A January Jaunt

I enjoyed a stroll along the Regent's canal and then through the park of the same name today. Wildlife enroute included the birds in the Snowden Aviary of London Zoo, a lot of geese of various kinds in the park, some puzzled looking gulls or terns wandering around the ice in the lake and a dead rat under a canal bridge.  Despite the overnight freezing temperatures, it was warm enough in the sun to sit out for a welcome lunch break (but not warm enough to want to to stay there once the hot coffee had been drunk).

I got there from Belsize Park following a U3A lecture (on supernovae and jolly good it was too) and had planned to go directly to Kings Cross. The Northern Line had other ideas. Unusually, all the southbound trains were going via Charing Cross. Changing at Camden Town did not produce an improvement and the next train to Euston seemed the best bet so I returned to the platform I had detrained at (because you have to walk into the corridor between the platforms to read the information boards to find out what services are running) and there I was bemused to see the tail lights of the train I just quit stationary in the tunnel leading towards Mornington Crescent. It remained there for a while. After it moved the train behind came in. We also stopped outside Mornington and waited for several minutes, the driver pleasantly informing us a couple of times that "We should be on the move shortly".

I have no idea what was congesting the Charing Cross branch or why they were not running them via Bank instead. But it meant an unplanned route march along the always-congested Euston Road before I could reach the intended part of my walk.

January has been pretty good to us, so far. Last year we had enough rainfall to flood huge areas of the country. This year it is above average but not massively so. Until this weekend it had been cold but the snow flurry on Saturday (it only lasted a few minutes) was the first this winter and may well be the last. I speak of beautiful Ruislip, of course. Up north they've had some rough stuff but then they usually do.