London walks - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Walk London's Winter Wanders weekend is coming up, which makes this a topical time to re-visit the question - is there a walking route in London that you'd recommend?"

"The route I walk several times a week is along the Thames path, from Embankment down to Tower Bridge, and it's a route I love. You're walking through the heart of the city - past universities, galleries, theatres and churches, not to mention countless statues and some really beautiful street furniture - like this aquatic lamppost. Everywhere along the route, you're surrounded by beautiful buildings ancient and modern, ending with the Tower of London. And you're walking with the river as your constant companion - there's always something different to see at high tide or low."- Miss Alice

* Photo by Sarah G, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London images - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite image of London you'd like to share?

"Walbrook Wharf at night. It's not a traditional London image, but I love that the Thames is a working river - this is the loading point for a commercial waste processing company, right next to Cannon Street station in the middle of the city - a few feet from the Bankers pub."- Miss Alice

* Photo by me.

London bus routes - Kris

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite bus route?

"My favourite bus route is the water bus from Westminster to Greenwich. It allows me to see London the way most people have viewed it, over the 2,000 years (give or take) that there has been a settlement here.

Until 1750 London Bridge was the only bridge across the Thames, and city roads were bad and crowded; it was far quicker (and more pleasant) to take a boat along the river. In fact, if you look at many of the old buildings along the Thames you will see that they still have a 'water gate' where boats could pull in to let passengers off, so they wouldn't have to walk on the street at all. (Somerset House is a prime example of this.)

If you haven't gone to Greenwich yet, thinking about going by the Water Bus. It's a lot of fun!"
- Kris

* Photo by Dr Max, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

London in verse - Catherine

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite London poem or nursery rhyme?

"While keeping with the topic of Nursery Rhymes, this one is not so much my favourite as something that terrified me when I heard it as a child. Imagine London Bridge falling down! I remember looking up the additional verses as reassurance that this was just a story to scare kids going through tunnels and overpasses, only to have my fears confirmed that the bridge was not always as sturdy as it seemed.

Now this rhyme haunts me in a whole new way ... because of Fergie (Black Eyed Peas, not the Duchess of York!) Is her song an homage to the popular nursery rhyme, or a bastardization of the cultural image? Whatever you think, I bet more of you have heard her lyrics (Oh Snap!) than have heard anything past the first “My Fair Lady” in the nursery rhyme.

The following verses are worth looking at, covering the history of the bridge from clay to brick to metal... even if it will make you think twice about going under the next bridge you come across!"
- Catherine

* Photo by andrew j w , used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

On and over the river - Ric

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite bridge, path, or other spot along the river?

"St. Katherine's dock. A stone's throw from Tower Hill, just east of Tower Bridge on the north side of the Thames, St. Katherine's was renovated from a dis-used deep-water dock originally created for accommodating London's global maritime network. It is now the home to dozens of yachts, but also a number of restaurants and bars. For something out of Farringdon and the centre of London, this would be a good spot to visit."- Ric

* Photo by Ian Press Photgoraphy, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

On and over the river - Miss Alice

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite bridge, path, or other spot along the river?

"Just the one? Then I'll pick the daddy of them all:the Thames path. This national trail runs all the way from the river's source to the sea, but the sections through central London - roughly Tower Bridge up to Battersea Bridge - run right through the heart of the city, and are delightfully modular, with well-signed paths on both sides of the river, and all the bridges in relatively close order so you can loop around very easily. The stretches between Embankment and Tower Bridge on the North or South side are the section I walk several times a week.

For a longer exploration, though, head away from the bridges entirely, taking the South bank path from Tower Bridge down to the Greenwhich Foot Tunnel, the next pedestrian river crossing. I've said this before, but that stretch really gives a fantastic cross-section of London life, from council estates to very swishy apartments, from the Dickensian warehouses of Shad Thames to the glittering 21st century towers of Docklands, past posh boats, working boats, waste boats and discarded boats, past the Design Museum, Mudchute Farm, the Dome, and the Trinity Buoy Wharf Lighthouse - plenty to see and explore and to think about. (The path does occasionally part from the river, though, so take an A-Z or some other decent map as a back up to the signs.)"- Miss Alice

* Photo by Nikonmania, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

On and over the river - Catherine

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite bridge, path, or other spot along the river?

"Everyone will find their favourite stretch of the river, and claim it their own with dozens of pictures of the bridges or the skyline or their friends flashing peace signs as the tea-coloured water bobs below them. While some people stand around wondering what could be down there (was a whale really found by Albert Bridge a few years back?), I prefer to use the river as an excuse to discover what is above the water line.

Like everything in London, you don’t have to go far to come across a gem. An amazing after-school stroll down to Embankment is the perfect excuse to stumble into Gordon’s Wine Bar before making your way to the water. Gordon’s, the oldest wine bar in London, is not easy to find on Villiers Street by Charring Cross on the Strand, but worth the hunt. After spending an hour or two ducked down in the cavernous, candle-lit cellar, emerging into the riverside breeze is a delight.

Or if you want a view of the river while you sip a drink, hop along Waterloo or Blackfriars bridge to Southbank. You can’t miss the OXO tower. Not the cheapest option to consider for dinner, but a cocktail definitely fits the student budget. And the view? Priceless. Check out the panoramic video on their website if you don’t believe me.

Both so close to the London Centre, add these spots to your riverfront finds. And let us know what choice locations you come across!"- Catherine

* Photo by Heidigoseek, used under Creative Commons, with thanks.

On and over the river - Prof O'Boyle

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite bridge, path, or other spot along the river?

"As already you know, I think London's Millennium Bridge is a spectacularly beautiful and highly original piece of architectural engineering, whose razor-sharp profile is best appreciated from a boat on the River Thames.

This YouTube clip gives a nicely illustrated explanation of the 'wobble' phenomenon when it first opened

With the addition of newly engineered dampers, however, the bridge is now quite safe to walk across, either heading south to the Tate Modern Gallery or north to the dome of St Paul's Cathedral."
- Prof O'Boyle

* Photo by Miss Alice, used under Creative Commons.