Busy London Sunday, Part 1

Apologies for the lack of posts recently... no really valid excuse, other than that it's better to be outdoors in the fresh air instead of on the computer??

Anyway, we had a busy Sunday a few weeks back. Dad had taken the Cork-Swansea ferry from Cork to, er, Swansea with some friends for a cycling trip. Having ended up in Swansea on the Saturday evening, and with the ferry home not sailing until 9pm on Sunday, Dad decided to embark on a personal inspection of the work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, specifically the Great Western Main Line that links Wales with London. Accordingly, Sarah and I headed for a lunchtime rendezvous with our favourite railway enthusiast at Paddington station.

We only had a short window to work with. Fortunately, however, the 0807 First Great Western service from Swansea did not encounter the wrong kind of leaves on the line, and arrived into Platform 4 on schedule.

Paddington station is quite near 'Little Venice', where three canals converge in a leafy area of Maida Vale. Thus, we left the station and embarked on a slightly confusing walk along the Paddington Basin towards the confluence.

The short walk took us though an interesting combination of modern residential buildings, with some residual industrial landscape in the mix.

Upon reaching Little Venice, the urban landscape changes dramatically. It's very green now, very quaint, and very affluent!

We had enough time to explore the area a little, and fit in an excellent luncheon on the canal bank. Dad regaled with tales of Brunel's genius, such as the Maidenhead Railway Bridge and the Severn Tunnel..

The highlight, however, was the photo opportunity at the iconic Warkick Avenue Tube Station!