The weather over the Easter weekend was, shall we say, a mixed bag.
There had been something of a mini heatwave earlier in the week and I spent a couple of days lounging in the garden in a tube top (!), catching a pretty impressive tan before starting my night shifts. We had another such delightful Good Friday, giving my friend and I the confidence to plan a little trip to the beach on Saturday. The beach in Wapping!
I’ve lived in London my whole life and never ventured to the little beaches that surface along the Thames at low tide. This was the day. It was also a freezing day. We rocked up at Wapping station and found our way to the little alley beside The Prospect of Whitby pub, and ventured down the hidden Pelican stairs which take you to the Thames.
Where you’ll find a beach! And a view of the Isle of Dogs that’s pretty great.
There were a few other people there, mainly small friend groups and a couple of couples (shoutout to the Instagram boyfriends taking their girls’ pics for them!).
It was just quiet enough that we could take in the sound of the gulls and the smell of the air, which was like the sea. I naturally took it all in with the utmost grace.
Turns out walking on rocks and pebbles while navigating blusterous winds is a little tricky!
We set up in this somewhat sheltered spot to have our picnic and catch up, surrounded by chains and ropes and other relics from a London that doesn’t exist any more.
After my mind was blown by her regaling of the plot of Seaspiracy and questioning my love for seafood, we decided to venture on a walk further along the river to check out some of the other little beachy inlets along the way.
But first, coffee!
We grabbed a couple of takeaway coffees from nearby Bello de Nonna to warm and fuel ourselves up before braving the water’s edge again.
It’s all smiles ’til you realise the way is pretty treacherous!
We took the walk real slow, giving us lots of time to enjoy and take in the views, but more importantly, to take great care to not slip and fall into the sludge in between the rocks! There was lots of encouragement along the way though.
As we hopped and tiptoed along, a little line formed behind us as others from the original beach decided to follow us in our search for sandier shores. I suspect they half regretted it when they found themselves in the sludge-fest and it was too late to turn back. So sorry guys!
We are troopers though, and all made it to the other side.
After a few hours spent exploring, we decided to head back to the streets to find a loo. We had two choices: either go back the way we came (through the sludge?!) to the stairs, or keep walking and hope to find more stairs. We opted for the latter and as we walked I spotted this rusty old ladder out of the corner of my eye.
I suggested it probably led to where we needed to be (half as a joke), but next thing I knew my friend (who did I mention is 8 months’ pregnant?!?!) had flown up the ladder with all the ease and finesse of a cat burglar. I followed with slightly more hesitation, like a cat stuck in a tree.
My fears of slipping and banging my head on the ladder and falling into the sand thankfully weren’t realised and we hopped on the overground to Canada Water, where we used the loos in the very impressive Decathlon store (mercifully still open in lockdown).
We ended our little adventure with a delightful stroll through Southwark Park, another place I’d never been but will definitely be coming back to.
I’m not sure I’d ever swim in the stretch of the Thames that cuts through our city like they did back in the day, but it sure is nice to know that, if we need it, the beach is never too far away.
