Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt - London

My scavenger-hunting was non-existent in January but I returned to it recently on a trip to London. I've long wanted to see Tower Bridge open and I've kept an intermittent watch on the published list of lift dates and times, but not found anything convenient until now. Last Saturday lunchtime it was opened twice for the passage of sailing vessel Noah and I decided to go up and see it, and to combine that with some scavenger-hunting.

The list for the hunt was set by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days, and is always a mixture of collecting photos of things that I know about and coming across ones that I don't. I started my walk from my 'home' station of London Fenchurch Street towards the Tower of London for a couple of hunt items that I knew about, and found a few that I didn't.

First was the Tower Hill Memorial, which remembers the Many (no. 17 on the list) merchant seaman who perished in World War One and have no known grave. 

More than 12,000 names are listed, ship by ship, on the memorial. 

Behind it, the Port of London Authority Building, with its Pair (no. 19) of flags (UK and Canada for some reason) was looking resplendent in the sunshine.

Across the road is a statue that I had in mind for Men at Work (no. 1); it's called The Builder and commemorates the thousands of construction workers who have lost their lives at work. In my mind, there was more than one builder, so this is just Man at Work.

I also took a photo of the nearby Signpost (no.18), the first of many but ultimately my favourite of the day.

Close by, I spotted this nut seller with Steam (no. 24) steadily rising from his wares. I'm sure they used to sell roasted chestnuts, but now it seems that caramelised peanuts and almonds are in vogue. 

I then headed down to the river for the first bridge lift, joining a good crowd along the waterfront.

The second lift was due in 30 minutes, and I wanted to watch that from London Bridge so I headed up river, passing A Line Of black cabs (no. 13) in Lower Thames Street

before returning to the riverside walk near HMS Belfast, a light cruiser which saw service in World War Two so has a certain Sense of History (no. 16).

I reached London Bridge in good time, and captured as many boats as I could On the Water (no.7)

while I waited for Tower Bridge to open again.

Mission accomplished, it was back to the scavenger-hunting and another item that I knew where to find - the church of St Mary-le-Bow (no.15) on Cheapside,

and, seeing that the door was ajar, I took an unplanned Peek Inside (no. 25) 

finding a more ornate interior than I would have imagined. 

I decided to head for home then, but checked the list and kept my eyes open for anything interesting that I might find. It wasn't long before I passed a Bookshop (no.11) 

and then next door, the decorative Detail (no. 20) above the entrance to Crown Court,

I was on the lookout for an interesting Handle (no. 21) too, but this was the best I could manage

before being distracted by more Detail in the friezes on the front of No 1 Poultry.

I passed several Silversmiths (no. 8) near the Royal Exchange but sadly they were all closed so had no silvery goods on display for me.

Similarly the windows of Louis Vuitton were bereft of Luggage (no. 2) (and didn't even merit a photo), though the Pair of (no. 19) telephone boxes outside certainly did.

Glancing along side-streets as I crossed them, I was struck by the Symmetry (no. 22) of this building (HSBC in Bishopsgate).

Ever since my Men at Work statue had turned into a single man, I'd been looking out for workmen, but they are a rare commodity at Saturday lunchtime in the City of London. The few I'd seen had been standing around rather than working, but as I got close to my station I finally struck it lucky with these three, at least one of whom appears to be working.

So, after a 10 week drought, I managed to pick off 14 items (I'm not counting 'silver' as it's far too tenuous) in about 90 minutes. I'd previously found 12 in the Lake District in December, but many of these are duplicates. As things stand, I have seven items to find and 20 days to go.

There's still time to join in if you wish, and you can find the full list of 25 items over on Eileen's blog, A Bracelet of Days.