Post by Irish Stu on Oct 16, 2009 6:04:35 GMT -6
I had to go to a meeting in London on a dull, grey day earlier this week at one of our TV networks who have their offices and studios on the 'Southbank' of the River Thames. The Thames is an important part of our culture so I always enjoy it when I get the chance to walk along the river, and on this occasion I stayed on the Tube train for one extra stop so I could have a longer walk along The Embankment, as the north bank is called, and take my pick of which bridge, Blackfriars or the Millennium, to walk across to the other bank. I chose the Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian only footbridge so called because it was designed and built as part of London' millennium celebrations. It is also famous for developing a serious 'wobble' when thousands of people streamed across it when it was opened causing it to be closed while structural engineers figured out why it had happened and how to fix it. This was the inspiration for the scene in 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' when the Millennium Bridge buckles and twists before collapsing into the Thames :
Approaching the Millennium Bridge along 'The Embankment'
Underneath the structure
St Paul's Cathedral from the bridge
Halfway across and looking back at St Paul's Cathedral again
And again from the Southbank
The City of London, London's financial district, in the distance with the Gerkin and the NatWest Tower
Looking down the Thames towards Tower Bridge with the skyscrapers at Canary Wharf, London's new financial district, just visible through the haze
A view up the Thames of the London Eye with Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, and a couple of red buses putting in an appearance too on Westminster Bridge
The tower at the Tate Modern gallery which is found at the end of the bridge on the Southbank
A view of St Paul's Cathedral and the city from the Southbank
Back in the city again. I think David Hasselhoff must have got here first
Simon
Approaching the Millennium Bridge along 'The Embankment'
Underneath the structure
St Paul's Cathedral from the bridge
Halfway across and looking back at St Paul's Cathedral again
And again from the Southbank
The City of London, London's financial district, in the distance with the Gerkin and the NatWest Tower
Looking down the Thames towards Tower Bridge with the skyscrapers at Canary Wharf, London's new financial district, just visible through the haze
A view up the Thames of the London Eye with Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, and a couple of red buses putting in an appearance too on Westminster Bridge
The tower at the Tate Modern gallery which is found at the end of the bridge on the Southbank
A view of St Paul's Cathedral and the city from the Southbank
Back in the city again. I think David Hasselhoff must have got here first
Simon