Goodness me anyone would think that summer was coming…

Well they would if it wasn’t for the fairly chilly breeze that had us both wrapped up in our warm jackets to go for a walk in the sun.

We were going to go to Borough market but the info we have said it doesn’t run on a Sunday.

So on with the thinking caps, well on with the computer actually and ask Mr Google what is there to do today.

Its ages since we had a wander along one of London’s may canals.

The trains weren’t running from our station today, engineering works probably.

So we hopped on a bus to Anerly and caught the overground to Canada Water and switched from there onto the Jubilee line and got off at Canary Wharf. This is the run I do every weekday on the way to work. It was a short walk to catch the DLR to Limehouse to begin out walk.

But first a meander around Limehouse Basin.This used to be where ships would unload coal and timber onto canal barges that would transport them further afield. I bet it was noisy and messy back then.

 Wow look at those beautiful boats. Lots of money sitting on the water there. And those apartment buildings, well Him and me could never afford to live here.

 It was up one of those canals that we were headed. Limehouse Cut. It is hard to imagine that these waterways were all created not  by machines but by manpower.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse_Cut

Times must have been very hard.

Not so for us today. Though we did have to watch out, well listen out, for runners and cyclists. And there were lots of those out enjoying the day.

It was very pleasant to meander along the old tow path, catching glimpses of moorhens and cootes that had nested in reed clumps. We even saw a couple of chicks.

A bit further along The Man pointed out the first ducklings we have seen this season. A mama and papa mallard with six babies cruised along the opposite side of the bank to us, and kept a wary eye on our progress as we passed them. I wasn’t fast enough to get a snap of them before they ducked under overhanging branches, so this picture is from the web.

Later on we, or should I say The Man spotted a cluster of four large eggs in the reeds. They were very dirty looked abandoned. You could hardly say that they were in a nest either, just sitting on the mud with a few reeds around them. Neither could we see any geese or swans nearby. I wonder what happened to the mum.

Onward we walked looking for a nice spot to stop and have lunch. We passed a couple of seats along the towpath but wanted something a bit more picturesque.

We found it at Three Mills, where we sat and watched the seagulls and ducks fossicking in the river.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mills

There was quite a bit of mud exposed as the tide was low, it made us laugh to watch a duck making heavy going as it waded through the obviously very soft stuff. Then a seagull grabbed something out of the mud and took it over to the water to wash it before skoffling it down. There were three or four folks paintbrushes in hand very focused on capturing their subject onto the canvases they had resting on easels.

Fed, watered and entertained we continued our walk.

We spotted the monstrosity that is the Olympic Park sculpture. Goodness only knows what other people think, but both The Man and I shake our heads in wonder at the very very costly creation that looks just like a mass of tangled metal. Somebody must be laughing up their sleeve. Just our opinion you understand.

We found our way through and under a new DLR construction side to Pudding Mill Lane station where we caught the train to Lewisham and then a bus back to Crystal palace.

All in all a nice days outing with excellent company.