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| My walk |
Managed to squeeze in another day out this week. I had a couple of ideas but one needed warmer weather to sit and admire trees and flowers so I opted to walk the last small section of the Thames which is on map 2 of my Thames path walk of the London area.
I set off by bus and tube and arrived at Monument tube station to pick up the Thames path where I left it once before. Firstly, I nipped into the church of St Magnus, Martyr by London Bridge and this time there was no service going on and I was able to take plenty of photos and admire the church in more detail. I lit a candle for my mum who died the day before Valentine's Day 1998 and left just before a large touring party arrived.
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| St Magnus |
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| St Magnus, Martyr, London Bridge |
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| Model of old London Bridge with shops and houses |
I I picked up the Thames pathway at London Bridge and walked along the back of Custom House. Here I met a group of around six men who were wheeling along something large and clinky and covered with brown paper. As they moved I took a longer look and I swear it was a huge chandelier. The guys were shouting to one another 'hang on' and I thought that one end was going to keel over. It reminded me of the
Only Fools and Horses sketch of the chandelier which dropped down from the ceiling - remember that? I had a giggle to myself as they rolled their precious package away.
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| All Hallows by the Tower |
As I neared the Tower of London I stopped off at a church I wanted to visit the last time I was around here, when there was a service going on (well, it was a Sunday that time). All Hallows by the Tower is a beautiful church, very spacious and light, quite unique and one of the oldest in London. It is a Grade I listed building and the Saxon Abbey of Barking founded the church in 675AD. The church was saved from the Great Fire of London through the efforts of Admiral Penn who along with Samuel Pepys watched London burn from the tower of the church.
Underneath the church is the Undercroft and Crypt which also houses the museum. Here as you enter is part of a Roman Road from the 2nd Century. The Undercroft feels quite eerie (I was down there on my own) but I pushed aside those thoughts and had a good look around. Here I also found the Crows Nest from the ship used by Shackleton's for his trip to the Antarctic. There is also the remains of the north door with fire damage from a WWII bomb.
Roman Pavement
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Shackleton's Crows Nest
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St Clare Chapel Crypt
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Fire damaged north door (right)
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| Undercroft, looking towards the crypt |
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| The Tower of London |
It was lovely and quiet in here which was in contrast to outside where hundreds were milling around the Tower of London. I decided to use the loos by the Tower and had to pay 50p for the pleasure! I took some photos and bought a portion of chips to eat. From the Tower of London I walked on to Tower Bridge and crossed it. Some years ago I visited the Tower Bridge Experience - a real good day out. There are great hands-on things and wonderful views from the gallery across the Thames. You get to see the engine rooms too. It's fascinating. But today I just walked across to the south side of the Thames and down passed City Hall, the Amphitheater and Hay's Galleria, which reminds me of Covent Garden with its stalls, shops and cafes. From there I carried on towards London Bridge and ended up at Southwark Cathedral where I went for a well-deserved pot of tea!
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| Traitors Gate |
Tower Bridge
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City Hall
Hay's Galleria
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I have now completed (different sections at different times) the whole of Map 2 between Albert Bridge and Tower Bridge and back again.
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