Planes and boats and trains and bikes

Took off yesterday from Warsaw Okęcie at just before daybreak, runway 15. Below: looking out to the south, Al. Jerozolimskie and the S2 intersection; beyond lie Piastów and Pruszków.

Below: before long I was in Ealing; over the rooftops the planes stream in to land at London Heathrow, one after the other, from the east. It's a Boeing 777, but which airline?

Below: other planes fly right over London at cruising altitude. What's this - a Boeing 747 or an Airbus 340? No visible underwing registration...

Reaching London St Pancras by train, I take a few moments to visit the food fair outside King's Cross station next door. Delicious artisan pork pies took the edge off my morning hunger. Below: the Great Northern Hotel, sandwiched between St Pancras to the left, King's Cross to the right.

Below: I cross London on the Piccadilly line, which takes me to Acton Town, where I change for an Ealing Broadway-bound District line train. And here, I snap a Piccadilly line train advertising the fact that tube trains will run all night on the line on Friday and Saturday nights, from 16 December.

On my walk around Ealing and Hanwell today, I crossed the Jacob's Ladder footbridge crossing the GWR line running west out of London; here, between West Ealing and Hanwell stations, by the Plasser sidings, work is underway on the CrossRail project, due to open in 2018.

Today I repeated a walk I did last year, over 11,000 paces. Below: Wharncliffe Viaduct, Hanwell, taking the Great Western Railway over the Brent valley. Work began on this structure 180 years ago. It still carries a very busy railway line (four tracks) over it.

Below: zooming into the Lord Wharncliffe's coat of arms above the central pillar of the viaduct. It was he who steered the Great West Railway Bill through parliament.

The River Brent flows into the Grand Union Canal at Hanwell, just under the Hanwell Lock Flight. Below: and here on the canal is the first of the locks; looking north, a barge about to enter it.

Below: a lovely vintage Raleigh Roadster bike on a barge moored on the Grand Union at Hanwell. This is how bikes looked 75 years ago - steel brake rods, stout rubber pedals, enclosed chain, end of rear mudguard painted white for the wartime blackout; plastic bag hides the sprung-mattress saddle.

A walk through Hanwell would not be complete without passing the legendary Reg. Allen motorbike shop on Grosvenor Road; below: here's a 1966 Triumph 350cc twin parked outside in the November sunshine.

Finally - back down by the canal - can anyone recognise this waterfowl? A moorhen?

This time last year:
Cultural differences, Poland and UK

This time two years ago:
Schadenfreude! The downfall of Hofman & Co.

This time three years ago:
From the Mersey to the Tyne

This time four years ago
Autumnal Gdańsk

This time five years ago:
What Independence Day means for Poles

This time six years ago:
Words fail me: what's the Polish for 'to fail'?

This time seven years ago:
Autumn in Dobra

This time nine years ago:
Autumn ploughing