24 March 1998 12:44 PM

[Another verbatim journal entry] Map of bridges of London

Oops, it wasn't Waterloo, it was Westminster Bridge! [I was still wrong; it was Hungerford] And Charing Cross Rail Station. I'm sitting near Southwark Bridge, having walked along the Thames to here. Went halfway across Waterloo Bridge; great pictures of St. Paul's. Past Blackfriar's Bridge, which was supposed to have a railroad, I think. Lots of kids eating lunch near Southwark Bridge, one little boy posed for me! Am near the old Globe theater and Clink prison, where we get the phrase, "tossed in the Clink!" Guess I'll try to find them both.

St. Paul's and more, across the Thames



This is one of those "You Had To Be There" shots that doesn't do justice to the view of London from Waterloo Bridge. Also I apologize for the weird color shifts in the photo, some kind of light leak when I took the film out of the camera, I think.

That's Blackfriars Bridge on your right, if you didn't know, and of course St. Paul's in the background, left.

24 March 1998 1:26pm

Nippers having lunch on the Thames Remember the kids I was just talking about? Well, they were having lunch near Southwark Bridge because they were also very near the Globe Theater. How near? How about less than twenty feet! Not that I knew this at the time; in fact, I ended up walking up to Southwark Bridge, and then followed signs down another path, then down the street, and around a corner, only to end up at the front door of the "restored" Globe theater -- about ten feet from where I'd been standing when I first saw the kids, and decided to try and find the Globe. Argh!


It's not the original Globe Theater, by the way; that burned down about a dozen times, and even though it's supposed to be "close by," that could just mean it's in the same city. However, this "restored" Globe Theater is supposed to be both a very accurate reproduction, and a great theater to see great plays.

I'll have to take their word for it, because I don't feel like paying £5 just to get inside the building.

So I walked down a side street, just to check out the neighborhood, and, of course, I got lost. But that worked out for the best, because as luck would have it, I ended up walking right past the real site of the real Globe Theater! All that's left is a few marking posts in the parking lot of some apartments. Actually, that's not quite true; apparently they didn't know it was the actual sight until they'd already built stuff, and then they dug up some relics -- now they've marked the "boundaries" of the site, and you can't develop there or dig there or anything. So the dirt has been preserved, anyway. I took a few pictures but it just looks like a nice parking lot.

Then I walked along Clink Road, site of old Clink Prison (it's only a few hundred feet from the original Globe Theater. I think there's ironic justice in having those two so close together). There's a prison "museum" in a building close by, complete with scary noises and Disney-type atmosphere, at least at the entrance. £4 admission, which isn't that bad, but I'm feeling more like seeing real history, outside, so it'll have to wait for the next time I'm here. Another reason to come back.

Typical London street scene

Here's a shot down of your typical busy London street scene near either London Bridge or Southwark Bridge, I can't remember. Sorry.

Okay, I'm writing this at Jenny's Restaurant (near London Bridge), sort of like a cross between Denny's and a Burger King (if you can imagine), and I got a BLTC (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and ... I don't know what the "C" stands for) and water (bottled, "Highland Spring," from Scotland) for £5.10. I'm running low on cash, I think I've only got another £5 left.

And I haven't seen a cash machine for hours. Figures. When I had cash, there were cash machines every fifty feet.

Tower Bridge is next. Ooh, along the way here, somewhere near Blackfriar's Bridge, I think, I went to the public convenience, and only after finishing up my business and exiting did I notice it was the women's loo. Oops! Well, I didn't surprise any women and they didn't surprise me, if you know what I mean.

24 March 1998 5:03pm

Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast I walked past London Bridge, on the footpath along the Thames, and lined up this shot -- on the left you can just see the top of the Tower of London, in the center is H.M.S. Belfast, "last of the big-gun cruisers" from the European theater of action in WWII, and last but not least on the right is Tower Bridge.

I would have liked to go on board H.M.S. Belfast, but it was late, I still hadn't found a cash machine, and I wanted to see the Tower before dark. Still more sights for next time.

So I walked to Tower Bridge, and across it, and took photos, and generally marveled at everything.

Tower Bridge from south bank Tower Bridge, built in 1894, was until recently the last bridge over the Thames before it reached the sea. Because of its proximity to the Tower of London, it took an act of parliament to approve the design.

The Area between Tower Bridge and London Bridge is called The Pool of London, which you can sort of see (partly) in this picture. It used to be packed with docks supplying food to London.

Its twin towers (cast iron, stone clad) used to house the hydraulic mechanism for lifting the Bridge. Now it's all done electrically, and both sections of the bridge (weighting over 1,000 tons each) can be raised in under two minutes!

Another angle on Tower Bridge

Little known fact: All steel for the Tower Bridge came from Scotland. Click the right arrow to continue across the bridge and to the Tower of London ...