Walking with Erin: Kensington to Piccadilly... and beyond

Wednesday May 28, 2025.

Following yesterday's walk with Keilyn, today was Erin's day. Not usually one for walking, Erin had set her heart on visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum, so off we set.

A taxi dropped us at Watford Metropolitan station, where, while we waited for our train we spotted a fox and a cub on the banks besides the tracks. Then a Robin flitted by us, carrying food for its babies, high up in the rafters of the station. Our train soon arrived and off we went, exiting at Baker Street, from where we caught we caught the Number 74 bus, towards Putney, alighting outside the Victoria & Albert Museum.

This was our first visit to this museum, so we wasted no time crossing the road and headed inside. 

 

Entering through the Cromwell Road entrance we were both amazed at the domed reception area and, feeling a bit intimidated by the scale of the building, turned right, heading into the Medieval and Renaissance Gallery. 

After this we headed to the Cast Courts, which were amazing.

From here we travelled through the Korea, Buddhism, Japan, China, Islamic Middle East and South Asia Rooms. Then we were off through South East Asia and the Raphael Cartoons and Porter Gallery.

Then it was upstairs to the Europe (1600-1815) Rooms, before meandering our way back down to the Sculpture Rooms and some of the smaller rooms. Unfortunately, the Fashion Gallery is closed, until Summer 2027, which was one of the rooms that Erin especially wanted to see. 

Because of the size of the museum, I think we only got to see about two-thirds of it, before we had to leave, via the shop, as we were both in need of some food, promising to return to see the rest of this amazing place, some time soon.

Camley Street Natural Park, St Pancras

Having walked the length of the Regent's Canal and having visited Gasholders Park and Coal Drops Yard, on numerous occasions, I had seen Camley Street Natural Park from the canal towpath, but had never explored it. This had to be rectified.

So, it was while out walking with Keilyn that we decided to go for an exploratory of the park, to see what was there. Crossing the Regent's Canal, via the Somers Town Bridge, we headed through the giant iron gates and into the covered seating area of the park.

Walking around the cafe and learning centre we made our way to the entrance of the reserve and began our exploration.

The path was compacted and strong and bordered by low, wooden borders that separated the footpath from the wild meadows and ponds. Information boards, spread sporadically around the site, showed the fauna and flora that could be spotted throughout the year. Unfortunately, our visit took place at the beginning of March, so much of the wildlife was absent, giving the place a truly tranquil feel.

The path soon joined wooden walkways, which allowed water to flow beneath them from the interconnecting ponds and the Regent's Canal.

Seating area, either on the banks of the Regent's Canal or in small clearings gave ample space to sit and take in the peace.

We explored the ponds, seeing only coots, mallards and moorhens, while blackbirds, great tits, long-tailed tits, magpies, pigeons and robins flew between the trees.

The sound of skittering, through fallen leaves, could have been wood mice or other small rodents, but there was nothing that we could see.

Logs, piled up in various locations, and bug hotels seemed quiet, with their inhabitants buried in the soil or deep inside the rotting wood.

The ponds, with their crystal clear waters, seemed devoid of life, too.

Various ferns, planted in a stumpery, were still growing, while many other plants were yet to bloom.

Once we had seen everything that we could we made our way out of the park, promising to come back later in the year to see what wildlife may have taken up residence.

ZSL London Zoo

The Sumatran Tiger, Jae Jae, cuddles his mate, Melati, in Tiger Territory.

ZSL London Zoo is one of the best zoos in the country, if not the world. It is a place that is constantly evolving, which offers something new on each visit. It is a place that all of my children love, regardless of their age on each visit.

With the Snowdon Aviary being the next big regeneration project, I cannot wait to see what happens after its completion.

Sea Life London Aquarium

A  perfect predator.

The Sea Life London Aquarium is one of those places that I can quite easily spend a good few hours, in a calming and relaxing environment. The exhibits are changed often enough that there is always something new and refreshing to see.

With huge ocean tanks, containing sharks and rays, an underwater tunnel shark walk, smaller tanks, with their myriad of species, to the realm of the penguins, there is something to keep visitors of all ages entertained.

'Rope Circle' by Wendy Ann Taylor

I Spy... A Heron.

Saturday September 10, 2016.

