A River Runs Through It

Hi folks,

Don't be confused by the title, I know rivers run through many places, however this one is the River Thames and the place in question is London. In September we took a trip down south to London to visit My son and his wife and enjoy what the English capital has to offer.
We took the east coast train down and I refrained from taking lots of photos of the beautiful coastline on the way south; one shot of the bridges over the Tyne as we passed through Newcastle:

Bridges over the Tyne

By the time we got to the hotel in London it was early evening so we went out for a stroll to get our bearings and something to eat. We weren't far from Westminster Bridge so we managed to get a few snaps of the usual attractions in that area:

Moira on Westminster Bridge

Me and Houses of Parliament

Big Ben at 7.30pm



Victoria Tower on Palace of Westminster



Parliament Square at night

London Eye at night

The next day we met up with Alan & Laura and took a boat trip up-river to Richmond. We had been on boat trips before on the Thames but they were always down-river towards Tower Bridge and beyond; so we were looking forward to going in the other direction as we boarded the boat opposite the London Eye:

Turning Round at the London Eye to head up-stream

Golden Eagle on Victoria Embankment

Houses of Parliament from Boat

Lambeth Palace

Passing under Lambeth Bridge

It was a lovely day and we were really enjoying our boat ride. There was plenty see on both banks of the river. As we approached Vauxhall Bridge we noticed some horses on the foreshore:

Horse Sculptures

These of course were not real horses but sculptures forming part of an art installation. We carried on up-river; the next building of interest being one that featured in the James Bond Skyfall movie:



MI6 Headquarters

Yes it is the home of the Secret Intelligence Service or the MI6 Headquarters...........a very unobtrusive building that blends into the background. Just along from it was the equally unobtrusive St George Wharf Tower:


St George Wharf Tower, Vauxhall

 We were now getting to a part of London which was once a hive of industry, but is slowly and surely becoming a waterfront residential area with chic places to eat and shop. There are still some remnants of the industrial past however:

Battersea Power Station (under refurbishment)

Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park

Albert Bridge



Lots Road Power Station (aka the Chelsea Monster)

Ski-slope Apartments Dwarfing Battersea Church

The Lots Road Power Station was built in 1905 and was used to power parts of the London Underground until it was decommissioned in 2002. It was commonly known as the Chelsea Monster, perhaps due to the vast amounts of coal it consumed (it was later converted to run on oil in the 1960s and then to gas in the 1970s).
Enough with the history, on with the boat trip:

Craven Cottage (home of Fulham FC)

Harrods Furniture Depository



Nice Waterfront Houses in Chiswick

Alan & Laura Enjoying the Boat Trip

Bulls Head Pub at Strand-on-the-green

Shortly after this we stopped at Kew, where some people got off the boat to go to Kew Gardens, then 15 minutes later we arrived at Richmond.
After a bite of lunch in the lovely little town of Richmond we headed for a walk towards Richmond Park in anticipation of seeing some deer. At Richmond it felt as though you were in the middle of the countryside rather than just a few miles upstream from the city of London. Even the Thames wound its way through leafy pastures:

The Thames at Richmond



Terrace Gardens, Richmond

Towards Richmond Park

It was a bit of a walk to get to Richmond Park, however it was mainly through the beautiful Terrace Gardens so we had plenty to look at.
When we reached Richmond Park we did not have to walk very far before we came face-to-face with some Fallow Deer stags (or Bucks):

Fallow Deer Stags in Richmond Park

I can't believe how close they were to the road running through the park, or how tolerant they were of people getting close to them. Although they are in a park they are not captive and are essentially wild animals; and at this time of year the stags are 'rutting' and prone to attacking any rivals.
These ones did not seem to be in the mood to attack anyone but I still kept my distance, unlike some people who even encouraged their young child to go closer than I would consider safe, as the video below shows:

After having a wander round Richmond Park we got the train back to Clapham Junction (not to be confused with Clapham!!) and went to Alan & Laura's apartment in Battersea.
We were pretty tired and did not feel like going out for a meal in the evening so ordered some scrumptious pizza which was washed down with some tasty beer..............luvly jubbly, as they say in London. After that Moira and I headed back on the train to the hotel in Waterloo.
We weren't meeting up with A&L until the afternoon the next day, so we got up reasonably early and headed to Westminster Abbey for a guided tour:

