A wander into Greenwich and a makers market

This weekend MOH was off on one of his long bike rides, so when I saw that the London Makers Market was taking place just down the road I thought it worth a trip. And I wasn’t disappointed. I even managed to dodge the rain.

I was prepared for all weathers though, but still managed to catch the sun a bit - I wasn’t quite expecting that. As I walked through Greenwich Park, it felt odd to be on what was my usual route to work, and so feeling the novelty I purposefully took more of the route. And it was good to see the familiar views.

I couldn’t help but stop and admire this lily which was almost as tall as me - isn’t it gorgeous?

I was hoping that the ‘special’ gate in the flowerbeds would be open, it isn’t always - but today it was. It’s my most favourite way to get in and out of Greenwich Park, and the view of the Queen’s House is one of the reasons why.

But it’s also a great view looking back towards the Observatory. As you can see by now the sun was out and Greenwich looks even more glorious in the sun.

The London Makers Market

The market is taking place on the first weekend of the month in the colonnades of one of the iconic buildings which is part of the Old Royal Naval College, and just one building away from where my office is - not that I’ve seen that for a while. It was great to see a good selection of artisan products from small businesses and social enterprises.

Unsurprisingly I left with a few purchases.

These moon and half moon earrings by Pivot appealed to me because they’re asymmetrical, and I immediately thought they’d be a good match for my asymmetrical bob. I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by their back story. Pivot are a social enterprise who make jewellery with people experiencing homelessness, helping them to pivot their lives. The products can be made in hostels and every piece of jewellery bought takes their makers one step closer to leaving the hostel.

Great designs and a really great initiative.

I also left with a selection of greetings cards. I am the type of person that has a stash of cards, which comes in useful when birthdays creep up on me - and because I often see the perfect card for someone at the opposite time of year to when their birthday is. The first set below is by Maria Zvaric who specialises in watercolour, loving bold colours and botanical illustrations; the second set are by Mari Burkinshaw who specialises in hand-drawn and painted elements which often include animals, nature and vintage finds.

My card supply is well and truly stocked up - and beautifully so too. I’ll be looking out for future markets to check out even more of these small artisan businesses, certain that I’ll discover some more fabulous finds.

From Woolwich to the Peninsular

Yesterday I shared pictures of the ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ rainbow art installation by Liz West which was at the end of our six mile walk on Sunday. Today I’m sharing a selection of the pictures I snapped as we made our way along the Thames Path, revisiting part of our route from last August. Looking back at that post I’m sure I’ve taken some of the same pictures, but it seems I know what I like, and the same views still call out to be captured.

There’s new views too, as this time we started in Woolwich heading from the town centre to Woolwich Arsenal. The buildings there are full of character and I’m sure many have stories to tell. As we made our way towards the Thames a couple of traditional buildings stood out, the one below because it was completely on its own.

After meandering around some of the public areas - much of the Woolwich Arsenal has been redeveloped for private dwellings - we once again found ourselves at these sculptures. I’ve seen them several times before, but this may be the first time a photo has made it onto here, I’m not quite sure why. They are just fabulous, and it’s as fun to watch other people explore and discover them and their form, and if you’re lucky pose for photos with them. A truly great spot for people watching!

They look like Antony Gormley, but are in fact by Peter Burke - the piece is called Assembly - thank you to the commenter below for helping me correct this information.

As it had been a while since I’d been this far down the Thames Path instead of heading left and back towards Greenwich and home, instead we turned right and headed towards Erith and Thamesmead, taking in the views and then realising there was just one way back, so it wasn’t too long before we retraced our steps.

The views for the whole walk were a mix of industrial Greenwich mixed in with some more modern additions, though as you’ll see they might not have lasted quite as well. This mosaic is one of those. Right in the middle of the Thames Path, unfortunately it’s past its former glory, though still charming.

Further along the tiles have moved onto the walls, or rather they had. As you’ll see the middle section no longer are, but intriguingly they’ve been left in place where I assume they fell. My feeling is if this was vandalism they would be smashed and removed, and it’s unlikely that some would still remain. Or maybe that’s my optimistic view.

Along the path, as you’d expect, there’s street furniture with a nautical theme - these steps were my favourite example, and I’m sure has seen many a Titanic moment, at the ‘bough of the ship’ end.

We walked through the area of the Faraday Works which I first saw and wrote about last August. Not much had changed, except I think the plants had grown.

We paused briefly at the Thames Barrier. Its structure is iconic and both amazing and awesome. It clearly plays an important role in protecting London and when you think of it like that it’s hard to imagine how it can be so effective. I’ve not been on one of the tours, much preferring to k eep my feet firmly on the ground.

This part of the path is more familiar, and that’s not just down to the number of repeat shot photos, I’m sure. If we start walking at Greenwich, it’s about as far as we can get comfortably and from here there’s a way to cut through, and up the hill back home. It’s where we first came when we first bought our bikes, a good few years ago, when I wobbled along reminding myself that of course I could remember how to cycle. Exploring the Thames Path is great, and we really should do it more as you can get so much further along, but for me the downside is the hill back home. Any way we go, there’s a hill - none of which I can cycle up right now I’m sure, and very few that I could before in any case.

The sheer scale of the structures in this part of the river is amazing, and these included here are very much still working. Even as we walked past something was being unloaded with the conveyor belt in use. This view through the ironwork towards the more usual views of Greenwich and Canary Wharf beyond is probably one of my favourites.

It’s the contrast I think, the ironwork and industrial setting in the foreground with the built up, high rises and cable car in the distance. How the traditional sits with the new, and how both have their place in the river’s history. We walked up to the O2, or The Dome in old money, where we headed inland tempted by a coffee and a look at the rainbow art installation I shared yesterday.

A walk along the river was just what was needed, and while Greenwich Park and its surrounds are great places to walk, I’m enjoying some new views for a change. Hopefully it won’t be that much longer before we can head much further afield, and will make it to Norfolk and to our rearranged cottage holiday in the Lake District. Fingers crossed.

Rainbow art and sunshine

Finding different places to walk has become our weekend ‘thing’. The first weekend where the lockdown restrictions were lessened we headed into the City, and it was good to wander around old haunts and I’ve yet to share some of the photos here, but I will shortly. And yesterday we headed along the Thames, walking from Woolwich to the Greenwich Peninsula, only really possible with a bus trip at either end. I’d seen online that there was a new art installation on the Peninsula so we were keen to take a look at that first hand.

And we were well rewarded at the end of our walk, and I don’t mean the flat white purchased from one of the pop-up coffee stalls. The sun came out and shone through the rainbow art, the new addition to ‘Turning the Tide’. To be honest, we’d not seen this before; there continues to be much development in this part of our local area but this walkway seems an excellent addition.

The artwork is ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ by Liz West and it’s due to remain here until the end of May according to The Londonist.

It’s great - and we were lucky to experience it in sunshine, chilly sunshine, but sun no less. And that made a huge difference to see the reflection of the colours shine though.

Let alone see them against the textures of the surrounding buildings.

But my favourite shot is this one. Angles, lines and colours - it’s just fabulous.

It’d be great if this could stay around much longer.