London Eye and other London, United Kingdom Things to Do Tips

Once we arrived in downtown London at the Waterloo train station it was not difficult to figure out what our first attraction was going to be. As we stepped outside the station, we were greeted by this view of the now famous London Eye, officially called the Millenneum Wheel, standing on the south bank of the River Thames. This tallest in the world viewing wheel, at 135 m (443 ft) was built to celebrate the incoming 21st Century and officially opened on Dec. 31, 1999 (although it was not open to the public until March, 2000).

A recent public opinion poll voted the Eye as the best tourist attraction in the world, and I would have to say that I really enjoyed our 'flight' on it! We soon hoofed it over to their very efficient ticketing area where the long lines moved along quickly as we picked up our 12.5 pound (US$22) tickets. The second photo shows a view of the Wheel hub and the rotating 'pods' directly above our heads as we then stood in a second line to actually board the Eye (the entire structure weighs 2100 tonnes).

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Address: Waterloo, SE1
Directions: Waterloo tube, Lambeth area of London
Website: http://www.southbanklondon.com/

At a leisurely speed of 0.9 km/hr (or 0.6 mph) the Eye takes about 30 minutes to make a complete revolution. This speed is slow enough that, unlike a typical ferris wheel ride, it does not need to come to a stop to unload and load passengers. Ushers encourage passengers to quickly exit the pod through a door on the end and the empty pod continues to slowly move along to a line of waiting passengers, who board through the same door. Note the yellow line painted beneath the pod and part of a net visible next to it - just in case a bumbling passenger somehow falls over and tries to land in the Thames! The usher told me to get moving into our pod, never mind the photo!

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Address: Waterloo, SE1
Directions: Waterloo tube
Website: http://www.southbanklondon.com/

We had a beautifully clear, but chilly, day for our ride in the London sky. As we slowly and quietly rose up, the views were great in all directions from our glass walled pod! Here, in this North looking view, the shadow of the Eye falls on the River Thames and the Golden Jubilee Bridge as it leads into Charing Cross train and tube station.

The second photo shows one of the 32 capsules, each capable of holding up to 25 passengers. A long bench is located in the centre of each capsule and passengers can either sit there or roam around the circumference taking in whatever view strikes their fancy. Still looking North in the 2nd photo, our capsule has climbed a bit higher and the Waterloo Bridge is now visible. The viewing range is up to 40 km (25 miles) at the highest point.

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Address: Waterloo, SE1
Directions: Waterloo tube
Website: http://www.southbanklondon.com/

We had come past the highest point of the London Eye and were on our way down as we had this great South-looking view of the Westminster Bridge crossing the Thames to the impressive Houses of Parliament along with London's other symbol, the Big Ben clock tower, located on its near end. We had a very informative map with us for the half-hour ride (see my 'General' tips for the details) which we could consult to determine what we were actually looking at as our very enjoyable ride soon came to an end. By the way, the building with the blue-looking roof and whitish stone walls directly behind Big Ben is Westminster Abbey.

Upon exiting the Eye, we walked back to Waterloo Station and took a tube ride deep under the Thames to Westminster station for a closer look at these architectural wonders (because the tube elevator line-ups were so long, the 193 steps we took up to the surface of Westminster station were our exercise for the day!)

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Address: Waterloo, SE1
Directions: Waterloo tube
Website: http://www.southbanklondon.com/

Emerging from the Westminster Underground station, we found ourselves at the northwestern end of the Houses of Parliament and it's famous Clock Tower, commonly known as 'Big Ben'. This 96-m (316-ft) tall Gothic Revival tower was built between 1840-1860 following the 1834 fire which destroyed most of the original Westminster Palace. In addition to the four large clock faces, this tower also supports five large bells which chime their tune every 15 minutes. The commonly used name for the tower derives from the largest of these bells, the 13 tonne Great Bell of Westminster, which is the real 'Big Ben'. The golden trim on the tower made for an impressive sight in the bright sunlight as we walked on past, down the length of the Houses of Parliament to their other end.

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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Westminster tube
Website: http://www.parliament.uk

It was a cold early afternoon as we walked the length of the Houses of Parliament, officially known as the Palace of Westminster and a former residence of British monarchs. The oldest existing part of this former palace is Westminster Hall, built in 1097, with it's large end window visible in the photo as we walked past. In the fenced off area is a statue of King Richard I (the Lionheart), who ruled from 1189-1199, mounted on a horse. Westminster Hall is one of the largest in Europe and although originally used for huge Royal banquets, it is now mainly used for 'laying in state' mourning occassions, such as on the death of the Queen Mother.