Westminster Abbey Rear

Westminster Abbey Front

When I say a guided tour I mean it was a baton with buttons on it that explained what you were looking at when you pressed the right number. It was most informative and enjoyable anyway. You just don't realise just how many famous people are buried there.....from poets to engineers, kings and queens, politicians, etc. fascinating.
They did not permit the taking of photographs so you are spared from that.
We had lunch in their very posh (but not too expensive) café, then Moira just had to visit the gift shop before we left......she said she didn't buy anything?
After a quick run round Parliament Square we headed back towards Jubilee Gardens near the London Eye, where we had planned to meet Alan & Laura:

Moira at Parliament Square

London Eye (with Rugby World Cup Colours)

Giant Chairy-Plane near Jubilee Gardens

Just opposite the Jubilee Gardens is a building belong the Shell Oil Company, and outside this was a huge Polar Bear (not a real one) put there by Greenpeace in protest of Shell's plans to exploit the oil under the Arctic:

Greenpeace Polar Bear

This was an animatronic Polar Bear which moved and roared as you can see in the video I took:

When Alan & Laura arrived we headed along the Thames Path towards Southwark (pronounced 'suthark' apparently). This took us past the South Bank area and there were lots of interesting this to see and photograph:

London Cityscape (from South Bank)

Oxo Tower & South Bank Tower

St Paul's, Tower 42 (aka NatWest Tower) and Cheese Grater Building

Where they film This Morning (apparently)

Chillin' on the South Bank

We had a quick visit to the Tait Modern (which is in another disused power station) but there was nothing to see as they were in the middle of constructing the next art installation.

We passed the re-construction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre:

Globe Theatre

When we reached Southwark we also got some closer views of London's other landmark buildings:



St Paul's Cathedral

Walkie-Talkie, Cheese-Grater and the Gherkin

The Shard

We visited Hay's Galleria ( a sort of indoor/outdoor space with shops, offices and restaurants, covered by a huge Victorian wrought iron and glass roof) and got some good views of HMS Belfast, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge:

HMS Belfast

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

After a lovely meal at Café Rouge in Hay's Galleria we got the bus back to the hotel in Waterloo and Alan & Laura went home.
The next day was our last day in London and was a much more sedate affair. Moira and I got up (not too early) had some breakfast and went for a stroll along the Thames Path, this time heading from Westminster Bridge upstream to Vauxhall Bridge. During our walk we came across a few curiosities; including a Dukw on the Thames (not a spelling error), a ship crashing through an office block and some concrete, submersible horses....................I even took photos if you don't believe me!!

DUKW going under Lambeth Bridge

Ship Shape

Concrete Horses & Riders

The Rising Tide Horse Sculpture at Vauxhall Bridge

The Rising Tide

 

The plaque above explains the concrete horses; the DUKW (commonly called a Duck) is the name for the converted amphibious truck used to take tourists on a joy ride; and the ship is a sculpture at the front of the offices of the International Maritime Organisation.................simples!!
After a bite of lunch we jumped on a train at Vauxhall station and headed to Clapham Junction to visit Alan & Laura in their apartment (which boast some fantastic roof-top views):

Roof Top View East

Roof Top View East

We took a leisurely stroll out to nearby Battersea Park where we saw some squirrels, some resident Ring-necked Parakeets (and there are some people who would gladly ring their necks due to the noise they make), some Egyptian Geese and a tight-rope walking Heron:

Grey Squirrel

Egyptian Geese from Battersea

Tight-rope Walking Heron

OK so the Heron is walking on railings........... still pretty impressive......like to see you trying it.
When we got back to the apartment Laura cooked us some lovely duck for tea (no it was not Egyptian Goose) followed by her world famous chocolate brownies with ice cream (mmmmm!!).
We watched a bit of telly, drunk some beer/wine (delete as appropriate) and then got the train back to Waterloo.
The next day we left and travelled back by train to Scotland............I think this had been one the best holidays in London ever.
If you are planning to visit London and want to see the sights, I would certainly recommend that you travel the River Thames by foot or by boat, and you won't go far wrong.

cheers

Teddyeddieedward