When I left the house this morning to head into Richmond to enjoy a coffee and croissant in Paul bakery and buy my Observer newspaper, the air was thick with fog. It was also very quiet. There’s something about fog that makes everything quieter. Although, I think it was probably also due to the end of the Rugby World Cup! Really, it couldn’t have been much noisier and busier in Richmond and Twickenham yesterday when goodness knows how many thousands descended for the rugby final. The stadium holds 82,000 but all the local pubs and cafés were full of supporters too, watching it on TV. I’d gone into central London early in the morning and on my way back late morning, I found myself surrounded by both Aussie and Kiwi supporters on the Underground train to Richmond. They were heading to the match. One of the things I love about rugby is that the supporters will laugh and joke together and there’s never any worry (unlike with football supporters!) about finding yourself standing between two ‘sides’. They just starting talking to each other and in the end, I joined in, saying that now England were out I was a Kiwi supporter for my cousin Brigitte in New Zealand. So, of course, I was a happy supporter with their fantastic win come the evening when I watched the match.

In the quiet of this morning I got off the bus earlier than usual so I could cross Richmond bridge on foot and get a nice view of the river, and walk down some steps that lead onto the towpath. From the towpath, I cut up into the high street and then through one of the pretty alleyways that lead to Richmond Green. Here’s my walk – all photos taken with my iPhone:

And for a bit of colour – here’s what was waiting in Paul … although I did stick with just a simple croissant. It was too early for cake for me!

I headed home slowly after a leisurely breakfast, stopping at a couple of shops, going into Duck Pond Market, but as I crossed Richmond bridge in the other direction, back towards Twickenham, the fog was still masking the view down the river. It’s obviously going to be one of those days when the fog is slow to clear.

It’s so nice to get out early before the crowds and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of beautiful Richmond and it was a lovely walk. And a great way to start the day!