Our London Pass had been holding us in good stead and we used it again on a river cruise on the Thames.
Our
objective was to make it to Greenwich and see the Naval Museum
and Royal Observatory.
The photos below are what we saw.
Being
explorers, we decided to take an alternate route to the Temple
tube stop. Our area of town, Aldwych, is filled with little
passage ways called "courts" that provide paths between
buildings. We took one of these courts that was usually
locked off at night. We found nice buildings and a well
tended garden.
The flowers
were in bloom and pointing toward what little sun there was.
The
court goes through the portico under the building. The
south facing side of the building was on the Thames.
We boarded
the water shuttle at Westminster and we had a clear view of the
Westminster Bridge from the loading ramp.
As we
pushed-off the dock, we got a clear water-side view of the
London Eye.
Since we
were at Westminster, we also got a clear view of Parliament and
Big Ben.
While a
less-than-appealing thought, oncoming tug-barge combination
provides an invaluable service to the city -- trash removal.
All of London's refuse leaves town via the river on a barge.
This tug is coming upstream with empty containers. In the
background is the Jubilee Bridge.
The
mansion at Whitehall used to be the royal palace but "back in
the day" the Thames was an open sewer and the smell was less
than appealing. So, the royals moved inland to Buckingham,
Windsor and Kensington. The building now as government
office space.
On the
south bank we could see new apartments being constructed.
I had
not seen this vessel before. It appears to be a
refurbished navy vessel transformed into a bar.
London
is undergoing a construction boom. In the foreground is
the Millennium pedestrian bridge.
This is
the Southwark Bridge. While the style is classical, the construction
is modern.
We could
see St. Paul's cathedral from the area near Millennium Bridge.
The
south bank was awash in new condos and office buildings.
On link
in the chain of comfort for Londoners. This is the trash
loading station. Trash containers are delivered to the
station via truck and then placed on barges and shipped to Essex
further down river.
On the
south bank we passed the HMFIC Belfast.
The
Belfast served during WWII and now is a floating museum and
docking point for high-dollar cruise ships.
On the
opposite side of the river was White Castle AKA Tower of London.
Our boat
was going to go under the Tower Bridge.
The
center of the upper span had a very nice coat of arms.
But, this is not the official royal crest.
Note
that the upper deck of the boat is empty. That is because
it is raining and only someone as crazy as me would be out in
the rain just to get a photo.
On the
downriver side of Tower Bridge we had a great view of central
London.
To the
south we could see City Hall and "The Shard" which is the
tallest structure in Europe.
London
is an interesting mix of old and new. In the photo above
is a structure that was constructed in 1076 (Tower of London at
the bottom right) and some new buildings that were completed in
the last 5 years. That's over 930 years in one photo!
On the
east end of London in the so-called "docklands" are some old
wharves and factories that have been converted into yuppie
housing. Some of the old cranes have been retained.
These cranes were used to unload sailing ships loaded with cargo
from India and the far east.
The
Metropolitan Police maintain a large river presence on the
Thames. This is one of their bases.
We
passed a number of old historical pubs that were on the
water. In the old days, sailors who had been at sea for
months landed and came to places like these to spend their
hard-earned cash on wine, women and song. The yellow sign
on the right warns of a campshed projecting from the wall under
the water. These were used to stabilize barges during
loading and unloading. Now they are just a boating hazard.
This bar
was originally called "The Devil's Punchbowl".
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2015, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.