About ten years ago, Jak and i lived in Vauxhall, in South London.... right on the river. It was a nice place to live and we felt very lucky. When we decided to move to North London to be closer to our friends and workplaces, we were reluctant to leave the Thames and thought that we would miss it. However on our very first visit to N10, we realised something. Stepping out of the tube at Highgate, right next to the ancient woods there, we were amazed to immediately notice the quality and freshness of the air. Right by the very busy fume filled Archway Road, we were still able to breathe in huge lungfuls of fresh air. It was an easy decision for us, thereafter to move to a flat, just across the road, where we continued to live happily for years.
We used the woods a lot during our time there. It was like being in a completely different place altogether. Although we lived in a crazily busy area, we were able to cross that road and get lost amongst the many oak trees, feeling like we were in the middle of the countryside somewhere.
And did we miss living on the river? No, give me the 70 acres of woodland to wander through over the stinky Thames any day!