From Battersea Power Station Station To The River
I took these pictures as I walked from Battersea Power Station station to Battersea Power Station pier to get a Thames Clipper back to London Bridge.
Note.
- There appears to be fake smoke coming out of the chimney in the third picture.
- I think the second entrance to the station will be close to where I walked.
- To my taste there appeared to be a lot of car parking.
The walk took me under ten minutes.
The New And Unusual Way Commuters Will Be Able To Get To Canary Wharf And Central London
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on MyLondon.
The image shows a Thames Clipper at Greenwich Pier.
A new pier for Thames Clippers is to be built at Barking Riverside, close to the new Barking Riverside station.
This will create a whole series of new routes to the East of Canary Wharf, Greenwich and the Thames Barrier.
Conclusion
I think the new pier will also be good for tourists, just as much as commuters.
I shall certainly use it to show visitors, the historic sites of the Thames.
It’s also good to see the Thames Clippers getting integrated with London’s more traditional public transport.
Can We Innovate Our Way Out Of Our Troubles?
One Of London’s biggest problems at the moment is the bridges across the Thames.
This article on the BBC is entitled London’s Bridges ‘Are The Capital’s Embarrassment’ and is typical of many.
Hammersmith Bridge is causing particular trouble and has been closed to all traffic for some time.
But then I saw this innovative solution to the Hammersmith Bridge problem.
Note.
- Hammersmith Bridge is still closed.
- A floating bridge has been added alongside for pedestrians and cyclists.
- The floating bridge uses parts of the old Blackfriars pier.
- There is an innovative floating pontoon, which is activated by the current, that is used in the middle of the river to transfer passengers across.
- New Civil Engineer thinks, the temporary bridge could become a tourist attraction.
The design made me smile.
Walking Between Blackfriars And Hungerford Railway Bridges
These pictures were taken as I walked between Blackfriars and Hungerford railway bridges.
I was walking along the South Bank of the Thames.
A Short Cruise At Greenwich
I had taken the Emirate air-line to North Greenwich with friends and we decided we needed to go to the Cutty Sark.
So we took one of the Thames Clippers, from where I took these pictures.
About the pictures.
- The first pictures show Greenwich Power Station, which generates electricity for Transport for London on a standby basis. It must be one of oldest power stations still producing electricity, although nowadays it doesn’t use coal, but six massive gas turbines.
- The rest of the pictures show the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site.
The trip between the two piers took only a few minutes.
A Tourist Route Between Bank/London Bridge/Tower of London And Maritime Greenwich
I do this route on a sunny day, when I perhaps want to show a guest around London.
- Take the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from Bank or Tower Gateway stations to Royal Victoria station.
- Take the Emirate Air-Line across the Thames to Greenwich. Peninsular
- North Greenwich isn’t overloaded with attractions, unless you’re seeing a show or event at the O2. But it’s getting better!
- Take the Thames Clipper one stop to Greenwich. They run every twenty minutes.
If you want to be boring you can always catch the DLR to Cutty Sark station.
A few points.
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is often thought by Londoners, commuters and visitors as a bit of a Cinderella.
However, like Cinderella she works hard all day and provides reliable and efficient transport, where the only alternatives are buses, bicycles, taxis and Shank’s pony.
Just after the 2012 Olympics, I met a big cheese in Transport for London on a DLR train. He felt that the DLR had been the star in getting everybody to the games.
It must be one of the most successful light railways in the world!
And yet, no-one has ever thought to build another running on the same principles.
- Mainly elevated track.
- Mainly step-free stations
- Universal step-free train-to-platform access.
- High-visibility trains for passengers.
- Trains every three or four minutes.
- Friendly, interested, visible staff.
- Driverless operation with a train captain looking after passengers and driving in emergency.
- Contactless ticketing
Perhaps the lack of a full-time driver on every train, means that many other places would have massive union problems.
Emirates Air-Line
I’ve taken many people on the Emirates Air-Line and few haven’t been impressed.