For a change I decided to take a walk through an area of the Unfinished City that I was unfamiliar with. So, I started at St Katharine Docks and headed towards Wapping. 

Before I reached the Ornamental Canal, I noticed this sculpture beside Hermitage Basin. 

The circle makes for a great photo framing device, too.

I spy... The Shard.

Gallery

Walking with Family: London Zoo

Asim, a Sumatran Tiger, cuddles his mate.

Wednesday August 20, 2014.

We had been planning to take the girls to ZSL London Zoo for a few weeks and, finally, the day was here.

Erin knew that something was going on, as we had packed all the supplies and were heading towards the station to get the train. Keilyn, meanwhile, was just happy to be in the battlewagon, because she knows that we could be going anywhere.

We arrived at Baker Street station and made our way along Baker Street, and into The Regent's Park. Erin and Keilyn were soon out of the battlewagon and running along the pathway, looking at all of the ducks and geese. We passed the boating lake and followed the path towards Prince Albert Road and the entrance to ZSL London Zoo.

Fortunately, for us, Emma had booked fast-track tickets, so we were able to go straight in, rather than joining the long queue, which was stretching along the road.

On entering we were immediately taken to a green-screen booth, where I photograph was taken which, we were told, would be available at the exit, should we wish to purchase it.

We began our tour by heading through the tunnel and up into the Into Africa zone, where the first animals that the we saw were the Pygmy Hippos and Giraffes, followed by Zebra and Okapi. I had packed Erin's camera and she was quite happy snapping pictures, as we walked around. We decided to sit down and have a bite to eat, while the zoo was still quiet, before continuing on.

We followed the path and passed the African Hunting Dogs before crossing the Regent's Canal and heading into the Snowdon Aviary. We saw Sacred Ibises and Peacocks, before heading off to see the Owls.

From here we crossed back to the zoo proper and went to see the Otters, Reindeer and Meerkats.

This was followed by a trip in to Rainforest Life, where we saw Two-Toed Sloth, Golden Lion Tamarinds, Southern Tamandua and much more. We then headed downstairs, in to the darkness, where we discovered the Grey Slender Loris, the Naked Mole Rat and lots of Seba's Short-Tailed Bats.

After another bite to eat, we headed to the off to the Outback to see the Red Kangaroos, before seeing the Komodo Dragons and Dirk, the Galapagos Tortoise, and his family.

Then we headed into the Gorilla Kingdom, where we saw Diana Monkeys, Colobos Monkeys and the Western Lowland Gorillas, amongst others.

Then we went off to see the King Vultures, Caracaras and other birds of prey.

Then it was time to see the Humboldt Penguins at Penguin Beach.

Then it was on to the Macaws and Toucans, in the Blackburn Pavilion, before heading in to the Animal Adventure, where we saw Coatis, Meerkats (again) and Aadvarks.

Since the weather had turned quite hot, we bought the girls an ice cream each, before heading off to see the Llamas, Camels and Tapirs. This led us quite pleasantly to Tiger Territory, where the Sumatran Tigers were basking in the sun.

Cheetahs, Gibbons, Macaques, Servals, Flamingos were seen, but the Lions remained elusive to us, as we made our way towards the zoo shop.

We spent what seemed like an eternity looking around, before Erin and Keilyn chose a Peruvian drum each and, since Erin had been fascinated with the Giraffe, we purchased her a stuffed one, too.

Passing toward the exit we noticed the Magic Memories Photo Stall, so popped in to see how our photo had come out. The lady showed us all our photographs, with the green-screen replaced by Meerkats, Gorillas, Penguins and Tigers. These came in a glossy album, which also contained six smaller photos and a key ring and fridge magnet kit. All ours for just £20. So, we bought them.

Leaving ZSL London Zoo we headed through The Regent's Park, making our way through the Avenue Gardens and back to Baker Street station.

We managed to catch a semi-fast train home and arrived just after 6 o'clock. Surprisingly, considering how long we had been out, the girls were still wide awake, whereas Emma and I were both exhausted. Once the girls were in bed, though, they were soon snoring in unison, leaving Emma and myself to have some dinner, before having an early night.

It was a fantastic if long day, but well worth it. We will be visiting ZSL London Zoo again, next year, to see all the things that we missed out on this trip; The Aquarium, Reptile House, Butterfly Paradise, Bugs and Meet the Monkeys.