Greenwich Peninsula

We tried riding the Greenwich cable car yesterday, but the bridge to nowhere proved too popular. Queues of more than an hour long (presumably on both sides although we never crossed over to find out) forced a change of plan, so instead we enjoyed the peninsula river walk, which is fully reopened, following the cable car's completion and is at least one good reason for someone to take the sky ride, which looked spectacular.

The walk stretches between the yacht club at the south end and the O2 at the north. In between, the riverside is dotted with pocket parks ranging from carefully tended lawns to rocky playgrounds, long grasses and a radar station. Like the Thames Barrier Park on the north bank, it's one of the east's millennial treasures.

The developers responsible for the peninsula have been cash-strapped and spread themselves thinly between their interests in Greenwich and Wembley, so there is still very little housing in the area, which is also flanked by heavy industry downstream and across the water. Most passengers alighting at North Greenwich are funneled straight towards the dome. The effect is that the riverbank is normally very quiet - a manicured wilderness.

The highlight is undoubted the Ecology Park, 121 hectares of wetlands, rushy walkways and birdwatching hides. The peninsula is also the only place in London you can see giant metal sculptures by Anthony Gormley (Quantum Cloud - fantastic) and Anish Kapoor (The Orbit - tried really hard to like it, but can't)  in the same view.