TTP Family Weekend

We decided that this we would use public transport instead of using the car this weekend.  As well as the stress, effort and petrol costs, ULEZ has been added to the cost.    Train tickets weren't cheap, we may try National Express next time  but we didn't have to drive. 

Our journey started with a walk to the bus stop.  Not an effort you would think, steps are always positive, but we each had a backpack,  and I had another bag for all the bits I couldn't pack in it!  Snacks, water bottles,  a book, my ipad!  I still had to leave my hairdryer behind, so thats not a bonus.  We reached the bus stop and waited,  some old friends came by and stopped to chat, that is a bonus, wouldn't have seen them in the car.  The bus turned the corner,  we stepped forward,  put an arm out, and the bus sailed on by!  It was completely full, not even standing room.  We walked to another bus stop,  closer to where the route starts and waited again.   Another bus comes along and thankfully we find seats on it.  The sun is bright and the day is heating up.  We think about the car.

At the train station we try to collect our tickets from the machine.   We don't seem to have the right payment card that we used to order them and the machine says no.  A lovely lady in the ticket office sorted it for us, where will we be without our ticket offices?

The train arrives and we find our reserved seats.  They are at the back of the carriage in the oldie section, close to the door and the toilets,  well we did use our Senior Cards 😅.  No view though, we're also next to the luggage racks and no windows.   

The train is cool though,   wonderfully cool!  Ticket Inspector came by, probably not called a Ticket Inspector nowadays, but she was cheerful and polite.  Snack trolley also came by but we had our own.  Little bit of reading,  charged the ipad with complimentary electric and closed eyes. Train journey all good, clean, tidy and efficient even if no view. 😊

Paddington was busy busy, but we quickly crossed to the new Elizabeth Line.  What a revelation.   QE2 would have been proud I'm sure, clean, sleek, with digital display boards, bright shiny trains and safety screens.  Really impressed.  

To be honest,  all trains were better than I expected.   Younger generation meet us at the destination station and helped with bags 😍.  Then a cup of tea and a relax.  

On balance it was easier than driving.   You simply can't have everything.  We would let the train take the strain again.  Just a shame the bus caused a fuss 😉.

Saturday 9th September 

Today, being a child free day, we wanted to go a bit further into the city but not walk for too many miles.  The walk is tomorrow after all.  We settled on an Uber Thames Clipper to Battersea Power Station.  I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t an ultra expensive shopping mall.  The interior is now sleek and contemporary.  There are a few remnants from the original building but they are scarce.  The power station was a hive of working class people in its day and yet there was no mention of them at all, no exhibition of its industrial past, just one about all the ideas that didnt materialise.   It’s all very glossy.   The positive was learning how to order a meal with a QR code 😉😀.  You’re never too old to learn a new trick!

Battersea Park once had a circus apparently.  Now the park has pedalos and wildlife.  We found an empty bench in the shade for half an hour and people watched.   Battersea Park, it seems, is a park for people younger than us.  Plenty of rewilding going on, which may well be a good thing.  No formal flower displays nowadays.

For me the highlight of the day was the Uber Clipper.  The firstly one was also sleek, the second not so much.   The journeys were relaxing, pleasantly cool, and the views of London were most definitely worth seeing.  I loved it and would definitely take the boat again.  

Westminster

Tower of London

So today we travelled on a bus, a train, a clipper and the DLR.  not a bad use of public transport.   Plus it was the hottest day of the year.

Sunday 10th September 

It has been warm today!   Not sure about the temperature but it was certainly very humid!  It was also the day of the TTP Bridgathon. We set off in plenty of time to help set up.  The Pleasure Gardens were close to the station and we met others from different charities, setting up their own tables.  After registration, giving out T shirts and group photos taken, we set off.

Vauxhall Bridge was crossed and we followed the route carefully.   It was odd, but we hardly saw any other walkers.  Some we caught up with, a few passed us, but on the whole we didn’t see many.   

We stopped at the Millennium Bridge for a snack and a rest in the shade, before continuing. Thank goodness for my family, they encouraged me along the last section to the finishing post, even if I looked like a melted Mr Whippy by then.

It was a real sense of achievement to complete the route, but to be honest I’m too tired to feel enthusiastic about doing it all again 😏😉.  Maybe another time I would just offer to help.  We’ll see. Tomorrow is another day.  It was lovely to see other patients and their families. That’s a positive and a large sum of money has been raised, so well worth the effort.  I’m just shattered!

Today’s total number of steps!

Monday 11th September 

Today is a fairly quiet day.  We’re still away, staying with family and I can never just put my feet up for a whole day.  But it’s a quieter day than normal.  A walk to the park, feed the ducks (well the pigeons anyway) and then a snack in the cafe.  The sun came out and we had taken rain coats, not sun cream, and so cut the outing short.   Once home a nap was really in order and we all had 40 winks.

The afternoon was spent playing trains, and farm yards, much sitting on the floor was involved. Early night for all.  

Tuesday 12th September 

The journey home to Somerset. We left early, family were working in town and needed space.   We walked to the station,  carrying backpacks and bags.  It started to rain, just a few really heavy spots that fell to the pavement in large isolated droplets.  We had decided to visit St James Park for breakfast and took the train to Green Park, walking from there passed Buckingham Palace.   

The flower beds by the Palace were beautiful, masses of red geraniums and lavender. The flag hung limply around the palace flagpole, there was no breeze and the rain had stopped.  We wandered across the road, climbing through railings and down into the park and along to St James Cafe.  

Further into the park the beds were filled with brightly coloured blooms.  They were quite lovely and tourists were stopping to admire and photograph them.  It felt good to be proud of our capital, though I know of course it has its own share of very real problems.  I’m pleased that at least one London park has stuck to formality.  

I had thought I would photograph the Pelicans but they were no where to be seen.  

After coffee and croissants we walked to Charing Cross Station and took the underground to Paddington.  It was so much quieter in the middle of the day, no one rushing or jostling to get by.   The train from Paddington was mostly empty, quiet and quick, we chose our seats with a table and room to spread ourselves out.   Then just a few minutes wait for the bus home.  It really was much more pleasant than driving, sitting in traffic congestion and watching other drivers veer in and out of junctions and cutting across us.    We arrived home in about the same time it takes to drive, except we had spent time in the park, eating croissants and watching tourists watching the palace.  Still walked nearly 12,000 steps.  Maybe tonight we will sleep all night!

We would almost certainly take the train again.   The whole weekend has been great, but maybe the walking will take a couple of days to get over.  I am tired but still in one piece.  I know I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t walk so regularly.  Keep moving, that’s the key.  But I am sitting up, typing this in my bed 😉