Wednesday 1 August 2012

The Number 374 Route (not)

This is only the second time in the life of the Project that we have had two non-bus routes running.  It will not be the last.

The 374 used to ply between Harold Hill and Romford but seems to have stopped around 2005, as far as I can understand from the 'graveyard timetables' website.

With no bus to talk about, I want to recommend what Wallace would call 'a grand day out'.  I experienced it courtesy of Eliza, as a birthday treat for Andrew.  It was the day before the Olympics got going.

First we went on what the great Diamond Geezer, gold medal standard blogger, calls the Arabfly Dangleway.  You may know it as the Emirates Airline.  Wonderful views over the river, and really not too expensive if you have an Oyster Card (sadly, trips are not available on a freedom pass!)

It brought us to North Greenwich, and the large dome shaped structure which, for the next few weeks, we must not call the O2.  There we admired Antony Gormley's Quantum Cloud, which has apparently been there since 1999, and is -also apparently - all about fractals.

After a sumptuous picnic, during which the tall ships passed along the river for our viewing pleasure, we wandered around a bit, taking in such sights as the 'Not-G4S' security staff, before climbing up the Dome.

The views were spectacular, and unlike the Dangleway and the London Eye, once we were up we had about 20 minutes to look before heading back down.

It is pretty steep and, because the walkway is open at the sides,  climbers are attached by harness to a safety rail, and serious H and S instructions are given before you set off.  Also they warn that you must not be drunk or in high heels.

You may say that it is not the business of this blog to advertise commercial enterprises, but it was such fun I thought you might like to know about it.

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