The best time in my view is just as the sun sets, as these pictures show.
Note that unless you want a souvenir ticket, just use your bank card to touch-in and touch-out! My last one-way trip cost me £3.50 and appeared on my credit card statement labelled TFL TRAVEL CH Conractactless.
Thames Clippers
Since I moved back to London in 2010, the Thames Clippers have been continuously expanding and improving.
- .Five new boats have been delivered since the Olympics.
- Several piers have been improved, rebuilt or added in recent years.
- Cpmtactless ticketing can be used for all services. Payments are labelled THAMES CLIPPERS.
It should be noted that if you are a holder of a London Freedom Pass, you can get a discount on tickets at a machine.
Plans exist for the following.
- Extending the route to new housing developments at Barking and Thamesmead in the East.
- A new pier at Silvertown in October 2019, which could have a walking or bus link to the City Airport.
I can also see the following.
- Extensions to the West past Putney Pier to places like new housing at Brentford and Kew Gardens.
- Further extensions to the East to support the massive housing developments.
- Better connections to the London Underground, London Overground and National Rail stations.
- More use being made of the Thames Barrier as a tourist attraction.
- Thames Clippers becoming a river tube line.
- Thames Clippers appearing on the Tube map, just as the Emirate Air-Line does!
- A quick and easy connection between the City Airport, Canary Wharf and the Cities of London and Westminster being developed.
The last would surely appeal to City businessmen and those wanting to celebrate a special event.
If Venice can run a boat between the Airport, and St. Mark’s Square why can’t London do the equivalet?
Crossrail
Crossrail is the Elephant-in-the-Room, that will surely make its presence felt along the South Bank of the Thames, when it is extended to Ebbsfleet, as it surely will be.
- There will be a short walking interchange at Woolwich between Crossrail and the Tghames Clippers.
- If Crossrail build a station at Silvertown for London City Airport, this could be another interchange.
- If Crossrail eventually terminates at Gravesend, there could even be possibilities that far East.
The possibilities of designing the Crossrail Extension in conjunction with the Thames could open up the river has as both a leisure attraction and a transport artery.
Conclusion
London will reach towards the sea, to further enhance and add space to the undoubted Capital of the World!
A
Good Riddance To The Garden Bridge!
This article on the BBC, is entitled Garden Bridge: London mayor Sadiq Khan withdraws support.
It looks like that’s it for the complete waste of money!
Unless of course, some private individual decides to pay for it. Hopefully, Sadiq Khan, will tell the donor, “Thsnks! But no thanks!”
The Thames Beach By St. Paul’s
Just to the East of the Millennium Bridge, I took this picture of the beach.
There are a surprising number of places on the Thames, where there are beaches like this.
The Victoria Embankment Work-Site Of The Thames Tideway Tunnel
As I walked along the Thames, signs of works for the Thames Tideway Tunnel are appearing.
These pictures were taken at the Victoria Embankment Work-Site.
There is not much to see at present, but most of it is so the Tattersall Castle can be moved.
When the tunnel is finished, the site will look like this.
The main purpose of the site, is to connect the Regent Street combined sewer overflow to the main tunnel.
Anybody fancy a coffee, a drink or a meal in the sun by the Thames on top of the sewer outfall in 2021?
Walking From Hampton Court To Kingston
I hadn’t intended to walk, but when I saw the distance was 3.5 miles and it was sunny, I thought why not!
It took me twenty minutes over the hour and I had lunch in Bill’s by the river before taking the train home.
A Walk Along The River
It was very sunny so I walked along the Thames from Blackfriars station to the Tower.
Note.
- The works for the Tideway Tunnel.
- The impressive new Blackfriars Pier for the Thames Clippers.
- Queenhithe.
- You walk underneath the City’s waste transfer station at one point.
I couldn’t believe that the weather was that good for December.
At Queenhithe, you have to walk inland as the Thames Path is blocked by development, that was done a couple of decades ago.
I do hope that the new development at Queenhithe will include a bridge across the ancient dock to continue the path.
