I have long held that landscape, as opposed to environment, is defined by perspectives of individuals and groups. Sometimes that applies to landmarks that may define identities. Othertimes it is to do with personal and shared cultural experiences.
One such is taking a trip down the Thames on the paddle steamer Waverley. The original Waverley was destroyed off Dunkirk in 1940. Its replacement - the present ship - is an oil-fired paddle steamer. Although paddle steamers are old technology, they can turn on a sixpence. It was ideal for river traffic and the original purpose of the boat was as a Clyde ferry, serving Craigendoran in Helensburgh and Arrochar ibn Loch Long. My parents went on their honeymoon to Dunoon and Bute on the Waverley.
Latterly it has toured the Western Isles and the English Coast as an excursion steamer. Amongst my earliest memories of it was sailing from Weymouth on it and being very impressed with the steam pistons working the great paddle wheels, also the size of military ships we passed...
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| Waverley and Tower Bridge http://www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk/tdisp.htm?port1=london&port2=woolwich |
More recently, I've sailed into the Thames estuary. It makes for a great way to see the port and commercial traffic. It also allows you to experience a journey that used to be common. Steamers used to cover the routes from Tower Pier in central London, to holiday hotspots like Southend and Margate. There is something special about arriving in Southend, at the end of its enormously long pier, by boat, rather than train. It has taken you longer to get there. The journey is more memorable. It feels more of a change, and consequently puts you into more of a holiday mood. And the journeying on a paddle steamer draws your imagination back to earlier days of steam ships and the busy times of the Port of London.
http://www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk/tdisp.htm?port1=london&port2=woolwich
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| Waverley in Thames Estuary |
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