London 5

Sunday Rowan and I went another walk, then watched Arsenal lose to City in the League Cup final. Rowan's friend Adday, and her Dad (who lives in Yorkshire of course) joined us upstairs in a very civilized pub on Upper Street. As you can see the women are Arsenal supporters - so not the best watch.

London 4

Saturday Rowan took me on the New River walk, that is now open to the public way beyond the few miles that used to have access. This is up at the reservoirs near Manor House. Lovely to walk it with my daughter who does seem to have inherited the urban discovery bug.

 

London 3

 

Friday evening I met up with Victor and we watched his daughter sing at the Frontline club in Paddington. She has a really good voice. 

London 2

Next day I walked by the river Wandle from Wimbledon to the Thames, where I took this shot of Chelsea Harbour, I then continued along the river into the West End, where I got a tube to Rowan's flat in Islington where I spent the next four nights.

That London

Down to London last week to have a wake for Rob. The funeral parlour was called Exit Here which was a nice touch.

I stayed with Mark and Mandy. Also in the picture is Rob's daughter Lily, who was fantastic in keeping it all ticking over, and Danny who was in Red Dwarf.

The Rhythm Section

Peter and Robert looking solid.

Stroll 54c

 

I got the train back from Prudhoe, by which time the Tyne had turned from industrial artery into a most beautiful rural river.

Stroll 54b

 

This is one of the always-welcome Sustrans marker signposts on the cycle network. It is a fantastic achievement, to create an alternative way of getting around, all over the country.

Stroll 54a

 I arrived at Newcastle expecting to get the train to complete the Middlesbrough to Sunderland route. The train was cancelled. So a quick ponder, and I decided to head east along the Tyne. It is a great path, a Sustrans cycle route right by the river for the most part. The weather was beautiful and all was well. The path drops down steeply from the station to the Tyne gorge, where the path goes under a couple of the Tyne bridges.

Stroll 53 pt3

The path reached Horden, which was in the paper the other week as an example of a village that was built for its pit, but the pit is long gone, and the people are not. Walking to the station was a pretty grim experience. So different from Seaham where I started. Both used to depend on coal, one has moved on to be a desirable place to live, one has not.

 

Stroll 53 pt2

 

The path followed the cliff top, until it was interrupted by a series of deep steep valleys. The railway line, built to ship the coal to the world ran near the coast the whole way. An amazing construction achievement which a local told me was completed in 1905, which is late, and probably a reflection on the need to get the coal to market as cheaply as possible.

Stroll 53 pt1

 The next day I headed south on the Durham coast from Seaham to Horden. It was a beautiful day, with the port at Seaham looking mill pond flat. 

Stroll 52 pt2

 The Durham coastline is surprisingly dramatic, and eroding away fast. The path I followed is part of the King Charles Coast Path, which has a grand name but very little in the way of signposting IRL. A good thing though. I finished off the day at Seaham.

Stroll 52

 The weather was set fair for the week, so I got a rail rover ticket (4 days in 8) and set off to Sunderland to walk the north sea coast to Hartlepool. First day took me past the town hall and through a very pleasant park. Good start.

Danielle and Jasmin

Tom took this picture of Danielle with Jasmin last weekend.

 

Memories

 

A picture of Mark, Rob and me watching the football. Looks like England are losing to me. I think it was taken in about 1982. Here is a link to lots of people's thoughts on Rob (including from me and Mark).

https://reddwarf.co.uk/news/2026/03/06/rob-grant/ 

Week End

 Friday we saw the Phoenix Dance Company perform Interplay at the Theatre Royal. They are a Leeds based contemporary dance company. It was fantastic, really enjoyed it. Then Saturday we went over to Glossop to see nephew Will and Alex and Jasmin their baby, with the bonus of nephew Tom also being there. We met up in Glossop Market which is a great venue in the done-up old market hall. A good place to meet, drink and eat. We were in an unofficial "big dog corner" and all was well.

Stroll 51e

 

And so to Boro, where the transporter bridge is sadly shut to all traffic including pedestrians. It is such a great structure.

Stroll 51d

 

Where once pollution had totally degraded the coast, there are now nature reserves and a flourishing harbour seal colony. I was glad that Layla could not get near the seals to say hi.

Farewell Rob

It is fifty years since I met Rob on my first day at Liverpool University. This week he died; it was a real shock. Rob & Kath stayed with us for a weekend last summer, and it is good to have such rich memories. Rob gave the speech at Danielle's and my wedding, thirty years ago. This photo is of us heading off to the Quaker Meeting house ahead of the wedding all those years ago. I shall miss him.