Westminster Bridge London England

 

Westminster Bridge connects the City of Westminster to Lambeth. In the distance you see the Elizabeth Tower (location of Big Ben) of Westminster Palace (Houses of Parliament).

The old Westminster Bridge opened 18 November 1750.

The current bridge was the scene of a terrorist attack 22 March 2017.

Below is a video clip showing the flowers on the bridge

It's a popular photo stop

The bridge was designed by Swiss architect Charles Labelye and was built by Charles Labelye and George Dance. The current bridge was opened in 1862.

Links to places nearby

Thames River 

Westminster Palace / Houses of Parliament

     Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)

Visiting London England

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Sources: Conversation with Bing, 3/26/2023

The original Westminster Bridge | The History of London. https://www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/the-original-westminster-bridge/ Accessed 3/26/2023.

Westminster Bridge | British History Online. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol23/pp66-68 Accessed 3/26/2023.

Millenium Bridge London England

 

London Millennium Footbridge opened for pedestrian traffic 10 June 2000. It's usually called simply Millennium Bridge.

On that first day, close to 90,000 people crossed the bridge.

Millennium Bridge is a steel bridge that crosses the Thames River between St Paul's Cathedral on the north side and the Tate Modern Art Gallery on the south side. The tall chimney in the distance is part of the Tate Modern.

Not seen but nearby is the Globe Theatre, which is east of the Tate Modern.

In the photo below, you see St Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge.

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See what's nearby

Northside

  St Paul's Cathedral

  St Mary-le-Bow Church

Southside

  Tate Modern Art Gallery

  Globe Theatre

Link to more  London Sites

Tube connection: Mansion House Station

Connections

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About Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge was designed by Foster & Partners,  Arup Group and Sir Anthony Caro². It was London's first new pedestrian bridge for over a century². The design was chosen through open competition and was won by Foster & Partners and Sir Anthony Caro with Arup².

The bridge is 325 meters long and 4 meters wide.

Sources

Conversation with Bing, 3/26/2023(1) Who designed the Millennium Bridge in London?. https://yoursageinformation.com/who-designed-the-millennium-bridge-in-london/ Accessed 3/26/2023.

(2) Millennium Bridge - Data, Photos & Plans - WikiArquitectura. https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/Millenium-Bridge/ Accessed 3/26/2023.

(3) Bridges - City of London. https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/architecture/bridges Accessed 3/26/2023.

(4) Millennium Bridge, London - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Bridge,_London Accessed 3/26/2023.

(5) Who designed London’s “wobbly” Millennium Bridge?. https://www.iconeye.com/architecture/london-wobbly-millennium-bridge-design Accessed 3/26/2023.

(6) 11 Interesting Facts About The Millennium Bridge | Londonist. https://londonist.com/london/features/millennium-bridge-trivia Accessed 3/26/2023.

Battersea Park London England

 Battersea Park is an attractive green space in Wandsworth by the River Thames.

It's 200 acres offers plenty of space for walking and games. There's also a children's zoo

The Peace Pagoda below was built in 1985.

Battersea Park Lake

Battersea Park Fountain

The park opened in 1858 and is located on Battersea Fields where gentlemen settled their honour in duells. A few years before the park was created, the Duke of Wellington met the Earl of Winchilsea--both fired shots away from the other 21 March 1829.

Before leaving the park, I stopped for a coffee at the Pear Tree Hatch near the lake.

Next, I walked along the Thames River waterfront past Battersea Bridge to the renovated Battersea Power Station shopping and restaurant area.

Battersea Bridge London England UK

Battersea Bridge by Geoffrey Sutton

 

Battersea Bridge crosses the River Thames in London England. I took the photo above in 2021. Battersea Bridge opened 21 July 1890.

The first Battersea Bridge was opened in 1771.

Battersea Bridge is located in Battersea, which is in the London Borough of Wandsworth--the area where my father and his family lived during the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

I had take a bus to Battersea Park and walked along the Thames River, past Battersea Bridge to the famous Battersea Power Station--a modern shopping and restaurant area.

