Last minute rides

This Sunday sees a ride tracing The Fleet River, I've recieved a very long-winded email from Lewisham LCC group. Long and short of it is that it starts at Bermondsey Sq at 10am. Could be a great introduction to London for anyone new, an excellent ride for the kids, history buffs and London Bores.

A reminder that Lost Rivers returns this Sunday with: The Fleet - The Oliver
Twist Edition.

The fleet has two sources high on Hampstead Heath, we follow the eastern
source up and the western source down, from London's' Highest point, expect
a few hills.

The Lost Rivers Crew have excelled themselves with this ride, we question
whether Nelson swam where tubes once stopped and go angling in Kentish Town
as we head north. As usual we examine the names given to streets and
neighbourhoods that reflect national events as much as the existence of the
fleet, we examine the lessons learnt from railway disasters and go head on
with the greats of British poetry as we float our boats.

Slavery and its' abolition, or rather the course it took to get there, is
our history topic of the day before we start our return journey, and follow
in the history of the Peasants' Revolt, where it started, and where it ended
further downstream, while we pop in to the local Parish lock Up and
understand why Fleming made Goldfinger the bad man.

Brickworks, ponds and some observations of the theory of tittlebats lead us
southwards, we examine not only the case of not only the last woman to be
executed in this county, we look also at the case of the penultimate victim
of the executioner, which is far more convincing.

The Fleet flows onwards towards the Thames as we follow it through Gospel
Oak and into Camden, a short ride above it and more murders await, a very
clear case and a question over a postcard.

Further along we look at the poor, the lunatics and the simply incapable,
question if things have really changed while we look at the family tomb that
inspired the design of our postbox, we may even stop to pick some oakum.

Kings Cross has changed significantly over the last few years, yet the
course of the fleet leaves its' mark in the shape of the new ticket hall,
and we use the film world to look back in time.

The Fleet widens as we head south, more springs, more leaks, railways and a
football club as we enter Oliver Twist land. We follow Oliver around the
contours of the fleet as we visit the locations that Dickens wrote about,
and explore how a leading hospital ended up next to a slaughter house what
that has to do with a malarial swamp in Rome, and why it was a prime
location for burning at the stake, leading nicely to being hung drawn and
quartered.

The executioner's bell rings loudly as we pass Newgate and on into a world
of Blackfriars, Whitefriars and the mysterious death of the Popes Banker
nicely round up our journey on the religious and crime front as we reach the
Thames.

So much more than can be written here, and as always, it would not be a lost
rivers ride if we did not see or hear the Fleet as it rushes beneath our
feet.

Bermondsey Square

10am 4th March

Bill Owen