London here we go

Despite all the warnings we did spot lots of mooring opportunities on the way into London. It’s not always as bad as it sounds. When we cruise through towns and cities, we often see footballs floating around, the odd terrapin too, but coconuts were a bit of a surprise. These started to appear as we passed through an area with a large number of Hindu temples, between Ealing and Bull’s Bridge. In the Hindu religion, coconuts are seen as being very pure and a symbol of good luck. They are offered to rivers and, by extension canals, as a blessing, often following weddings or other significant life events, which explains their presence in the waterway.

As we got closer to the city, so did the heatwave and we had to put our “Hot Weather Protocols” into action
1. Early rise and start cruising straight after breakfast
2. Minimal clothing and maximum suncream
3. Do any cooking or bread making early
4. Head for a shady spot by mid-day and collapse in the afternoon heat
5. Enjoy an iced drink in the shade and daydream of swimming in cool (clean) waters – or just have a cold shower

When we did get to Paddington Basin it was much quieter and cleaner than we’d expected. We’d booked ahead and paid £25 per night for a pontoon mooring. It was an ideal location to access the underground and buses but dangerously close to shops selling fresh pastries, salted caramel iced lattes (naughty but very, very nice) and favourite restaurants like Wagamamas (twice!!)

We both had places we wanted to go; Ian headed to the Imperial War Museum and the Science Museum. Heather opted for a Double Decker bus ride to find the Charles Dickens Museum and Campden Market (great for expanding the hippie boho wardrobe!). Dickens was a bit of a surprise, his books weren’t as innocent as they appeared but were written to inform Victorian society of the deprivation that was hiding in the back streets of the city. While his stories influenced change and reform he was a significant financial supporter of the Foundling Hospital (now called Corams), a place of safety for children whose mothers were unable to care for them due to poverty or discrimination. The Foundling Hospital is now a museum and well worth a trip on the underground to Kings Cross if you’re in the area!

Even the dog had a ride on the underground! Ian did a trip with her to Regents Park and went for a barefoot wander up the iconic Primrose Hill. This hill has been included in numerous pop songs (including ones by Blur, Madness, and Girls Aloud) and as a film location for Bridget Jones, Paddington Bear and One Hundred and One Dalmatians, so I asked if there was anything special about it and he said, “it’s just a hill with a view!”, mildly disappointing but true.

We splashed out on the Tutankhamun Immersive Experience, this included two VR headset experiences, one of flying over the Valley of the Kings and then a second one where you could walk around and explore Carter’s camp and Tut’s tomb, both were incredible. Then we tried something completely different and went on a Mystery Guide Book tour, “The Hunt for the Holy Grail”, which was based around the Temple area. It took us to some amazing places, caused a fair bit of head scratching and put a huge bump on our step counts. (Think we were the oldest ones doing this – by about three decades!!). 

By sheer chance we spotted some narrowboats that we’d shared locks with on our way into London gliding swiftly down the Thames as part of the  St Pancras Boating Club Flotilla. It would be nice to do that one day, but only in a boat with a bigger engine to cope with the tidal flow of that river!

You can’t go to London without a trip to the West End, so with a ringing endorsement from Fynn, we went to see Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. It was a fabulous performance both by the actors and the musicians and even the stage design was incredible. I do love a rotating platform. The downside is that I got an ear worm stuck in my head from George III singing ”Dah, dah, dah, da, dahhh” you know the one.

All too soon we had run out of time (and money) and our next destination should have been a marina in Newbury, but we’d been hearing about  issues getting on to the River Thames.  The updates for the broken Clitheroes Lock didn’t sound good, but there was an alternative route via the Regents Canal. Then the night before we were due to leave, we heard that a lock on that canal had been damaged and was now closed to navigation. This meant we couldn’t get on to the Thames without a massive detour, so it’s time for plan C, turn around and head back up to Cheshire. We’ve got 320 lock/miles to do in 22 days so wish us luck as, due to the lower levels in the reservoirs, they are bringing in restrictions to conserve water.