Two more views

Related Posts

Battersea Park

Battersea Power Station

River Thames

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St Mary-le-Bow Church Cheapside City of London England

 St Mary-le-Bow church was originally built about 1080 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. The stone came from Caen and is the same as in the nearby Tower of London. 

A tradition has it that people born within the sounds of its church bells (Bow Bells) are Cockneys.

The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed the church. It was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren then destroyed during World War II in 1941. It was rebuilt in reopened in 1964. Below ground, the crypt dates to 1080 and is one of the oldest rooms in London.

Church sign below the Bow Street sign.

Nearby is the churchyard.

Captain John Smith preached here about the settlements in Virginia. His statue is in the courtyard.

John Smith above and text below the statue

A wall plaque marks refers to the birth of John Milton

A view of the western door

And entrance in the courtyard

Church website

History of the Church on AMAZON and elsewhere

Google Map of St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside

Natural History Museum London England

 

The Natural History Museum in London, England has some 80 million objects, which date as far back as 4.5 billion years. They have over 300 scientists and recently reported publishing 700 papers in conjunction with others outside the UK. The museum first opened 18 April 1881. It's origins date to 1753 and the collection of Sir Hans Sloane purchased by Parliament.

What I recall from decades ago is the impressive great entrance hall (Hintze Hall). The impressive blue whale skeleton is 25.2 metres long.

I expected to see dinosaur skeletons and was impressed by the animation--wishing my grandchildren could enjoy the presentation too. See the clip below from YouTube.

A couple more dinosaur displays.

More treasures in the Great Hall.

I am fortunate to have a granddaughter interested in rocks, gems, and fossils. She would have a field day at this museum's collection. Here's a few examples.

I sent my granddaughter a photo of the largest blue topaz on display. The Ostro stone weighs 2 Kilos and is 9,381 carats, nearby are cases of minerals and gems.  Link to story.

More treasures

It's fitting that the museum would place English scientist Charles Darwin in a prominent place.

This specimen of a Giant Sequoia is from a 100- metre tall tree in California, USA. The tree was cut in 1891.

I couldn't resist this photo of an old bird. It is a reconstruction of a life-size Dodo from parts of a skeleton. There are drawings and paintings of the bird from the 1600s. The last sighting was 1662. Height = 1 metre, weight 10.6 to 17.5 kg.

The journey to the earth's core represents considerable creativity on the part of the museum staff.

The display of human origins was a bit disappointing because of its limited scope. But there are a couple of standouts: Lucy and Cheddar Man.

Lucy is the nickname for a female skeleton found in East Africa in 1974. She dates from about 3.7 million years ago. You can read more on the museum website.

Cheddar Man's skeleton was found in England in 1903. He dates to about 10,000 years ago. He's been classified as a Mesolithic hunter- gatherer. Read more here.

I created a video overview of some of the specimens and two dinosaur presentations. You can find it on my YouTube channel- SuttonTravels.

Related Posts / Places

Visiting the United Kingdom

Visit London England

Field Museum, Chicago Illinois

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington DC

American Museum of Natural History, NYC

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The Tube or London Underground

 The London Underground is the world's first underground railway. The Metropolitan Railway opened 10 January 1863.

West Finchley, Barnet, London

My first journeys on the underground were from this station in West Finchley near our old home. of course, it doesn't look like an underground at this point. But it doesn't take long to look a lot like a tube as in the photo below taken in 2016.

Aside from being a classic icon of London, the underground is personal. My mother's older brother Henry (aka Harry) New and dad (Thomas New) worked on the Northern Line in the early 1900s. Sadly, I do not have photos of them at work.

For me, riding the underground trains is an adventure but I suppose for millions, it's an annoying task as they pack in to get to and from work everyday. Some of my cousins describe the downside.

I'm still impressed by the steep escalators. I can't imagine where every one was on this 13 October 2017.

The modern stations are busy places like Kings Cross pictured below.

Kings Cross 15 August 2013

If you miss the sounds, here's a short video from the East Finchley station -- home station to many of my relatives.

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Read more about the London Underground, at this BBC site.