Looks like the cold dark skies of Winter are slowly rolling into London, the sun sinking lower into the sky each day in the hour after work.
It won’t be long before we’re walking home in the dark.
But while we still have Summer fresh in our minds, I’ll take you one a little photo journey through Greenwich.
As I probably mentioned before, my parents were here from the States a few weeks ago.
They organised a day out in Greenwich to meet up with friends and family who live in or near London.
Heading via Canary Wharf to the DLR we made our way from west London to south east.
We met near Cutty Sark, the dry-docked old British clipper ship (which had many other uses) that’s been recently restored after a fire about six years ago.
I remember going on the ship when I was a kid and learning how to tie different types of sailor knots.
I probably still have the one I brought home with me somewhere in one of the many boxes in my parent’s attic.
We didn’t go on the ship this time, but we walked down to the Thames.
From the railings lining the edge, we looked out over the brown river to Canary Wharf.
Behind us, wildflowers were planted in nice little gardens surrounded by seating areas where people could relax.
After that, we walked back into the village, past food stalls selling giant prawns.
There was also trays of fudge, which was tempting but avoided.
We had a pub lunch since there were about 14 of us.
Far too many for impromptu meal organisation.
We didn’t go this time, but if you go down there, pay a visit to The Trafalgar Tavern, which sits at the edge of the river, for a drink or two.
We headed over to the market after lunch, losing each other as we split up amongst the stalls.
With a fair share of original artwork and craftspeople sharing their latest inventions, it’s a bit different from a lot of the other markets in London in that it.
My favourite bit was watching some of the artisans at work.
Others were simply hanging out and waiting for buyers.
It’s also under cover.
One end has food – the usual market food – crepes, curries, paella.
I was tempted to shuffle through stacks of secondhand books, but sadly have not found too much time to read this year. A few years ago, I read 52 books – one a week. This year I’m barely hitting 20. I guess that’s the way life goes.
I didn’t buy anything at the market, but my cousin found a shop that sells old fashioned milk-bottles – not the glass kind, but the sweets. We enjoyed a few of those.
And just across from the market, my dad found an old fashioned sweet shop with the jars lined up on shelves behind the counter.
You could request a handful, which was weighed and priced out – of course, much more expensive than it would have been 50 years ago.
My dad stocked up on rhubarb and custards, wine gums and a variety of other goodies that we all shared.
We made our way to Greenwich Park then, the oldest enclosed park in London.
My mom, Aunt Rhonda, Jorge and I took a walk while everyone else hung out on a picnic blanket, caught up and ate sweets!
One of my favourite features of the park are the wide avenues lined with Spanish chestnut trees.
Some of them are over 400 years old, which is pretty obvious from the size of their trucks.
They are huge!
Not so tall, but really, really wide.
And the detail in the bark is incredible.
Where next… so many options..
We walked up a long sloping hill to the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
Also up there is the Prime Meridian Line.
Although the best part is definitely the view.
When you look down, you can see the river snaking through the city, Canary Wharf, the O2, the Gherkin and the Emirates Air Line.
We admired the clock for a minute.
And everything else up there!
We spent the afternoon in the park before heading back down the Thames by Clipper boat at sunset (a phone photo with good intentions…).
Anyway, it would be nice to live closer because it’s beautiful place to be on a sunny day!
Cemay Ilgu, 28
Kerry Hiatt
Little London Observationist 