Today is going to be a warm one which makes a change for a bank holiday weekend, even at 7:30 when we left home it was warm.
So after a quick dash down to Gregg's in Fareham to get something to eat on the train it was back to the station to get the 8:28 train, as normal there was nobody in the assistance office so you have to get the train guard to get the ramp out which makes the train late, that's why they pay people on the station. I think he was there when we first arrived, but then locked up the office, they do have a list of who has booked so you would think they would at least have a look when the train is due.
Normally we have caught the bus on previous visits but today we were heading out further and the only way to get there is on the Tube & DLR, this takes some planning as not all stations are accessible, but I worked out what needed to do so after doing battle with the machine to top up the Oyster Cards trying to use Android Pay I gave up and just used my bank card to load the credit on, I really don't know why these touch screens are so unresponsive!
From there it was down 1 elevator, then through the ticket barrier to the next one onto the Jubilee Line to Canning Town then change to the DLR to Pontoon Dock, this part of the trip is really well signposted so that makes a change. Unfortunately, the elevator was broken at Pontoon Dock so it was down a few flights of stairs before you can cross to the other side the get the elevator on that side to the street.
Just round the corner from here is the Thames Barrier Park and it's a little bit of an escape from people, in fact, there were only about 10 other people that we could see so a welcome relief.
After spending about an hour there we had some lunch in a cafe Bonnane just round the corner, I thought this place would be expensive, but at £3.50 for a sausage and egg sandwich, it's not too bad
This is the longer of the 2-foot tunnels under the Thames and at 1654 feet long it takes about 10 minutes to walk through plus has elevators at each end to save you climbing the stairs. There are also signs to tell you if the one at the other end is working and both were today. The other option to if the elevators break or the tunnel is closed is to use the Woolwich car ferry which I believe is free for pedestrian passengers.
One out on the south side of the river we watched the car ferry unload and chilled out for a bit by the river, then took a 10 minute walk into Woolwich town centre which pretty much looks like any other town centre anywhere in the UK, the main reason to come here was to go to the pub so spent an hour so in there.
Next, we caught the 180 bus, which was packed. It really didn't help when they drive like a maniac & you are getting thrown about then it sits at the stop for ages because he's early now & the relief driver hasn't got here yet, plus it's boiling hot as well so that was not the best 25 minutes we spent on public transport today.
Once off the bus we headed up into Greenwich Park, which is a bit hilly it was best to park Jane under a tree while I climbed up to One Tree Hill Vista point which gives you a nice view back to the main part of London, even though today was sunny it was still a bit hazy, but I think most that was due to pollution in the air but you get some fantastic views of the skyline with a mix of the old and new. It's also from this vantage point that you can truly appreciate the scale of building work that goes on in this city. The main attraction here is the Greenwich Observatory and Prime Meridian, which is located at the very top of the hill, but judging by the number of people queueing just to get up the pathway it was something I wasn't prepared to go to. The funny thing was that there are so many pathways in here that crisscross each other I forgot where I had left Jane so when I eventually got a signal I had to get her to send me the GPS location so I could find her.
By now it was almost 5 o'clock so it was time for a drink in the Gate Clock pub which is handy because it's right next to the DLR station.
Unfortunately the ride back wasn't a smooth as it should have been, we had to change trains at the Heron Quays Station, which is simple enough, but you are on an elevated part of the DLR so that means you have to come out of the station to the street and find the elevator down to the Jubilee Line and this is where it gets tricky. The elevator brings you out in an underground shopping centre you then have to follow poorly signposted directional signs that are hung from the ceiling in really small writing to another elevator that is hidden. Now you would think it would be a simple process of going to the right level, but each floor has 2 letters & nothing to tell you what they mean, I can't understand why you just wouldn't put "Jubilee Line" next to the level as this is the only accessible route, it's almost like it has been designed to keep you by the shops, it makes you wander around pasted them all before getting to the station which is one of the reasons I don't like using the Tube here.
So we had left the pub at 6 o'clock for what should have been a 30 minute ride back to Waterloo, in theory, this would give us about half an hour to get a sandwich & some beer for the train back, but due to wandering about then being crammed into the world's nosiest subway train we ended with about 5 minutes to spare by the time we got on the platform.
The train from Waterloo left on time but got in a few minutes late, so we missed the bus home, but we needed to get someshopping from Tesco anyway, by the time we did finally make it home it was 10:30 pm & we are far too old to be out at that time but it had been a good day.
Considering the distance we had travelled it only cost us £14.20 each for the day, which is more than the £10.50 it normally costs, but this is due to using the underground which we will probably be avoiding next time.
From there it was down 1 elevator, then through the ticket barrier to the next one onto the Jubilee Line to Canning Town then change to the DLR to Pontoon Dock, this part of the trip is really well signposted so that makes a change. Unfortunately, the elevator was broken at Pontoon Dock so it was down a few flights of stairs before you can cross to the other side the get the elevator on that side to the street.
After spending about an hour there we had some lunch in a cafe Bonnane just round the corner, I thought this place would be expensive, but at £3.50 for a sausage and egg sandwich, it's not too bad
One out on the south side of the river we watched the car ferry unload and chilled out for a bit by the river, then took a 10 minute walk into Woolwich town centre which pretty much looks like any other town centre anywhere in the UK, the main reason to come here was to go to the pub so spent an hour so in there.
Next, we caught the 180 bus, which was packed. It really didn't help when they drive like a maniac & you are getting thrown about then it sits at the stop for ages because he's early now & the relief driver hasn't got here yet, plus it's boiling hot as well so that was not the best 25 minutes we spent on public transport today.
By now it was almost 5 o'clock so it was time for a drink in the Gate Clock pub which is handy because it's right next to the DLR station.
Unfortunately the ride back wasn't a smooth as it should have been, we had to change trains at the Heron Quays Station, which is simple enough, but you are on an elevated part of the DLR so that means you have to come out of the station to the street and find the elevator down to the Jubilee Line and this is where it gets tricky. The elevator brings you out in an underground shopping centre you then have to follow poorly signposted directional signs that are hung from the ceiling in really small writing to another elevator that is hidden. Now you would think it would be a simple process of going to the right level, but each floor has 2 letters & nothing to tell you what they mean, I can't understand why you just wouldn't put "Jubilee Line" next to the level as this is the only accessible route, it's almost like it has been designed to keep you by the shops, it makes you wander around pasted them all before getting to the station which is one of the reasons I don't like using the Tube here.
So we had left the pub at 6 o'clock for what should have been a 30 minute ride back to Waterloo, in theory, this would give us about half an hour to get a sandwich & some beer for the train back, but due to wandering about then being crammed into the world's nosiest subway train we ended with about 5 minutes to spare by the time we got on the platform.
The train from Waterloo left on time but got in a few minutes late, so we missed the bus home, but we needed to get some
Considering the distance we had travelled it only cost us £14.20 each for the day, which is more than the £10.50 it normally costs, but this is due to using the underground which we will probably be avoiding next time.
