A London Walk - Thames, and St Pauls,

Over the half term break I was in London. But the walking didn't stop. So much nicer to walk rather than use the Tube. Walking along the Thames, we had views like this, as you will see.

Starting at Victoria, we passed these electric cars charging at the roadside.

Next to them, the usual London assortment of bikes

On Victoria Street, the London Eye came into view

The tourists were getting more frequent, as we glimpsed part of Westminster Abbey.

It's recently been cleaned

We passed Big Ben too, but with the light behind it was difficult to photograph

And we reached the river. I love this statue of Boudicca

We turned left at the Thames, and walked along the Victoria Embankment. The London Eye, and County Hall

The Golden Jubilee bridge, a pedestrian bridge next to the Hungerford railway bridge

Cleopatra's Needle. Nothing to do with Cleopatra, but certainly an old Egyptian Obelisk, shipped to Britain in the 19th century.

Bronze Sphinxes sit either side of the Needle

The Thames was quite rough, with passing boats and an incoming tide

An intriguing front door, complete with plastic grasses, part of a massive office building over Charing Cross station

We stopped here, at the Courtauld Gallery. (Good cafe). Unlike many London Museums, it is not free: there is a £7 admission charge

But it is not crowded at all, and the paintings are of the absolute best quality. There are pictures by Rubens, Botticelli, gainsborough and Goya,  as well as amazing Impressionist paintings. This is Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere. We could get right up close.

And what about this? Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged ear. Click here to look at highlights of the collection

 We came out to more rough water

Blackfriars rail bridge, now covered with solar panels (completed in 2014)

The (ugly) building of Tate Modern with wheeling gulls and a vapour trail from a plane high in the clear blue sky

The Millenium Bridge - linking Tate Modern and St Paul's Cathedral - complete with maintenance workers hanging underneath

There's a great view of St Pauls from here, but some people were more interested in the workers!

St Pauls Cathedral

We visited it briefly. This is the OBE Chapel - of which more in a future post...

This is a classic walk, and everyone really should do it. Either side of the River is fine, and each have their merits, but do it you must!




Mobile users: To see other walks, click here. For computer users, the menu is at the side
Today's walk: we walked 6.5 miles, because we carried on to Euston, but the river section of the walk is around 2 miles - there's good transport links to either end. Click here for detailed walks published by Transport for London. There are several available, all outlining what you will see, as well as how to get there (and back!)