algae | Little London Observationist

A welcome respite after a walk down the Harrow Road with its dreary buildings and heavy traffic flow, the canal of Little Venice was glowing with a coat of green algae.

The shadow of the bridge stretched across the algae.

Sleepy houseboats were tied up along the shore.

Some were makeshift cafes, others sold vintage clothes, books, art prints. There was even a salon.

Little Venice is a relaxing place, far enough from the main roads to feel like you’ve escaped the city for a few minutes.

But I’ve never seen algae quite as thick!

We spotted a football sitting still on the surface, a coffee stir stick, beer cans.

There were bits of rope and boat paraphernalia.

There was a machine on one of the boats that looked like at some point it had been cleaning.

There were families of ducks dipping beneath and coming up for air with green spotted beaks.

Flowers grow along the banks.

Some of the ducks found a makeshift, island family home.

It was nice to see some wildlife wandering about (wildlife that’s not pigeons).

And we even beat Saturday’s rain.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, W and I took a long walk down South Bank and Bankside to soak up the sun.

Instead of walking along the pavement, we went down onto the strip of sand and rocks that is as close to a beach as you find in London. Here are a few pics from our walk:

I nearly stepped on this little guy who got caught up in the rocks when the tide went out without him.

I love the way this is hidden until the tide goes out. I never knew it was there until this weekend.

Ah, no stones here!

We walked slowly, stones shifting under our feet, stopping to look at bits of rubbish washed up on shore – cable ties, wet pieces of clothing, bottles and cans and ragged abandoned tires.