The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge
The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge is a footbridge that links the ExCel Exhibition Centre to the south side of the dock.
As it has lifts at each end, it is not difficult to get across the dock. Some of the pictures of the SS Robin were taken from the bridge.
Th SS Robin Opposite the ExCel
The SS Robin is the last steam coaster left and now after a certain amount of rebuilding it is sitting on a barge in the Royal Victoria Dock behind the ExCel Exhibition Centre.
If you want to go and see it take the DLR to Custom House and walk down to the dock.
Is It Legal To Take Inflated Balloons On A London Bus?
I took this picture today by London Bridge.
Balloons On a London Bus
It clearly shows that some of the passengers have inflated balloons.
Is this legal?
I ask the question, as when C and I were students at Liverpool University in the 1960s, the buses there displayed a notice that clearly stated that the carrying of inflated balloons was not allowed.
Do We Mislead Tourists?
I travelled to London Bridge today and on the train I met a couple of ladies from New Zealand, who were trying to get to the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall. But their hotel had told them to go to London Bridge to see something similar by the London Dungeon. I put them on a Jubilee Line train to Westminster.
I also met an Australian tourist and her family going to the London Dungeon. I suppose they had kids, but at least I was able to point out Borough Market and Sothwark Cathedral. Let’s hope that when London Bridge Quarter gets finished, they put up some decent information.
At least though I saw this outside the Globe Theatre a few street’s away.
I have a simple tourism rule. I don’t pay to go into anything, unless it’s National or special interest museum. I’ve never been to Madam Tussauds, the London Dungeon or any of the other places in London setup to relieve tourists of their money. These places are not an asset to London, just as others of a similar ilk aren’t in Paris, Amsterdam and New York.
Many of the best tourist sites in London are free and all some require are a London Travelcard or Oystercard. Here’s my favourite top ten.
- The front at the top of any London double deck bus. Favourites include a 24 from Victoria to Hampstead and the two heritage routes (9 and 15). I like to play bus roulette and get on the first that turns up.
- The British Museum. It’s worth going in, just to see the roof and have a nice coffee. Special exhibitions are extra, but the main museum is free, althougth they do like the occassional donation. When it’s not too busy, you can handle some of the exhibits. I’ve seen little girls, and big ones for that matter, in Roman necklaces.
- The Olympic Park. But go before June 2012, as I suspect you’ll find views will be shut off for security before the Olympics.
- The Imperal War Museum.
- The Kensington Museums; Science, Natural History and V & A. There’s even a good Carluccio’s nearby.
- The Victoria and Albert Embankments. At low tide, look for the beach at Tower Bridge.
- The North and East London Lines on the London Overground. They connect lots of small, good museums, Hampstead Heath, Kew Gardens and Crystal Palace. There is also a superb panorama of London in several places.
- The Docklands Light Railway. Take it from Bank to Canary Wharf and on to the Thames Barrier.
- St. Pancras Station. Even the French think it’s the best railway station in the world. It may not be by next year, as King’s Cross may outshine its neighbour.
- Green, Victoria and St. James’s Parks.
- The Regent’s and all the other canals that take you from Islington to Stratford and Docklands.
I suspect this list will grow.
I did like this bike though.
Mobile Low Carbon Tourist Office
Is this the first mobile low carbon tourist office?
What Are We To Do With Lancaster House?
Lancaster House is one of London’s most prestigious buildings, but it is treated like the way many of my parents generation treated the front room; for special occasions only. And you don’t let those outside the great and good in. Although to be fair, it is used for quality films.
So the news this morning in The Times, that the Government is thinking of transferring the property to the National Trust, is to be welcomed.
It would appear that the Trust would still allow it to be used for films, such as The King’s Speech, in addition to being open to the public, but also they would use the house to display some of the important works of art in government collections.
After all, Somerset House has undergone quite a transformation in the last few years, since C used to go there to the Principal Registry, which has now moved to an anonymous block in Holborn. It is now a gallery, half is part of King’s College and there is an ice rink in the winter, to name just some of its important uses. It is also used as a film set.
So a good precedent has been set.
If we do the right thing with Lancaster House, we should follow that with sorting out Marlborough House.
From West Ham to Abbey Mills on the Greenway
The Greenway has now been reopened close to West Ham station and it is now possible to walk along it past Abbey Mills Pumping Station and on to Stratford again.
Note the large bridge, which I suspect will be used to take those walking to the Olympic site over Stratford High Street.
It will be good when it is fully open again from Hackney Wick to West Ham and on to Beckton. It will be one of the best walks in London.
Crossrailed Again!
I have a feeling London is going to have to learn to live with CrossRail. Not content with causing chaos in Oxford Street, the construction work has now effectively removed Hanover Square from being a useful thoroughfare between Fenwick and John Lewis.
An Unfriendly Hanover Square
But it still doesn’t stop idiots driving through to make matters worse for buses, taxis and pedestrians.
Traffic Jams Towards John Lewis
I must say that I might miss driving at times, but not in Central London.
I should say that I walked to John Lewis, a couple of minutes quicker than the Ferrari! But perhaps the driver was a learner, as this driver was.
To a Reception at the House of Lords
Last night, I went to a reception for Liverpool University alumni at the House of Lords.
It was an excellent do, with drinks and nibbles, some of which were gluten-free, in the Peers Dining Room hosted by Lord McNally.
In some ways afterwards was the highlight, as a small group of about eight of us, walked out through an empty, except for one security guard, Westminster Hall. We asked if it would be OK to take a picture and several of us did.
An Empty Westminster Hall
It really is a magnificient building.
Never when I was lying in hospital in Hong Kong, did I think, I’d ever be able to go to something like that again.
So never give up on life! You might miss the good surprises it has in store for you!
Boadicea Stands Guard
Standing guard opposite the Houses of Parliament is Boadicea, or as she is more normally spelled these days, Boudica.
Boadicea Stands Guard
She may or may not have defeated the Romans, as whatever happened they remained in Britain.
Her spirit lives on, especially in East Anglia. She probably came from that region, although no-one is sure quite where! I have heard several people say, including my father, that if the Germans had landed in Suffolk in the Second World War, they would have got similar treatment to that meted out by Boadicea and her ragbag army of upwards of 100,000 men. When questioned as to the legitimacy of this treatment under the Geneva Convention, a common reply was “What would Boadicea have done?” I don’t know the truth of all these reports, but I know Suffolk people well and they wouldn’t have taken an invasion lightly.
Some also say that her tribe, the Iceni, were the supreme horsemen, who when their horses were suffering from horse sickness, looked for a new and healthier place to raise them. They found this valley in the chalk downs and moved there, calling the place New Horse Market. In time this was corrupted to Newmarket. The town is the world centre of horse racing and breeding, known amongst racing people as Headquarters. Every thoroughbred can trace their ancestry back to this small town in Suffolk.
The Anonymous Widower 