Such a beautiful day today, so we set off down to the river to see what we could find. Well, let me tell you that not being experienced mud snorklers.... we didn't find much at all! So, we just sploshed around in the glutinous mud for fun. Peppa Pig would be in her element! There is a big advantage to having low tide in the afternoon - and not early in the morning as it was today. Not only do you get to have a decent lie in on a Sunday morning, but also, the Thames Clipper boats have been up and down all day creating a wash, which washes away all the gloopy mud - revealing the treasures underneath. This isn't the case if the tide is going out overnight. In the morning you are just left with muddy silt. Infact morning low tides are only really very good for testing out your wellies in extreme mud conditions, and drawing in it - like below:
Thames Barrier So eventually, we managed to extract ourselves from the foreshore and took a walk down to the Thames Barrier. We hadn't realised it was the annual closing of the Thames Barrier. Each year it is closed for a full tidal cycle and is tested thoroughly. Not only is it interesting for tourists - but another group of Thames dwellers were having a fabulous time. Seagulls, ducks and cormorants were shrieking, diving and just generally hanging, right next to the barriers - presumably catching some good nosh.
Annual Closing of the Thames Barrier Seagull Party
Before taking a stroll back along the Thames path to return home for a bacon
sandwich, I popped down onto the foreshore to see if there were any messages in any of the plastic bottles caught up in the rocks. Amazingly, there was one and so we hurried home to open it. See my message in a bottle blog for more details!!
sandwich, I popped down onto the foreshore to see if there were any messages in any of the plastic bottles caught up in the rocks. Amazingly, there was one and so we hurried home to open it. See my message in a bottle blog for more details!!
Big Chief Brush Head I'll finish off with this picture of an old decrepit paint brush we picked up under a pier. It just bears such a striking resemblance to a cherokee indian, that we planted him in some rotten wood, with a view over the river, so that he could watch out for cowboys and enemy canoes :)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend XX
Enjoy the rest of your weekend XX
Big Chief Brush Head watching River