High Expectations

See the full day trip album here: https://goo.gl/photos/VTiErfZ72hSmHzMy5

"I call that a blooming mess! I thought this ride was supposed to be scenic" grumbled the woman opposite me in the pod, on the Emirates Airline, a cable car that crosses the Thames from the docklands to the o2 Arena at North Woolwich. I wonder if she asked for her money back.

I certainly didn't! I decided to go by bus, as I have only just discovered, late in the day that if I travel only by bus, it's much much cheaper. So, two bus rides after setting off from the house, I arrived at West Silvertown DLR, and thought, 'now what?' I was somewhere just left of screen, off the main road. Obviously I could see the cable cars...

A couple was just setting off on the trek, so I followed them and arrived within fifteen minutes, at the Royal Victoria docks entrance. From there it was a matter of queueing, going up some stairs, queuing some more, until being allowed into the nearest available pod. They arrive every thirty seconds or so, and swing back and forth across the Thames.

The Emirates Airline, as it is known, opened in 2012. Some people even use it for commuting. People like James Bond, maybe... The tickets aren't expensive, and there's a discount for Oyster or Travelcard holders. Some visitors take a return trip, but I wanted to circumnavigate London by bus. 
Anyway, it was pretty amazing, and I didn't take five billion pics because I couldn't see the phone screen, but it was definitely an experience: slightly rocky because of the wind, but definitely my sort of thing. No heroics required either, and it's fully accessible for disabled people and electric wheelchair users, though those with a fear of heights might prefer to take the Woolwich ferry! 

The reason for doing this trip today was that it'd been on my bucket list since yesterday(!) and I figured that most of my friends, apart from Lea Anne and the climbers,  have no head for heights , so I might as well do it on my own while I'm here. And I wanted to do something fun for Easter!
(I did buy myself a reduced price Bart Simpson easter egg yesterday, but it's icky). 


On arrival at North Woolwich, it was distinctly chilly. I wandered around near the o2 but didn't go in, and headed towards the station at North Greenwich. There I found a futuristic curvy bus station, and took a non-curvy bus back to Stratford via the Blackwall tunnel, which definitely has a bend in it. And then another bus towards Wanstead.  I've added a bus station shot in Extras, because I liked the lines.

I'd been out for three and a half hours, but the cats were still on the beds. 

I've had my phone for well over a year now, and I've only just discovered that I can upload and edit via my Mac! Duh!