London - March 2026

Report by Mike Hawkridge - trip Organiser

Our annual two-day outing was to London again, this time taking in The Greenwich Peninsular, Maritime Greenwich, Canary Wharf, Highgate Cemetery and finishing at Camden Market and Locks. Eleven members set off on the Monday morning 07:52 train from Honiton and were treated to an on-time arrival at Waterloo which is always a bit of a surprise these days; we were off to a good start. Having dropped off our bags at the hotel on Waterloo Road we took the Jubilee Line to North Greenwich where we had an hour of photography before we met up at Nando’s inside the O2 Arena.

SPC's Capital City Snappers '26

After that we made our way round the dome on the Thames Path, pausing at the Greenwich Meridian Sculpture for our group photograph. We then headed on to Maritime Greenwich proper, with a stop off for the compulsory tea and cake along the way. The weather was quite hazy which spoiled the views across the Thames to Canary Wharf but once we were at Greenwich there were plenty of other photographic opportunities in and around the old Royal Naval College and Queen’s House. An evening meal at Zizzi was followed by a walk through the Thames pedestrian tunnel to the Isle of Dogs and Island Gardens where you can look back across the river to Greenwich. It was dark by now. A short walk to the nearby DLR station and a few stops on the train took us to Heron Quays in Canary Wharf proper where we had 45 minutes for a spot of night photography before taking the Jubilee Line back to Waterloo and our hotel.

Canary Wharf

The next day we were off to north London and Highgate Cemetery by Underground and then bus. The temperature had dropped noticeably. Highgate Cemetery is undergoing a major renovation project aimed at restoring distant vistas of the London skyline, removing self-seeded and diseased trees, and managing the "romantic decay" that has become an impenetrable jungle in places. Our visit was a chance to see the cemetery before the project transforms the appearance of this fabulous location.

The weather was dull and lacking in contrast and shadows that would have brought out the details in the structures of the necropolis in the West Cemetery. However, the diffused light  did help in the wooded areas to avoid a confusion of vegetation shadows and gravestone shapes. Overall, it was probably better for photography than a bright sunny day. But it could have done with being a few degrees warmer; by the time we had paid our respects to Karl Marx and left the cemetery, there was a very chilly wind blowing from the north west.

Highgate Cemetery

We had a truly excellent lunch at Bistro Laz in Highgate before bracing ourselves to venture out into the cold wind again. Luckily our bus to Camden arrived quickly. At Camden we had a couple of hours to take in the locks, the market and the local goings on, as well as the occasional waft of wacky baccy smoke. The cold wind did put a damper on proceedings, with the teatime rendezvous café becoming very popular ahead of time. We stayed there until they were ready to close! Then it was back on the underground to Waterloo to pick up our bags and buy a sandwich to eat on the train on the way back to Devon.

It was a trip with varied photography opportunities, plenty of rest stops to refuel and warm up, and lots of socialising. I am looking forward to seeing the images at one of our Club show-and-tell evenings. Our next London trip will be in August.