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Published: June 16th 2017
01 Ship & Bridge
The HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge in the distance.Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236
I headed into London today on a mission to see the many tourist attractions and take lots of photos. I got off at London Bridge station and walked along the Thames River. The sky was clear and it was a beautiful day so far. Then into view came Tower Bridge, it looked pretty cool. It was one of the few sights that I recognised as I walked along the pedestrian river path. I took lots and lots of photos - who knows when the sky will be blue again? It's not easy taking photos with gloves on and it's a hassle constantly taking them off and on, it won't be long until I lose one of them. I also walked past HMS Belfast,which is a permanently moored museum ship.
Then just past the HMS Belfast I noticed the Tower of London on the other side of the river. It looked quite impressive too. An old castle in the middle of the modern city. I was now getting closer to the bridge and even more amazed by its design and grandness. At the bridge I walked up the steps and was now on the bridge. Even though it is such
02 Tower of London
The Tower of London as seen from the other side of the Thames. an old bridge, it is still functioning to full capacity. On either side there are pedestrian paths and in the middle are single lanes for traffic. I walked along to the other side and took in the great view.
I bought a combined ticket for Tower Bridge and The Monument and then caught a lift from the north tower to the top. Here I walked along the walkways. It was was a great view of the city and signs informed me of landmarks that were new to me. Some of the visible landmarks were St Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, London Bridge, The Gherkin and The Monument. I saw many boats going up and down the river. This was such a magnificent structure and really amazed me. After walking along both walkways, I got the lift down the south tower.
Did you know? The man who designed the bridge was never able to see it completed and once when the bridge was lifting a bus was caught in the middle and then quickly accelerated, luckily they all survived. As part of the Tower Bridge exhibition, I saw one of the two steam engines that operate the lifts in the towers
03 Tower Bridge
One of London's well known icons - Tower Bridge. and the bridge when it needs to open for tall ships. Once I was out of the exhibition, I walked across the bridge again and came to The Tower of London. Had considered going into it, but it was a rip off, $35!! Definitely another day, today I walked around it and it looks quite impressive and well maintained/preserved.I continued walking along the Thames path and found the Monument- 311 steps to the top. It was designed by Christopher Wren and built to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666. I will climb the Monument another day. I came to a tube station and caught a train to St Pauls station. I walked around St Paul's Cathedral and found the entrance, another rip off, $22. Am not paying that much to go to
04 Bridge
A view of the bridge from the path along the river. a church. There must be a cheaper way to see the attractions, will investigate next time I'm on the internet. It looked quite impressive from the outside. I walked back to St Pauls station and caught the tube to Leicester Square and ate McDonalds. Then went to the National Portrait Gallery. Saw lots of paintings of Richards, Henrys and Edwards I,II,III,IV,V, VI, etc. Not a bad gallery considering it was free entry. Will go back there again, they had good heating and no cold wind!!
What a busy, exhausting day of sightseeing! I really enjoyed seeing the sights and can't wait to see more of this city.
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