It was the annual London City Race which had drawn us here, along with the chance to revisit a place which has undergone massive changes in the past two decades; and to visit the East End places where Ian’s family once lived.  Besides, no-one really needs an excuse to visit London, do they?

The City Race is actually three races, with the first being a Night sprint, the second being the actual City Race, and the third billed as an Ultra sprint.  All in all, a great weekend package of top quality sprint orienteering which attracts almost 900 competitors.

Our preparation has been almost non existent, what with endless cruise food and no running.  Our minds were feeling tired and a bit jaded.  We did what any sensible orienteer would do several hours before a race – set off for lunch at a crepe restaurant.  We’d been to Stamford Hill to see the actual marriage registry record of Ian’s great-grandparents, who were married in St Bartholomew’s in October 1911.

Ian examining the marriage record of his great grandparents

Dalston was a short bus ride away, and we found the Petite Bretagne, which serves galettes, ie buckwheat crepes, which are completely gluten free.  We started with savoury crepes, then moved on to these:  Raspberry Madness for Ian, and Dark Chocolate for me.  They looked so pretty, it was a shame to eat them (no it wasn’t. We didn’t hesitate for a second).

My galette. Demolished

Ian’s galette. Gone in seconds

The time came to head off to Bermondsey, the start location for the Night sprint.  Our start times were 6.30pm so we weren’t running in the dark.  We dug out our orienteering gear from the depths of our suitcases; our last run was back in Northumberland several weeks ago.

The map covered Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, on the south bank of the Thames, and east of Tower Bridge.  We started from the Kings Stair Gardens, and quickly found ourselves crossing the end of the Rotherhithe Tunnel, and into a highly complex area which had our heads spinning.  I looked up at one point and I couldn’t see anyone running; they were all studying their maps intently.  After half a dozen or so controls in there, we headed back towards the river.  I had a control at the Brunel Museum; but it was my number 14 that caused me to come to a complete standstill.  Right on the water’s edge, I gaped at a stunning view of Tower Bridge and the city skyline, framed by a lovely pink sunset.

Tower Bridge and city skyline just after sunset

The courses zigzagged back, paralleling the Bermondsey Wall.  We ducked and weaved through small gardens, archways and tiny lanes, before finally emerging at the Finish.  It was so complex, I barely knew where I’d been. We both agreed it was excellent sprint course setting.  We haven’t seen final results, but Ian was in the top 25% when we left. Both of us had run better than we expected to, and agreed that the tricky navigation had given us a mental boost as well.

We quickly set off for more twilight views of the river and bridge.  I decided Bermondsey would be a very nice address indeed (if one could afford it).  We found ourselves at the bridge, just in time to see it lifted for river traffic. This occurs only 2-3 times a day so we felt lucky; most lifts are during daylight hours so it was nice to see it happen at night.  We also had great views of the Shard, one of London’s recently constructed skyscrapers, and almost the only one on the south side.

Lifting the bridge

View from the bridge

The Shard

After getting our fill of bridge mechanics, we took the tube back to North Greenwich, to ride the Emirates cable car again, this time at night.  We saw thousands of lights glowing from our high vantage point, as we swung over the river and descended gently.  The O2 still looked like a birthday cake, this time with its candles lit.  The winking red lights of hundreds of cranes looked like fireflies.  It was a late but contented return home.

Birthday candles on the O2