Jubilee Greenway - Hungerford Bridge to Westminster

Today I'm recounting the second part of my walk from Tower Bridge to Westminster on Tuesday 10 March. The first part of the walk is here.

It's part of my exploration of the Jubilee Greenway, a 60km path around London to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. I started it in January, and I'm actually now one walk away from completing it. I really need to get my blog posts caught up with my progress.

I left you last time as I approached Hungerford Bridge; passing under the bridge brought me to a cornucopia of Jubilee commemorations, all in the aptly named Jubilee Gardens (established for the Silver Jubilee and recently rejuvenated). The Jubilee Greenway shares this section of path with the older (Silver) Jubilee Walkway (they dropped the Silver part of the name in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee) and is marked with a crown on a pole.

Nearby stands the Silver Jubilee Flagpole, a gift from British Columbia.

and there's a sculpture called Jubilee Oracle:

The Royal Air Force memorial stands on the Victoria Embankment, on the opposite side of the river.

I half-crossed Westminster Bridge for a good look at the Millennium Wheel and City Hall

and kept going to capture Boudicca on the far end of the bridge, 

before returning to the south side for the South Bank Lion.

I descended the steps from Westminster Bridge to the Albert Embankment, and spotted a Silver Jubilee Walkway decal that hasn't yet been replaced in the rebranding.

The Houses of Parliament dominate the opposite bank and I took a host of photos of them as I wandered along the riverside path

Back on my side of the river, I came across another memorial, one to the members of the S.O.E., the Special Operations Executive, who took on undercover missions in occupied countries during World War II. The bust is of Violette Szabo who was captured, tortured and executed in 1945.

A little further, and I came to the Millennium Tree (an oak), one of 2000 planted by Lambeth Council.

I crossed the road to Lambeth Palace Library, but I didn't make the detour to the Palace itself, something that I do regret, but something that I shall do on a future outing.

I crossed Lambeth Bridge and entered Victoria Tower Gardens, with a great view of the Victoria Tower ahead of me. It was originally called the King's Tower and was built as a fireproof document store after the previous Houses of Parliament burned down in 1834. It was renamed the Victoria Tower in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. 

I wandered through the gardens, which were swarming with office workers enjoying a sunny lunch break, and passed the Buxton Memorial Fountain. It reminded me of the Burdett-Coutts Fountain that I saw in Victoria Park at the start of this walk (see this post), though this one is older, built in 1834 to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire. 

Onwards I went, past the Houses of Parliament

past the Jewel Tower, part of the old Houses of Parliament that survived the 1834 fire, 

and into the Old Palace Yard, with the next piece of Jubilee paraphernalia, the Golden Jubilee sundial, a present from Parliament to the Queen, designed so that you are the gnomon.

Onwards again, past a statue of George V and the back of Westminster Abbey,

and into Parliament Square. You get a great view of the Clock Tower (now the Elizabeth Tower (since it was renamed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee)), from Parliament Square.

The square itself is lined with statues of statesmen, but the afternoon sun was in the wrong place for good photos. Most of them were in shadow but I did get David Lloyd-George, British Prime Minister from 1916-1922,

and Abraham Lincoln, US President from 1861 to 1865.

I'll be starting the next section of the walk from here too, so I'll be able to get better photos of the rest of the statues next time out.

For now, I completed my walk with a look at the Supreme Court

and Westminster Abbey.

Next time I'll be walking from Westminster to Paddington. 

Jubilee Greenway - Tower Bridge to Hungerford Bridge

This post almost brings me up to date with my Jubilee Greenway walk, a 60km circuit of London, which I started from Victoria Park at the beginning of January.

I walked from Tower Bridge to Westminster on Tuesday 10 March, but I'm splitting the walk into two posts due to the sheer number of photos that I took!

I was on familiar territory, as I have walked this stretch of the Thames many times in the past, though I've only been as far as Lambeth Bridge (where I crossed the river this time) once before. Somehow walking it as part of the Jubilee Greenway was different though, it wasn't just about getting from A to B and I took the time to look around me more (and to take lots of photos which I don't often do in London).

I reached Tower Bridge last time out; my 'home' station is on the north side of the river and the path goes along the south bank, so I started by crossing the bridge again, looking across to City Hall, The Shard and HMS Belfast,

and once across, I could look back to the Tower of London

and the skyscrapers in the City - the Walkie Talkie, the Cheese Grater and the Gherkin.

This stretch of path alongside the Thames, is part of the Queen's Walk and the (Silver) Jubilee Walkway, as well as the Jubilee Greenway and the Thames Path.  

I spotted the Queen's Walk Sundial close to City Hall. I'd never noticed it before, but there was a good reason for this - it was only put in position on 15 January this year!

Looking north again, the top of the Monument was peeking out from among the buildings and cranes

and Tower Bridge was beginning to recede behind me.

Past HMS Belfast, the World War II cruiser which is now part of the Imperial War Museum,

and a mosaic commemorating the Old London Bridge

with a final look back along the Thames

before I detoured inland, along Tooley Street and past the modern London Bridge, briefly reaching the river again near Southwark Cathedral.

Previous London Bridges spanned the river at this point, and there is a remnant of the 19th century bridge embedded in the path here

together with a quote from Sir Walter Raleigh.

(Click any photo for a larger version if you can't read the engravings.)

I went inland again, round the back of St Saviour's church, crossing private land 

and passing the Golden Hinde II, a full-sized replica of the ship that Sir Francis Drake used to circumnavigate the globe between 1577 and 1580, now berthed in St Mary Overie Dock.

Along Clink Street next, past the ruins of Winchester Palace

and the site of the eponymous prison.

Back to the river, along a stretch known as Bankside; I passed Shakespeare's Globe (never known it so quiet; it's normally heaving with people around here)

and approached Tate Modern, in the old Bankside Power Station. I've passed it many times, but never been inside before. Time to correct that, and I visited the old Turbine Hall first, with an art installation by Richard Tuttle called I Don’t Know . The Weave of Textile Language.

Then I wandered round the surrealist gallery - Poetry and Dream. There was plenty more that I didn't see, and I shall definitely make a return visit.

Outside in the sunshine, the Millennium Bridge spans the river from Bankside to St Paul's.

Heading onwards, I passed HMS President, a World War I anti-submarine ship which is now in private hands and used as office and conference space. She was repainted in a modern version of 'dazzle camouflage' in 2014 as part of the centenary commemorations.

Past the London Television Centre

and the National Theatre

with a statue of Sir John Gielgud as Hamlet.

Time for something else that I've never noticed before - the South Bank Book Market, tucked under Waterloo Bridge.

A bit further along, I passed the South Bank Skatepark,

almost opposite Cleopatra's Needle, an Ancient Egyptian obelisk dating from around 1450 BC and erected on the Victoria Embankment in 1878.

Approaching Hungerford Bridge, with its twin Golden Jubilee footbridges, 

the London Eye suddenly looms into view.

On the other side of the bridge lies Jubilee Gardens, created for the Silver Jubilee in 1977 and recently revamped for the Diamond Jubilee. Lots more photos to come, including more 'things that I've never noticed before', but I've decided to split the walk here before the post gets even more unwieldy than it already is!