cybik

I had not intended to go mudlarking, as it was Open House weekend. So many places to see! A packed itinerary with boats, sea shanties, kinetic sculptures and Internet infrastructure. But I popped down to the foreshore briefly twice, at Alderman Stairs and New Crane Stairs, as they were near to the Hermitage Community Moorings, which I visited.

I liked the small silver plaques at the moorings which talked about the waves and the river, and how Wapping was like an island.

Alderman Stairs gave me one piece of Metropolitan Slipware. I was slightly disappointed I hadn’t found any last time I went mudlarking, but this piece was sat right next to the stairs, waiting for me.

At New Crane Stairs in Wapping, the tide was coming in, and as I stepped down from the boulder onto the beach, a woman told me that she wasn’t going for a swim today. I laughed.

I picked up just two sherds this time. I liked the green bubbly pattern.



(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

I went to a mudlarking exhibition in the Guildhall Amphitheatre last week and then to a mudlarking artists panel. I spoke to a few of the mudlarks at the exhibition, who told me to keep on looking and where to look for garnets. I was also inspired by the artists, both on the panel and in the audience.

After that, I was eager to get back on the foreshore, but due to being busy last weekend and then the tube strike, I hadn't been to the foreshore for a week. I felt certain I'd find something amazing after seeing all the finds on the tables at the Guildhall though.

I headed to Custom House and down to the foreshore, and the tide had started to come in. A person from New Zealand asked me what I’d found. She told me how she had been mudlarking previously and even took some pipes back to New Zealand, but then after that, she read a book on mudlarking and learnt you need a permit to mudlark.

I did not find a lot that day, but I did find a nice chunk of flint, some pretty pottery sherds, a shiny piece of glass, and a tessera.



(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

I ran to the abandoned swings, underneath the moon. In the playing field were a few crows and the blue sky was becoming mottled with clouds. I continued to the river, the River Ravensbourne, and stood on the bridge and peered into the river. The river was shallow and dark in the distance underneath the trees.

I ran back to the pebbly hill and it was then that I saw a young fox on the adjoining road.