Taxi!

We ran around Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs today in the London City Race. This is fast becoming a very popular orienteering event with a fair percentage of foreigners (some London based, others commuting for the weekend) taking part and we think that today there were a couple of thousand competitors.

We left Liz and Nick's in Hampstead early doors after the usual great hospitality, walked down to Swiss Cottage then took the Jubilee line round to the Isle of Dogs where we picked up the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) through the skyscrapers of the docks and the business area to Island Quay, collected our race numbers, dropped off our gear at assembly then we were back on the DLR to the start. I wish I had carried my small camera because there was a great blip looking back and up from the start to competitors standing on the elevated DLR platform trying to decide on route choice from watching competitors heading out in different directions from the start!

Thinking blip I had taken a risk and just packed my prime lens, knowing I was going to be blipping hundreds of orienteers as usual when I finished, but it was useless for blipping Canary Wharf. The finish was across the Thames from Greenwich but the lens could not do that justice either, plus the day was overcast so poor light for blipping.

Back to my run. It was an interesting area to run around but my course was pretty much a cross country and so favoured the runners rather than the navigators. I didn't make any mistakes but I think I will be down the results.

After blipping several hundred finishers we walked under the Thames through the Greenwich tunnel and had seriously good pie and mash at the legendary Goddards just down from the Cutty Sark before taking the tube back to Kings Cross and home.

So despite an interesting day my blips were all disappointing. Here I am waiting in the queue for the river taxi with Canary Wharf reflected in the restaurant window!