Secret London
Monday ridley_walker and I spent the day in London visiting the interesting bits that most people don't.
First stop was some hidden (unless you're on a boat) Victorian statues on Vauxhall Bridge. Ok, you have to hang over the bridge sides to get any sort of a look at them, but the best two (Industry and Architecture) are really good.
From there we headed east to Borough, to see the only galleried inn left in London, The George, dating from 1677, after a quick caffeine fix in Monmouth
Further south into Bermondsey gets you the random (and garish) genuine Russian T34 tank
and Bermondsey High Street's coffee shop (currently nameless as Trading Standards weren't accepting Fuckoffee).
Going back along the Bermondsey Wall, we found two things we didn't know about in advance: the Dr Salter's Dream sculptures
And the site of Edward III's manor house
What we were actually going east to see was the shaft and engine house for Brunel's Rotherhithe Tunnel (now used for Overground trains), the first tunnel under the Thames.
Last stop on the south bank was the oddly named Cat & Cucumber café for a proper down-to-earth cheap London 'caff' lunch.
After braving the tourists on Tower Bridge and round the Tower of London, we got to the peace of St Dunstan in the East
before heading for the most touristy thing of the day: climbing the 311 steps of the Monument. The view doesn't match the Shard, but you do get to be outside, which is better for photos.
It seems to be a popular destination for very noisy groups of school kids, but at least there wasn't a queue to get in, and when the kids weren't there, it was quiet.
Heading further into the middle of London, we just managed to see the site of London's amphitheatre, under the Guildhall art gallery, before the Gallery shut at 5pm.
Glad we did get to see it, as the presentation's really effective.
Having done a lot of walking, we then headed west on the Tube, stopping to see the last remaining sewer gas lamp (mostly original)
(it used to run on sewer gas; now it apparently runs on biogas, which is probably basically sewer gas but sounds more refined.)
and the Tardis outside Earl's Court station
Final stop was out to the west in Fulham: Bishop's Park, a nice park by the river, to get out of rush hour. This is the 500 year old Holm Oak.
It makes the interesting destinations list because it originally had a 'beach' and pool made with sand from Margate, and was known as 'Margate Sands'; it was a popular destination for families who couldn't afford the fare to go to the seaside for the day. The park fell into disuse, but has been recently been restored to pretty much its original design, complete with sand.
First stop was some hidden (unless you're on a boat) Victorian statues on Vauxhall Bridge. Ok, you have to hang over the bridge sides to get any sort of a look at them, but the best two (Industry and Architecture) are really good.
From there we headed east to Borough, to see the only galleried inn left in London, The George, dating from 1677, after a quick caffeine fix in Monmouth
Further south into Bermondsey gets you the random (and garish) genuine Russian T34 tank
and Bermondsey High Street's coffee shop (currently nameless as Trading Standards weren't accepting Fuckoffee).
Going back along the Bermondsey Wall, we found two things we didn't know about in advance: the Dr Salter's Dream sculptures
And the site of Edward III's manor house
What we were actually going east to see was the shaft and engine house for Brunel's Rotherhithe Tunnel (now used for Overground trains), the first tunnel under the Thames.
Last stop on the south bank was the oddly named Cat & Cucumber café for a proper down-to-earth cheap London 'caff' lunch.
After braving the tourists on Tower Bridge and round the Tower of London, we got to the peace of St Dunstan in the East
before heading for the most touristy thing of the day: climbing the 311 steps of the Monument. The view doesn't match the Shard, but you do get to be outside, which is better for photos.
It seems to be a popular destination for very noisy groups of school kids, but at least there wasn't a queue to get in, and when the kids weren't there, it was quiet.
Heading further into the middle of London, we just managed to see the site of London's amphitheatre, under the Guildhall art gallery, before the Gallery shut at 5pm.
Glad we did get to see it, as the presentation's really effective.
Having done a lot of walking, we then headed west on the Tube, stopping to see the last remaining sewer gas lamp (mostly original)
(it used to run on sewer gas; now it apparently runs on biogas, which is probably basically sewer gas but sounds more refined.)
and the Tardis outside Earl's Court station
Final stop was out to the west in Fulham: Bishop's Park, a nice park by the river, to get out of rush hour. This is the 500 year old Holm Oak.
It makes the interesting destinations list because it originally had a 'beach' and pool made with sand from Margate, and was known as 'Margate Sands'; it was a popular destination for families who couldn't afford the fare to go to the seaside for the day. The park fell into disuse, but has been recently been restored to pretty much its original design, complete with sand.