Walking in London

[CBDB]

I spent 2 days at a conference in one of the leafy parts of London this last week, so I had the opportunity to do a bit of walking through an area of London full of little private gardens and vegetable patches tucked behind walls and in-between various roads.

I normally am not attracted to London much, and prefer the North, the rural, the more green parts of the country.

But this part of London was really delightful, and it’s a shame I didn’t take pictures of all the rooftop gardens, backyard vegetable patches and green nucks and crannies.

The picture was from the hotel and shows how many trees there were, which always makes any urban environment so much better. It made for some delightful evening and morning walks. (Especially as the “expensive” hotel didn’t have a rower or gym!)

My back felt great. So good to remember that not too long ago, 5 min of walking would trigger a backache. But both days I walked and stood much of the day, and my back was fine. PROGRESS!!!

And my calves also behaved. I did wear compression sleeves, and judiciously did my calf-warm-up exercises. But I wonder if the most important contribution to my healthier state of my calves was from me starting to use a standing desk. So again, both calves and back are getting stronger and stronger!

I came back late, with the “usual” train delays, missed trains and cancellations, having to rely on hubby to pick me up from a last section of the journey. So I was exhausted by the time I got home.

But today is recovery and relax day for which I already did a very slow, delicious Saturday morning row, to just get my limbs back into being nimble and feeling great.

Happy weekend everyone!

[Gthants]

I walk in London a lot from the station to the South Bank or all around the West End for various shows - usually 2/3 times a month. I tend to take similar routes each time, but random turns and angled approaches to the theatres means I get to see different streets. I really love walking in London!

[CBDB Administrator in reply to Gthants]

Yes, I probably got to see London mostly from its worst sides in the past, as I only tended to go to London for large conferences, which were in the most built up areas.

Before the traffic zone restrictions came in (ca 10 years ago already!?), every time I flew into London (from Scotland), I instantaneously got a biting headache the moment I stepped out of the airplane, which would remain until I left London. Traffic zone restrictions really improved that, but I think I had by then started to associate London with headaches.

And then my experience of mostly overpriced, low-quality hotel rooms didn’t improve my opinion.

But I can see the attraction, considering my walks last week.

[Gthants in reply to CBDB]

We were living in London with negative equity, so had all the disadvantages of overcrowding, dirt, noise, etc, but without being able to go out and enjoy it for a few years. Leaving London and then returning for shows, it took a few years for me to start to enjoy it again.