A Cruise Back From Chelsea Harbour Pier To London Bridge City Pier
Chelsea Harbour Pier is just about nine minutes walk from Imperial Wharf station, but the signposting could be better.
I took these pictures as I came back along the Thames from Chelsea Harbour Pier To London Bridge City Pier, from where I caught a 141 bus home.
Note.
- I sat on the right side of the boat.
- The boat was built at Cairns in Queensland, Australia.
- We don’t buy many manufactured goods from Australia.
- There is a small snack bar on the boat.
- Battersea Power Station Pier was busy.
- Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) is the statutory body, or local authority, responsible for the management of the waste delivered to it by Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth and Wandsworth. It has a web site.
- I tapped in and out with my faithful credit card.
Although Imperial Wharf and my local station at Dalston Kingsland are on the same London Overground line, using the Thames Clipper made a worthwhile change.
Wrightbus To Supply 20 Electroliner Buses To Hong Kong
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on bus-news.
These are the first two paragraphs, which give more details.
Wrightbus has received a major order for a set of 20 of its 6×2 StreetDeck Electroliner double-deck buses.
The vehicles have been ordered by Hong Kong’s Citybus, marking the first global order for the new triple-axle vehicles.
I feel very strongly after a very terrible Bank Holiday weekend, that these are the buses we need on the 141 route in London, that I use most days.
Currently, we have BYD’s Chinese Junks and the batteries are too small.
- On Saturday, I had a doctor’s appointment and had to wait 45 minutes for a bus.
- On Sunday, I had to take a taxi.
- On Monday, it was a twenty minute wait and in the end I took a 76, which are Routemasters and walked.
- On Tuesday, I was rescued by an elderly Wrightbus, after twenty minutes wait.
The article on bus-news says this about the three-axle buses.
Measuring 12-metres in length; the StreetDeck Electroliners are capable of carrying up to 82 seated passengers (130 total), and possess an operating range of up to 300km.
That would do us fine in De Beauvoir Town, so we could travel reliably to London Bridge and Palmers Green.
As an engineer, I suspect the longer buses with an extra axle can carry a larger battery. I also suspect that BYD’s batteries don’t perform well in hot weather.
Instead, we get Chinese Junks and Hong Kong will be getting quality British buses built in Malaysia.
Findlater’s Corner At London Bridge – 11th February 2023
This restoration was shown on the BBC London news in a story, which was entitled London Bridge: Derelict Railway Arches Restored To Past Glory, and I thought it was worth a visit.
Note.
- It is a fine restoration.
- I shall be interested to see, the tenants it attracts.
- The railway bridge needs an appropriate repainting, to eliminate the graffiti.
I think, that with the right tenants, the tea room could be a gem.
The BBC article says this about the tea room.
The project team also made a surprise discovery when removing a section of plaster from a wall to another of the arches; a glass mosaic for an Express Dairy Tea Room dating back to the early 1900s.
Railway stations were a popular location for tea rooms because at the time they had access to the freshest milk, often transported from farms on trains before being sent to urban milk dairies.
“The tea rooms were one of the first places that ladies, who couldn’t necessarily go and eat in bars or eat in chop houses, could come, get together as single women and meet their friends, so this is perhaps an important part of the emancipation of urban woman in London”, said Mr O’Looney.
Mr. O’Looney is the architect of this project, who is the gloriously named; Benedict O’Looney.
He featured in this blog before in It’s Not April The First, where I wrote about his restoration of the waiting room at Pekham Rye station.
Battersea Power Station To London Bridge – 18th September 2022
I took a Thames Clipper from Battersea Power Station to London Bridge.
Note.
- The South Bank is generally to the left in the pictures.
- I took a Northern Line train to Battersea Power Station pier.
- As I finished at London Bridge pier, it was convenient for the Northern Line.
- I took these pictures from the back of the boat in the open as the windows were so dirty.
- In some pictures you can see the power of the boat, as it pulls away from the stops.
- The boat passed three of the super sewer sites.
- There were large numbers on the South Bank queuing to pay their respect to The Queen.
The fare was £7.70 on my Oyster card and the journey took under forty minutes.
A Cruise To Barking – 13th May 2022
I noticed earlier in the week, that the Thames Clippers now go all the way to Barking Riverside. So I went today.
Note.
- I boarded the boat at the London Bridge City Pier.
- The easiest way to get to this pier is to get a 21, 43 or 141 bus from Moorgate or Bank station. to London Bridge and walk along the South Bank of the river for perhaps a hundred metres. Walking from London Bridge station is a bit tricky.
- I alighted at Barking Riverside Pier, which will be a short walk to the new Barking Riverside station.
The route is a mixture of historic and modern London and places passed include.
- HMS Belfast
- The Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
- Canary Wharf
- Cutty Sark
- The Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- The O2
- The Thames Barrier
- Wooolwich Arsenal
Many have piers for the Thames Clipper.
The Royal Iris
These pictures show what is left of the former Mersey Ferry, the MV Royal Iris, which is rusting in the River at Woolwich.
I remember the ferry, when it was resplendent in green and yellow in the 1960s. I also remember going on one evening party cruise up and down the Mersey.
It’s rather a sad end for ship that has many happy memories for many.
According to Wikipedia, there is a campaign to return the iconic ferry to Liverpool.
London’s CrossFerry
The Thames Clippers keep on going and now at many times, you can go all the way between Barking Riverside and Putney.
It’s not that slow either and in the open waters East of Tower Bridge, my phone was saying that the ferry was cruising at 40 mph.
If it has one problem, it is that the Thames Clippers don’t have an all-day timetable, that is simple.
If it is going to be a pseudo-train line across London, then there needs to be a two boat per hour service across the city. This will be needed more as more housing is built at Barking Riverside.
I know Barking Riverside will be getting the Overground in the Autumn, but unlike the Thames Clippers, that serve Canary Wharf, the City and Westminster, the Overground will serve a swathe of housing, rather than employment, across North London.
The Anonymous Widower 