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 23744 London Tips.36508 London Photos. London Pages by irisbe
Tips 1 - 10 of 19 London Things to Do
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Victoria Embankment Gardens is a nice tiny green lung of Public Park by the Thames. It was created in the late nineteenth century along with the construction of the Embankment.
It exists out of a garden with grass parts on which some you are allowed to sit and others you cannot walk on; a cafeteria with terrace where you can have a drink
In Summer time it houses open-air concerts.
Inside the park you will notice different statues of notable British citizens. One of them is the Scottish poet Robert "Rabbie" Burns 1759 - 1796. A poet with a very turbulent social life, very succesful in writing but also in seducing women and making children `-)
The water gate at the northwest corner, constructed in 1626 as the triumphal entry to the Thames for the Duke of Buckingham, is probably the main historical feature of the garden. This water gate was part of York House that was the home to the Archbishops of York, before becoming the Duke's residence.
The Watergate is still in its original position, but because of the embankment of the Thames, hence the name of the park; it is now 330 feet distance from the edge of the river.
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Directions: Nearest underground stations are: Embankment Charing Cross
Nearest railway station: Charing Cross
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Is it worth the long queuing and the 11,5 GBP? I still am wondering.
The view is however magnificent and you make one turn in the wheel lasting about half an hour and showing you London from high, with panoramic views you can't get anywhere else except if you should fly over London.
I would settle with a shorter turn and a lower price. I still find the 11,5 GBP a bit exaggerated and after 15 minutes I have the feeling I have seen it all and I am just waiting patiently to get off and wish to go on with further city exploration.
For more pictures about the London Eye visit my Fotki pages.
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Address: Waterloo, SE1
Directions: Waterloo tube
Website: http://www.ba-londoneye.com/default.asp
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Originally it was a palace built in the eleventh century by Edward the Confessor.
In 1812, March 1st, A.Pugin was born in Bloomsbury, London. His father was an French aristocrat who fled France during the French Revolution. From his father Augustus, he learned the love for medieval Gothic architecture. He became a recognized specialist from the age of 19 on.
After a destructive fire on the night of the 16th of October, 1834, it was rebuilt under the direction of Sir Charles Barry, the Palace of Westminster is one of the examples in which you can definitely recognize the influence of Pugin who was responsible for the design of the interiors and for creating working drawings of the exterior details.
Panoramic picture, click on it to enjoy the full view!
In this parliament resides the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom.
This Government consists of the House of Commons, of which members are elected, and the House of Lords, of which members are not elected but nominated and mostly are members due heritage.
Every one can visit the Parliament but you need to make an arrangement first.
You can visit the Strangers galleries in both houses and see the Parliament at work.
For more information look at the website provided.
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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Rail: Charing Cross and Waterloo Underground: Westminster Station
Website: http://www.parliament.uk
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Charles Barry, born in London in 1795 and deceased in 1860, had a training as architect in Italy from 1817 till 1820. Because of this foreign influence, much of his early work was in the Italian Palazzo style.
The story goes that on the night on the 16th of October in 1834, the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire. Following on this devastating event, competition was launched in 1836 to create a new design. Charles Barry’s proposed one won. His design incorporated a clock tower. The dials were 30 feet in diameter; the struck on eight bells announced each quarter hour, the hours were struck on a 14-ton Bell.
At the time the clock was designed it was the largest clock in the world.
Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, a clockmaker with great reputation was contacted but under pressure of open competition, Sir George Airy got appointed to be referee and to make up the specifications of the clock to be. Three candidates occurred: Vulliamy, Dent and Whitehurst. Dent was awarded the contract in 1852. Was it favoritism of Airy? Who can tell.
Edward John Dent died in 1853 and his stepson Frederick Rippon completed the clock mechanism. When it needed to be installed the tower was not finished yet due to miscommunications and problems between Edward Dent and the architect Barry.
But the lost time was spent well as the mechanism got enhanced and enabled to run even more accurate.
But … still the tower was not finished yet. The hour bell, finished in 1856 was too heavy so the ball hammer was made heavier with the result that the bell got damaged behind repair when they hung it for the time being in the New Palace Yard.
At last it was in 1858 that George Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that provided the bell that still is in use today. Warners provided the four quarter bells.
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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Underground: Westminster station
Website: http://www.parliament.uk
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There are some guesses where the name Big Ben originated from. It might have derived from Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works at that time and who was a man of considerate size… big…
It was Warners who first applied to the original hour bell as “Big Ben”, but later on it was used to name the entire clock tower, bell included.
More difficulties will arrive when in 1858 it finally got possible to install the clock mechanism in the clock room. The original dials, designed by Barry, proofed to be too heavy for the clock to operate them! When new ones where made, believe it or not, but they came out more heavy then the original ones! Permission was now asked to construct minute hands, and those are the ones still in use today, co-working with the second produced hour hands. Together they finally made the clock operational on the 7th of September 1859. Every on happy now… but it would not last! In no months time the great hour bell cracked. Cause of the disaster was the same as the one that cracked the original bell years before: the hammer was too heavy!
Instead of replacing the bell a second time, they just quarter turned it and thus turned the crack away from the hammer. Finally in 1862 the striking of the hour bell resumed.
