Bridge Walk West

Last Monday was finally my self-declared "Bridge Day." For some time I had wanted to walk all of the central London bridges in a single go, and everything fell into place on 18 February. My looping route alternated between bridges and embankments, so by the end of the day I had crossed all 9 possible bridges from Lambeth (just west of the Houses of Parliament) to Tower (just east of the Tower of London), plus I had covered all of the ground along both sides of the River Thames. I took advantage of the picture perfect day by meandering along, and stopping to take over 200 photos. (What would I do without a digital camera?) No wonder it took me 7 hours to complete my route! From west to east, here is just a small sampling of the bridges and their nearby sights.


Lambeth Bridge



Not many tourists venture this far. There aren't even traffic lights for crossing the bridge at one of its ends - just zebra crossings at which vehicles must yield to pedestrians, and they do. Standing on the bridge gives you a nice view of Lambeth Palace, London home to the Archbishop of Canterbury. I know he was in residence that day, because the blue flag (far left) was flying above the Palace. Parliament was also in session, because the Union Jack was flying above Victoria Tower. (But I have yet to personally see the Royal Standard flying above Buckingham Palace.) For a great view of the Houses of Parliament, stand in front of Lambeth Palace.




Westminster Bridge



In contrast to Lambeth, every tourist crosses this one. At one end stands the South Bank Lion, and he is close to the London Eye and County Hall (home of the London Aquarium and much more).



At the other end stands Boadicea, and she is close to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Pier (departure point for those ever popular boat rides).




Golden Jubilee Bridges



Work was completed on these 2 footbridges in 2002, the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. They surround the Hungerford Railway Bridge, which is not open to pedestrians! For a preview of the next blog, look at the oh-so-attractive Waterloo Bridge in the distance....