Paxton Stump Revisited

Another hour spent photographing the fungi and slime moulds etc growing on the large Willow stump at Paxton. Many of the Fenugreek Stalkballs have matured and are spreading spores while new fruiting bodies are appearing in other cracks. The yellow Actinia Slime moulds have also matured and burst open. The spiral basket structure is the seed of the Bur Clover Medicago polymorpha which cover the Redlands area of Paxton last year (though not identified as such) but was absent this. The info suggests it can be Annual or Biennial so will see what happens in 2025. The crusty growth I think is Steccherinum ochraceum Ochre spreading tooth but will have to keep an eye on this one. No IDs on the last two yet!

Trinity Buoy Wharf

We finally reached our second stopping point, Trinity Buoy Wharf, which gave some timeless shots of the Thames (without the Uber boats fleet or the IFS Cloud Cable Car in the distance!). I last visited in July 2020 (blue skies!!) when they were building the tall blocks behind Orchard Place so a few comparison shots. The famous diner has gone along with the cranes.

Royal Victoria Dock Walk

During the early half of the 20th century, the Royal Victoria Dock became an essential part of industrial Britain and London’s largest centre of flour milling. 1905 the Millennium Mills were built but were partially destroyed in 1917 by an explosion at the munitions factory. Millennium Mills was rebuilt as a 10-storey concrete art deco building in 1933. Sustained severe damage from bombing in the Second World War; rebuilt between 1945 and 1950, and was in operation by September 1953. The Royal Docks closed in 1981. The years have passed and still no progress on redevelopment. Excel Centre was built by Sir Robert McAlpine and opened in November 2000. It is now in phase 3 of development expected to be completed in October 2024 but riverside access is still closed off, 

Going up towards the City, there is an impressive yacht that serves as a hotel, the Sunborn (£440/night). Passing The Crystal building, now the City Hall, our walk carried on alongside the new Silver Town Tunnel development. I was fooled by a model Peregrine on one of the tall buildings!

Thames Walk from Greenwich

We made our way on the DLR to Greenwich, which was very busy and they have now closed off Queens house area so you can no longer walk through the colonnades etc. So we decided to walk back to O2 area along the river - this proved a good choice as the overcast conditions gave soft muted colours and beautiful reflections - plenty of opportunities for four photographers. These are single exposures except image three which is a double exposure (I think!!).

Docklands

Yesterday, on a grey foggy day, we took the Dockland Light Railway into Docklands and spent the day exploring the colours and shapes of the architecture.