London: A Stroll Along the South Bank

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Lockdown is lifting and the hottest day of the year (by that point), it was a good day to be outside. My walk along the Thames started at Southwark Bridge. The bridge was opened in 1921. I really like its green colour. I headed over the bridge from the north to the South Bank, taking in the view of the Thames and the buildings that lined the northside of the river. I mainly looked west as last time I was in this area, I had concentrated my time to the east of here, at Tower Bridge and London Bridge. There wasn't much going on on the river, but the blue sky and sunshine were making the view more appealing. I really liked the look of Vintners Hall at the side of the bridge. It's classical façade looked good in the sun.

Once over the bridge, I headed right and soon came to the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. This venue is a replica of the original Globe Theatre, which was used in Shakespeare's time. It is built quite near to the site of the original theatre. I really liked the Elizabethan style of the building as it is modelled off the two original Globe theatres that were built in the 16th and 17th centuries. It made a great contrast to the surrounding buildings. My walk took me further along the South Bank, which was heaving with people. Everyone was enjoying being out in the sunshine after months of being cooped up in lockdown. I came to the Millennium Bridge, which was opened, surprise, surprise, in 2000. I was going to take a walk across the bridge, but didn't want to double back on myself, so didn't bother.

I continued along the South Bank and soon came to Bankside Beach. The beach was pretty quiet, which was a contrast to the walkway above it. I saw a mother watching her child play on the pebble beach and there also seemed to be a low key photo shoot going on. I don't know if it was someone famous, an influencer, or a random on their holiday, but there was a bloke shirtless in shorts getting his pic taken by a bloke with a big camera. It made me chuckle. I also watched a boat, I think it was a tour boat, going up and down the river. I had a great view across to Saint Paul's Cathedral and the skyscrapers on the northside of the river.

I passed by the Tate Modern and came to Blackfriars Bridge. I took the tunnel under the bridge and as I first entered, I was greeted by a beautiful mural of the Thames and the shoreline. I was gutted that the light and shadows were falling across the mural as I really wanted to get a good photograph of it, but it wasn't to be. The rest of the tunnel proper was filled with old pictures of the Thames and it was nice to look at them and see the changes that had taken place. I admired the view of the Oxo Tower Wharf. The building had originally been a power station that supplied the Royal Mail with electricity. The building was then acquired in the 1920s by the manufacturers of the kitchen staple the Oxo cube, who then rebuilt it in the Art Deco style. The owners, Liebig wanted a tower with illuminated signs advertising their product, but this was refused. To get around it and still allow the advertising of Oxo, the windows were built in a design of two circles and a cross, which coincidentally is their logo. It makes a great contrast to the glass skyscraper behind it.

I then came to Thames Beach and Gabriel's Pier, which were pretty devoid of people. Certainly, no photo shoots going on there. There is a nice observation point, which gave me great views back down the river. I walked through an area known as Riverside Grass, which was buzzing with people. After the lockdown, it was nice to see life returning to normal and people out enjoying themselves. I continued along the Southbank Boardwalk, stopping for a rest on one of the benches and to soak in the sunshine and atmosphere. I loved the lampposts lining the edge of the walkway and the tree branches above them. Waterloo Bridge was the next main point on my walk. Waterloo Bridge is not the most attractive bridge on the Thames, but I suppose that it gets the job done. I did however like the big imposing buildings on the other side of the water. The Shell Trading building with its clock was my particular favourite.

I decided to cross the Thames at the Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges. The Hungerford Bridge is used by trains to cross the river and the Golden Jubilee Bridges are used by pedestrians. After all the walking I had done, the stairs leading to the bridge were a bit of a killer. I enjoyed my walk across the bridge and the views back along the Thames and the route I had just walked. Now on the north side of the river, I made my way past Embankment Pier and came to Cleopatra's Needle. This is an Egyptian obelisk that was given to the UK by Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, the ruler of Egypt and Sudan in 1819. To be honest, I wasn't that bothered by the obelisk, but I did like the sphinxes that are at the base the obelisk.

Looking westwards, I could see the London Eye. I headed away from the river following the road past lots of office buildings. I came across a great statue of a businessman that had the addition of a face mask. A real sign of the times. I totally regret not getting a photo of it, but I suppose somethings are meant to live on in memory only. My walk took me past a great looking pub, The Blackfriars. It looked like a mini Flatiron Building. I tried to head back to the Thames, but it was a case of I can see it, but can't get there due to the roads and there was no access from where I was. So I headed back to the street I had been walking along and kept going, past the Church of Scientology.

I came to the Millennium Bridge so headed down there. I walked along it a bit, not all the way, just enough to get good views out over the Thames. I also got a good view of St. Paul's Cathedral. I headed up towards the cathedral. Just before reaching it, I came to the National Firefighters Memorial. The statue was created in the early 1990s and had originally been to commemorate the men and women that fought against the fires during the Blitz. However, later it was decided that the statue would be to commemorate all the firefighters in the UK that have lost their lives in the line of duty. A very poignant statue. As I came to St. Paul's Cathedral, I was a bit surprised to see so many people out having lunch on the grass and enjoying the sunshine. I think if I'd been on my lunchbreak, I would have had a hard time returning to work. St. Paul's was closed to the public, so I had to make do with a walk around the outskirts. It was nice to see the iconic dome up close and peer in through the gates. The cathedral looks very grand and I would like to return to see it all properly.

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