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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Underground Station: Westminster
Website: http://www.parliament.uk
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Finally! Finally! 114 years operating without problems, Big Ben owned a reputation of great accuracy. In 1906 the gas lighting of the dials was replaced by the modern electric lightning. Electricity to wind the clock started in 1912 and the mechanism of the clock got renovated in 1934 and 1956.
On 31st of December 1923, Big Ben made his first appearance on BBC to welcome the New Year! The idea was so much welcomed that from then on a permanent microphone was installed so that the striking of the bell could be used as a time signal. Upon today, the signal is still broadcasted on BBC Radio 4.
When everything goes smooth… disaster can strike:
At 3:45 am on the 5th of August 1976 the clock started to chime the quarter hour. Metal fatigue in the shaft, causes this shaft to break. The result was the fly lacked the retarding and braking effect and propelled by 1,25 ton of weight in the shaft, it increased it rotation in a dramatic speed. The chiming mechanism got totally destruct; some parts of the mechanism got ejected with such a power that they stuck into the ceiling of the room above! The damage was overwhelming.
The chiming train needed to be reconstructed completely. It took about a year to replace the mechanism using this time an electrical motor.
Today Big Ben is chiming again it all it’s glory and was specially world wide broadcasted on the eve of the new Millenium
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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Underground station: Westminster
Website: http://www.parliament.uk
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One of the landmarks of London is undoubtful the Tower Bridge.
The construction started at 1886 and ended in 1894 when London was still an important harbour. A bridge over the Thames needed to be one that could be opened when large ships came sailing by.
Even now, when tall ships arrive, the bridge still opens. However the hydraulic mechanism of early years is now replaced by electric motors.
Before this famous bridge was built there existed a more eastern bridge: the London Bridge (1850) and already there existed heavy traffic jams on the east side of that bridge.
So a solution was found in the construction of a second bridge. However not every one agreed as it was feared that this new bridge would obstruct the naval traffic and the docks.
The idea of an “opening” bridge was found on a study travel in the Netherlands.
The time of its erection it was the biggest bascule bridge ever been built in the world.
On 31st of October 2003 a member of Fathers for justice climbed all the way up a 100ft nearby crane causing the Tower Bridge to close for all traffic and causing serious traffic jam. He was dressed as Spiderman, a comic figure that his 3-year old daughter liked very much. This way he protested of beeing denied seeing his kid.
Want to see more and full size pictures? Have a look at my Fotki album.
Feel free to leave your comments there!
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Phone: 0 20 7626 3065
Address: Tower Bridge Road, EC3/SE1
Directions: Tower Hill or London Bridge tubes
Website: http://www.towerbridge.org.uk
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Ah! running too short of time and I hope the reflex came took a better picture then the one I can show you here.
The blue arrow indicates the Tower of London, built under William I in 11th Century (William the Conqueror, the last foreign conquerer to set foot on England's soil).
The tower had had many functions during its existance.
A nice explanation you can find at different websites e.g. the one of Camelot Village or the one mentioned in the general website.
The Tower marked with the red arrow is called the White Tower and was built end of 11th century by William I and II.
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Phone: 0 20 7709 0765
Address: Tower Hill, EC3
Directions: Tower Hill tube
Website: http://www.armouries.org.uk/tower/
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Ok, I admitt, I should have gone closer but I took this picture of the magnificent Tower Bridge. On the Thames I spotted these two ships, one a cruise ship, the other at the left, a cruiser.
Peacefully bordered by a cruise ship, the HMS Belfast became another London attraction after many years of service. It is now the only European big-gun armoured warship left. In exchange for admission, you can visit the ship.
After WWI a category of cruisers were manufactured whose size was indicated by the size of the guns they carried.
The HMS Belfast is a 6-inch cruiser and is capable to defend but also to go into offensive action if needed.
It is built by Harland and Wolff Schipyard in Belfast and laid into water in December 1936, officially launched on 17th March 1938… let that be by coincidence Saint Patrick’s day !
It started it service into the Royal Navy on 5th of August 1939.
During WWII it had to leave on several missions:
When the German liner SS Cap Norte tried to escape to Germany that year, disguised as a neutral Vessel, the HMS Belfast was there to intercept it.
The Liner was captured and taken to a British port.
However the cruiser was also a victim of mining, but still survived.
After WWII service and the Korean War service, the cruiser was used for duties during peacetime.
Finally, in 1963 she ended her career and wasn’t it for some real enthusiasts led by her former captain, now Rear Admiral, Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles DSO OBE GM, she would have ended as old scrap and waste metal.
She was brought to London, sailed up the Thames and found her final and present mooring spot in the shadow of the Tower Bridge.
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Directions: In the shadow of the Tower Bridge.
Website: http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/
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hunterV Mon Feb 4, 2008 18:10 UTC
Hello, Dannie! Thanks for your brilliant pages! Awesome! | sourbugger Fri Jun 29, 2007 14:35 UTC
loved the trocedero tip. sounded more like a atrip ! | budapest8 Thu Jun 22, 2006 09:15 UTC
I think you probably know more about London than 95% of Londoners! Well done and I learnt a thing or 2. I have a few relatives buried in Westminster Abbey. you can see in my HP Travelogue Family tree. Greetings from Budapest.Tim | chewy3326 Wed Feb 1, 2006 04:28 UTC
London seems like a very interesting place. It looks quite attractive, maybe I should visit sometime in the near future... |
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