The second photo shows the southern end of the long building and it was taken from the wide expanse of the Victoria Tower Gardens, which run to the very edge of the River Thames. It shows the tallest of the three towers associated with the Houses of Parliament, the 98-m (323-ft) Victoria Tower, named for the ruling Monarch when the palace was rebuilt after it's 1834 fire. When the Monarch visits the Houses, this is the entrance that is used.

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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Westminster tube
Website: http://www.parliament.uk

A ten minute walk from the Houses of Parliament will bring you to Westminster Abbey, that venerable British institution. The first historic abbey on this site was built in 1050 by King Edward the Confessor, but the present Gothic style structure dates from a re-building effort carried out by successive kings over a long period between 1245-1517. A major upheavel occurred over all of England in 1534 when King Henry VIII seized all assets of the Roman Catholic church as a result of his disputes with the Pope over the King's maritial issues. However, because of the involvement of royalty in the earlier history of the Abbey, the structure was spared the destruction wrought by Henry VIII on many of the seized assets. This church is now a major British institution because, since the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066, all but three of the British monarchs have had their coronations in Westminster Abbey. The abbey is also the burial site for many of the monarchs and other famous Britons down through the centuries.

The second photo was an attempt to record some gold weather vanes at the top of the Abbey's columns, but the bright sky was not cooperating. We were getting chilly from the cold street winds and we were hungry too, so we opted not to explore further but instead headed into the Whitehall district in search of a warm pub!

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Phone: 0 20 7654 4900
Address: Deans Yard, SW1
Directions: St James's Park tube
Website: http://www.westminster-abbey.org

As we walked from Westminster Abbey toward Trafalger Square, we passed Horse Guards Parade in the Whitehall area. Two mounted members of the Household Cavalry were performing guard duties at the sidewalk entrance to the the Parade, and they had a good crowd of tourists around them jostling for position. I walked inside the gate a short distance and found another dismounted trooper on guard with various tourists posing beside him for photo opportunities (second photo).

The Horse Guards Parade was built in 1745 and is where the daily changing of the guard ceremony takes place for the troops who provide protection for British Royalty when they are in London. The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment is made up of a squadron from each of the two senior cavalry regiments of the British Army. One squadron is drawn from The Life Guards (shown here with their scarlet tunics and white helmet plumes) while the other is from The Blues and Royals with their blue tunics and red plumes.

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Address: Whitehall, SW1
Directions: Charing Cross or Westminster tubes
Website: http://www.number-10.gov.uk

After finishing our late pub lunch, we hopped on the tube for a short ride to the old market area of Covent Garden as darkness was beginning to fall early nearing the shortest day of the year. Unlike the Westminster area with its very few Christmas decorations, Covent Garden was well decked-out for the Season and had a lively atmosphere. The very first thing we came across was this authentic old Victorian-era Carousel whirling around with it's music playing. Strolling along a bit further, we saw a nicely decorated huge Pine tree, donated from Scotland, standing outside the old Market building.

Inside the building (2nd photo), an audience was gathered around a talented and humorous busker as he went through his routines of juggling fire, knives, apples and pins with the grand finale of doing this atop a 10-foot high uni-cycle as he threatened to topple into the audience. It was a fitting way to end our short day-tour of the city and it was truly dark by the time we boarded the 5 PM train back to Farnham. Seeing all these city sights brought back memories of my last decent visit, in July 1979.

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The last time I was in this part of London was on a warm July day in 1979, and managed to visit St. James's Park in Westminster, not very far from where we had been wandering half the day during our Christmas, 2005 visit. This is one of eight Royal parks in London and it comprises a large grassy area with two lakes, one of which has two islands in it. The oldest of London's Royal parks, dating from 1532 when King Henry VIII bought the piece of marshy land for use as one of his deer runs, it is not surprising that the park is surrounded by three Palaces. These are Westminster Palace (now the Houses of Parliament), St. James's Palace (built by Henry VIII for his use) and Buckingham Palace (the present residence of Queen Elizabeth II).

It is quite a pleasant place to relax for a bit, away from the bustle of downtown London, by listening to a band, picnicing on the grass, doing a bit of birdwatching or just reading a book. Sue had brought her mother into the city with us on this particular day, so we had a quiet stroll through the grounds.

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Address: Close to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster
Directions: St James's Park tube