it's been so long. But I'm hoping it won't be as long until my next bike ride, it's definitely worth making time for a cycle or two. 

So off on our favourite Route 1 we went.  As we were cycling along admiring the berry filled hedgerows I was fully expecting MOH to repeat his prediction of a cold winter, but he didn't. Instead he shared something revolutionary about saddle heights - bear with me. He'd raised his saddle significantly, so that on the down stroke his leg was almost straight, and this he told me, optimised the power he gets from each pedal. 

THE COLOURFUL HEDGEROWS IN THE BIG SKIED COUNTY OF NORFOLK

Well that got me thinking. I know I'm not exactly an elite athlete, and MOH is always amused by the love I have for my wicker basket, but I reckoned that I could do with all the help I could get pedal-wise. So I started to check out the straightness of my leg on the down stroke. And the result was it wasn't very straight at all. I can tell you're impressed I could do this and still stay on the bike, me too. When I paid attention I noticed I did seem quite hunched and so decided I'd try it out.

At the next suitable stopping point I pulled over and had MOH raise my saddle as a test. Well it went up by an inch and immediately it was more comfortable to cycle, let alone any of that extra power malarkey. I was instantly sold on this and decided to celebrate by taking some pictures of the countryside. 

SHOOTING INTO THE SUN AND ADMIRING THE TREES AGAINST THE SKYLINE

We headed further along the narrow country lane, slowing occasionally so cars from behind could overtake us. There were ups and downs, or rather downs followed by ups, which are my favourite although it's guesswork to gauge when to start pedalling again on the up, but I'm getting the hang of it. The colour of the bracken was particularly spectacular and there was a whole length of yellow leaved bushes. I'd loved to have stopped and taken a photo, but they were on the downhill before an up and I didn't want to lose momentum.

Our next challenge was to find the right road to take us down into Brancaster Staithe to minimise how far we'd cycle along the A149. We got to the point below and realised we'd missed our turning. So while MOH double checked his route, I took some more photos of the countryside and one of my lovely neon top - it's certainly bright!

While cycling with my saddle in a higher position was good, and I think to get my leg straight it could go higher, the only thing I realised when we stopped is that it makes getting on and off slightly more tricky than before. And that's something that I quickly got the hang of, but it might explain the slightly strange look on my face!

So we turned back to find our road. And when we did I was sure we'd cycled this way once before, but the other way, MOH was less sure. But sure enough we soon found ourselves at Barrow Common, a place we'd discovered for the first time earlier in the year. It's a place that to me, seems unlike the typical North Norfolk landscape and more like the New Forest with its shrubland of gorse.

The views down to the coast were spectacular. There were also many paths, and dog walkers, heading into the common. One day we'll explore this area on foot and now that we know how to get here I think it'd be a great place in summer.  I suspect it's a place that not many tourists would know about too. I'll let you know what it's like in the spring/summer when we visit again. So far we've only managed visits in February and November.

The gorse was in flower and it was another chance to park the bike, hop off and take some more shots. The one below is a particular favourite.

WAITING PATIENTLY...

The good news was that it was all downhill into Brancaster Staithe - yay! At the bottom we found ourselves next to the Jolly Sailor wondering if it was left or right. We opted for right, correctly and were soon buying fish for tea. We left the shop with two fillets of plaice - which I later turned into a lovely Plaice Florentine with the help of a pasta cheese sauce and a bag of spinach, a dressed crab and a few pickled herrings, all of which went into my lovely shopping basket. It was chilly enough that the fish didn't need packing in ice, even though our next stop was the cafe at Burnham Deepdale where we stopped for a rewarding hot chocolate, with all the trimmings, and bit of carrot cake. Yum.

Out on the bike for the first time in a while, and it's chilly out there so warming up with a hot chocolate with all the trimmings

A photo posted by Stephanie Robinson (@lifeat139a) on Nov 26, 2016 at 5:51am PST

Remembering we still had to cycle back we didn't linger as we were keen to get back before it was dark. This time we headed up Dalegate Lane - a road we hadn't been up (or down) before, and one I hoped would bring us to the turning into Barrow Common. The only thing was my legs were cold, and I knew there were hills ahead. So for the first time in a very long time I found myself doing those quick, little steps on the spot to warm myself up. The ones I used to avoid doing at netball training, but it was definitely the move to warm me up here.

The hills were cycled up without unscheduled stops, which if I'm honest is a first and we arrived back home in the daylight too.  And somehow  I'd clocked up a twenty-five miler, after no rides since the end of August. Thankfully nothing ached (and still hasn't) but I really shouldn't leave it so long next time!