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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Friday, 22 October 2021

Evening Walk - The Illuminated River: London Bridge to Lambeth Bridge along the North Bank, and back on the other side (if you wish)

Length: 4.7 km one way, 10.0 km if returning to LBG; with plenty of mainline and tube stations as well as bus stops on route or just off route to cut it short


Meet at 18.30 on London Bridge’s southwest corner, outside The Barrowboy and Banker pub.

Exploration of The Illuminated River, a “long-term art installation transforming the Thames at night with an orchestrated series of light works that span nine bridges in central London. Its subtly moving sequences of LED light symbolically unify the Thames bridges, drawing inspiration from the spirit and history of the river and from the architectural and engineering heritage of its bridges.”

For a link to a sketched map of the route click here. T=short.57

1 comment:

Thomas G said...

10 at the meeting point (incl. 2 first timers), with 1 other joining on the other side of LBG, so n=11 in w=dry-but-cold weather. The thinking behind walking along the Northbank was that because of the bend of the river, we'd see more of the lit bridges than from the Southbank (and so we did), and also that more of the buildings on the Southbank are purposefully lit, so best to admire them from across.
That kind of worked well. Until you hit Blackfriars Bridge and the first of two Tideway sites means you have to walk along the other side of the busy Embankment road. Not THAT great a stretch, but then again - it's not that long either, before one is riverside again and there is a cycle super highway between footpath and road.
The lit bridges themeselves are indeed quiet fascinating, in a quiet and unobtrusive way. With warmer temperatures, one would have been tempted to stand and watch for longer as they change colour slowly. Another time...
At Lambeth Bridge, the first-timers walked back to Southwark, some walked on to their home in Pimlico, and 6 went for a drink at The Windmill in Lambeth High Street (the quietest High Street in London, perchance?). Afterwards, 2 walked to Vauxhall Station, 3 walked back to their homes in W1 and EC1, and 1 took a bus.