Ever since the Wandle passed under a train line in Merton, it's changed. Less playful, less happy. The river has been hiding away from the Wandle Trail. Keeping its distance.
Last time I tried to walk down the Wandle Trail round the Merton/Sutton border, I got lost in a housing estate. Somehow I lost the river and never managed to find it again.
There are two sources to the Wandle and one is at Waddon Ponds where swans and geese glide effortlessly across the water, and small children try to offer them bread to eat.
East Croydon railway station is a strange place for the 13 mile Wandle Trail to begin. It doesn't really make much sense. The source of the River Wandle is actually a few miles up the road at Waddon Ponds, right next door to a tram stop. I could just sit on the tram and do the first part without even moving my legs.
It's now less than two months to go until my final day at the BBC, which is daunting. However it's also exciting as it's less than two months until my final day at the BBC! For that means that my trip to walk the Southern Upland Way is drawing ever nearer.
In August 2010, after doing it over several stages, we finally finished walking the Pennine Way. Whilst I haven't generally blogged much about that particular walk, I decided ending it did deserve a little writing...
Well it's coming to that time of year when pointless lists are made. Normally on this blog I contend myself with useless ones about "how popular some of my blog posts have been" or equally tedious tripe (incidentally, join me tomorrow for my Top 10 posts of the year!) however in the spur of the moment, I decided to compile an even more pointless list.