Busy Week/Lazy Day

Well, after three days of being out and about to some extent, I think I can safely give myself a fairly lazy day at home. Yesterday, I was invited by my parents to go with them to the Barnes Wetland Centre (aka Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust London). Considering how sunny and comparatively warm it had been for the first couple of days this week, it was a massive disappointment to find that the weather had turned cold and overcast, but the trip was nice and relaxing. The Barnes centre can only be described as a 'beautiful wilderness' only a short trip from the middle of London. Hell, considering how quick the bus ride from Hammersmith was, and the fact that we could see the recently refurbished church tower from the on-site restaurant, even through the haze, we could probably have walked from the station.

But the bus ride meant we hadn't expended too much energy just getting there, so we had plenty to spare for wandering around the centre itself. It's nicely laid out, with paths winding almost naturally through the reeds, and only a few bridges over the deeper areas. Countless species of ducks, geese, swans and other such birds swarm around, occasionally taking flight and visiting other pools. Many a time, as we wandered around, I cursed the speed of my ancient (ten year old) digital camera, as flight after flight of geese got past me before the shutter finally reacted to a press of the button.

The many hides dotted around are quite nicely located so that, where the banks are too high to see over, you can pop indoors (where it's surprisingly warm until you open one of the viewing windows) and get very nearly right to the water's edge. The Peacock Tower is especially good, because it's windows give a 360degree view over the centre from its first and second floors.

Clouds of insects followed us around for much of the walk, though obviously they didn't stray too far from their territory. I don't think I've ever been buzzed by so many flies in one go... My mother suspected it may have been her hairspray that attracted them, but I got the feeling they just liked annoying any and every passer-by.

Being a bitterly cold day, naturally I got home with a splitting headache, but it was quite slow to arrive. I first noticed it as we left the centre but, stopping off at my parents' house for a light dinner (Tesco Sushi is actually not half bad, though the seaweed was a bit soggy) seemed to slow its progress. By the time I left, though, it was dark, and so the cold was that much more vicious... and waiting for a train in an open air station really didn't help.

So, yes, today, I won't be getting up to much... But tomorrow, I'll be heading up to Olympia for The Doctor Who Experience...