In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

I’ve been out for another walk around central London by the Thames, this time starting from Vauxhall tube/railway station, and criss-crossing over the river before ending up in Trafalgar Square.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

The former Battersea Power Station, now home to the super wealthy.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Attached to Vauxhall bridge are eight large piers are eight striking statues of allegorical figures.

Designed by two artists F.W. Pomeroy and Alfred Drury, they designed four apiece, with Pomeroy completing the ones up stream; AgricultureArchitectureEngineering and Pottery) and Drury down stream (EducationFine ArtsScience and Local Government.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Looking over the mini-Manhattan that has sprung up around Vauxhall and Nine Elms.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

The current bridge opened in 1906, designed in a joint effort by Sir Alexander Binnie and Maurice Fitzmaurice, built by London County Council (LCC) engineers, replacing a bridge built on the same spot between 1809 and 1816.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Ssssch! It’s the secret MI6 building, which houses the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, MI6).

Wikipedia reports:

The site is rumoured to include a tunnel under the Thames from the building to Whitehall.

 

The numerous layers over which the building is laid out create 60 separate roof areas.

 

25 different types of glass were used in the building, with 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) of glass and aluminium used in the building’s construction.

 

The windows in the SIS building are triple glazed for security purposes.

 

Due to the sensitive nature of MI6’s work, large parts of the building are below street level, with numerous underground corridors serving the building. Amenities for staff include a sports hall, gymnasium, aerobics studio, a squash court and a restaurant. The building also features two moats for protection.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Seagulls assemble by the north-western side of Vauxhall bridge.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

A new luxury development springs up next to St George Wharf Tower (on the right).

Sadly, that tower is already linked to two deaths after a helicopter crashed into the crane at the top of the construction in January 2013. Both the pilot and a pedestrian at street level lost their lives.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

The mighty Shard as seen from the north bank of the Thames.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Gardens wedged between Millbank and the Thames.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Approaching the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

County Hall, which was once home  to the London County Council and latterly the Greater London Council (GLC) and Inner London Education Authority (ILEA).

Flogged off by the government in 1990, it’s now mainly home to tacky tourist attractions.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Victoria Embankment Gardens.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Hungerford Bridge.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Looking back towards Vauxhall and Nine Elms.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

The London Eye (aka the Millennium Wheel), is Europe’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK  with over 3 million visitors annually.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

Back at the Southbank Centre.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

The heatwave and record breaking temperatures have created a ‘false autumn‘ in London.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

The York Watergate in Embankment Gardens was built in 1626 as a grand entrance linking the river to York House, a grand manor houses facing the River Thames.

When Joseph Bazalgette built his famous sewer network in the 1860s, the gate ended up marooned in the Embankment Gardens, some distance from the shoreline.

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

In photos: A walk besides the Thames from Vauxhall to Hungerford Bridge, Sept 2022

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