In London, it’s all about the river
Wednesday, 07 May, 2010
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An early evening view of London’s South Bank and city skyline.
©Britainonview / Pawel Libera
POET John Burns called the River Thames "liquid history". William Wordsworth composed a sonnet in 1802 in its fair honour as he stood on Westminster Bridge. Winston Churchill’s waterborne funeral procession in 1965 left a lasting impression on Londoners and a worldwide television audience when ships’ cranes dipped to honour the former leader as the launch bearing his coffin made its way up the fabled river.
It could be said London exists because of the Thames. It is the capital’s main water traffic artery and, until the 1970s, was one of the world’s busiest ports. Many of London’s significant buildings are within a 15-minute walk of its banks and commuter ferry services are being integrated into the public transport system.
Inspired by re-reading Peter Ackroyd’s Thames: The Biography, a friend and I set off to explore London on foot and by ferry, making our way upstream to the London Eye and Westminster Bridge.
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster,
©Britainonview
Our day starts early with a 30-minute boat ride from the Tate Modern to Greenwich and a visit to the Royal Observatory. Founded by Charles II in 1675, it’s the official starting point for each new day, year and millennium.
As busloads of schoolchildren arrive, we retrace our steps downhill to the Old Royal Naval College to be greeted by the sound of a flute being played from the part of Christopher Wren’s masterpiece now occupied by the Trinity College of Music.
Two hundred years on (and a 20-minute ferry ride to Tower Pier), Victorian engineering and gothic revival meet in the construction of Tower Bridge. On a tour that takes us to a chamber deep below one of the towers, we are shown one of the massive bascules that counterpoise the bridge as it opens for large ships.
The coal-fired engines and the teams of stokers required to feed them have long gone; the hydraulic system is now powered by electricity and oil. The Tower Pier Experience tour concludes with a stroll on the high walkway, with views directly up and down river.
Thames Flood Barrier, Woolwich
©Britainonview
Still heading upriver, we start our south bank walk towards London Bridge and Southwark Cathedral, stopping at Juan Isgro’s stall in the Borough Market for panini filled with prosciutto and mozzarella to eat on the river’s banks en route to Shakespeare’s Globe.
There’s a queue and we are told there’s no chance of tickets this afternoon. Close by is Cardinal’s Wharf, where Wren is said to have lived during the rebuilding of St Paul’s, in a house that looks straight across to the cathedral.
He would have crossed the river each day by ferry, but now there’s the Millennium Bridge, the first to be built across the Thames for more than a century.
Quickly nicknamed the Wobbly Bridge, it swayed and vibrated so badly at first that it had to be closed for two years to allow for dampeners to be fitted, finally reopening in 2002.
Almost next door to the Globe is the Tate Modern. In 1981 the Bankside power station was closed and stood empty for 15 years. Although there were plans to demolish it and build an office tower, it was announced in 1994 that the massive building would house the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art; work began in 1996 and Tate Modern opened in 2000.
It’s now claimed to be the most popular gallery of modern art in the world and is Britain’s third most-visited free tourist attraction.
Bridge House, Vauxhall,
©Britainonview
Just past the Oxo Tower, with windows that spell out the firm’s name (to beat a ban on advertising signs), we stop for a coffee at The Wharf before indulging in a bit of serious nostalgia.
Tucked under Waterloo Bridge, The National Film Theatre, now called BFI Southbank, was the art-house cinema complex of the 60s. It was here I saw films by French directors such as Alain Resnais and Francois Truffaut as well as the Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini classics, while more adventurous friends discovered the Japanese new wave.
Forty years on, the movies have changed but not much else; people drink outside the Riverfront Bar or browse the open-air bookstalls, which are open daily until 7pm. Next door, beside the Royal Festival Hall, Canteen offers the sort of food I thought I ate as a child, though that may just be a case of distance lending enchantment.
Smoked haddock, lamb stew and sausage and mash all feature as mains and there are real puddings: steamed syrup sponge with custard, rhubarb and almond trifle and rice pudding with jam.
Londoners have really taken to al fresco dining in summer and there seem to be outdoor cafes and restaurants every few minutes on our promenade. The latest phenomenon is the pop-up restaurant; they appear (weather permitting) around April.
If you happen to be in London from June 17 to 20, make your way to Taste of London at Regents Park, billed as the first and largest pop-up restaurant festival. Now in its seventh year, it features tapas-size sampler dishes from 40 of the capital’s finest restaurants.
There are countless new places to eat and finding somewhere within a sensible budget is now easier thanks to the booking service toptable.com, which sorts places by location, price, cuisine and classification.
We are delighted to discover that four of Marco Pierre White’s restaurants are offering 50 per cent off a la carte dishes or a three-course set menu for pound stg. 21.50 ($35); we choose Wheelers, just off Piccadilly.
The farmers’ markets movement has come to London in a big way, and there are now about 20 open on Saturdays or Sundays. For visitors nothing beats Borough Market (nearest Tube station is London Bridge) on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. A range of breads, pastries, cheeses, cooked meats and fruit make it the place to buy the makings of a picnic lunch.
A few minutes away, in Borough High Street, is the George, London’s last galleried coaching inn, which dates from the 17th century. Great pub food is served all day long in its courtyard.
The 12-year-old Charles Dickens came to know this area well from visits to his bankrupt father in Marshalsea debtors’ prison. An idea of those horrific Victorian prison conditions can be gained from a visit to the Clink Museum, around the corner.
Along the Thames there’s every kind of accommodation from low-cost to luxe. At the end of 2007, the Savoy closed for the most expensive refurbishment ever undertaken in Britain. The grand hotel, which is unique for its blend of Edwardian and art deco design, reopens this summer. If your budget calls for something cheaper, pound stg. 350 will buy you five nights at Bankside House, the London School of Economics residence just behind Tate Modern.
As a young bloke in the 60s, I was one of a fairly small band of people who cycled to work in London, so I was pleased to read that the city’s bike-riding mayor, Boris Johnson, has introduced a cycle hire system that seems similar to the one in Paris.
To be rolled out through summer, 6000 bikes will be available from docking stations planned to be an average of 300m apart throughout central London. For pound stg. 1 a day, a user will be able to hire a bicycle for multiple trips of up to 30 minutes.
Checklist
A Visitor Oyster Card, London’s bus and underground travel pass, preloaded with pound stg. 40 credit, costs about $66, thanks to the favourable exchange rate, compared with about $88 a few years ago. More: http://www.visitlondon.com/.
The 2010 season at Shakespeare’s Globe, with the theme of Kings and Rogues, is now on sale; book at http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/. For details of accommodation at the very affordable Bankside House: http://www.sevacations.co.uk/.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
http://www.thamesclippers.com/
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/
http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/
www.tastefestivals.com/london
http://www.tate.org.uk/
http://www.clink.co.uk/
http://www.the-savoy.com/
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