Out and About in London, England

Fourteen years after our first visit to London, we returned for just 72 hours – our gateway to exploring Scotland. Our 2010 visit was all about geocaching. This stop was mainly to meet up with friends for Sunday brunch, plus a whole lot of steps for urban photography!

Our overnight flight from Calgary, plus the 7 hour time difference between Calgary and London had us landing slightly ahead of schedule at Heathrow, just after noon on the Friday of a May banking holiday weekend. A quick exit from immigration and baggage claim was more than offset by an extended delay on the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. Lesson learned? Take the less expensive Elizabeth Line (more stops, but runs more frequently). The silver lining? We didn’t have to wait to check in to our one-bedroom apartment at Wilde Aparthotels, in the Paddington Canal area.

piers and apartment buildings along a canal in London

Afternoon Day 1

Our primary mission for the afternoon/evening: stay up long enough to get (mostly) adjusted to the time change. First stop = a nearby Vodaphone shop to buy a SIM card for my phone (Mr GeoK used international roaming, due to work). After that, we kept walking and photographing, making our way to the Thames River with a few stops along the way.

It was great to get away from the busy London streets and walk through Hyde Park part way. We especially enjoyed all the flowers in bloom, since Calgary is only just greening up in early May. The flowers on the hybrid Red-Horse Chestnut tree caught my attention.

mature tree with deep pink blossoms beside a gravel path with people walking in London

mass of large, frilly, deep pink blossoms with yellow throats

Leaving Hyde Park, we made our way to the Natural History Museum. We spent a few hours here with our then 10- and 14-year-olds in 2010. It was busy then, and it was even busier this time around. But we didn’t go for an in-depth visit. Instead, our goal was to photograph “Hope,” the great blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling of Hintze Hall. She’s part of the 2017 re-do of this part of the museum, and we’d seen some great wide-angle photos of her during our trip planning. Mr GeoK use his favorite wide-angle lens, and I shot the scene with a fisheye lens.

blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling of Hintze Hall in London's Natural History Museum

great blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling of Hintze Hall at London's Natural History Museum, with a big sun flare coming through a top left skylight

Just across Exhibition Road is the Victoria and Albert museum (still on our “someday” list). We made an unplanned stop in the Exhibition Road Courtyard for more photography.

man photographing a modern cafe outside a red brick museum

modern cafe addition to London's Victoria and Alberta Museum

woman photographing a statue of a poised, casually dressed female outside Victoria and Alberta Museum

statue of a casually dressed woman, outside the Victoria and Albert Museum

From there, we continued to the north bank of the Thames River, to one of Mr GeoK’s “top of the list” photo spots, the Battersea Power Plant (now a mall). He carried a big tripod all day, and set up for a long-exposure shot. I used my phone camera to keep myself occupied while he took worked the scene. We would have preferred to photograph this location closer to dusk, but with sunset around 10 pm and the 7 hour time change, we were stuck with early evening, arm light.

view across the Thames River to Battersea Power Station (now a mall) and Centurion apartment building

leaves framing a peekaboo view of Battersea Power Station in London

Making our way back to our hotel, we came across the Chelsea Waterworks Company tower, next to the old Grosvenor Canal. I liked the way the evening sun lit up the tower.

evening sunlight on the Chelsea Waterworks Company tower

We stumbled upon another photo op while walking back to Paddington. Chelsea Barracks hosted a temporary outdoor Chihuly glass exhibit that we noticed because we visited Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle last fall. We saw 5 or 6 colorful pieces. The photo that includes a red, double-decker bus in the background provides a real sense of place for this temporary exhibit.

Dale Chihuly's "Aqua Blue and Amber Chandelier" temporarily installed at London's Chelsea Barracks, reflected in a skiff of water

Dale Chihuly's "Mulberry Square Fiori" temporarily installed in a garden bed at Chelsea Barracks, London

Chihuly reflecting orbs temporarily installed in a garden bed at Chelsea Barracks, London, with a red, double-decker bus in the background

Finally, some 22,000 steps later, and after a quick stop at M&S Express to grab some snacks, we were back at our hotel for the night. While Mr GeoK backed up his photos, I used his tripod to set up a couple of long exposures through our window. We had a pretty good view of “The Shard”, IMO.

Long exposure of headlights and tail lights on the A40 heading east from the top floor of Wild Aparthotel, Paddington

partial night skyline view of London, including the Shard, with lots of red air flight warning lights

Day 2

Woohoo! We both slept well (maybe thanks to melatonin chewables?), and then we went to the nearby M&S Express to grab some fruit and pastries for breakfast. So it was about 11 o’clock Saturday morning before we got out and about in London. It was a bank holiday weekend, so very busy wherever we went, particularly walking the south bank of the Thames between Westminster and Tower bridges.

We started by walking to Neal’s Yard, which we’d seen on just about every YouTube, photo spot list and blog post about where to get good photos in London. It was cute, but crowed, and with scaffolding up, not as photogenic as we’d hoped. Maybe an after-dark visit would be better for photography? Looks like there are some cute lights in place.

people in tiny Neal's Yard, taking social media photographs

From there, we made an unplanned gift shopping stop at Pop Mart Soho (the Kuromi figurines we picked up were a big hit with the recipient), then wandered through Chinatown with the aim of visiting the Lego store.

display of anime and manga characters in Pop Modern store, London

From there, we wandered through Soho, down past Trafalgar Square, through the Admiralty Arch and then back through the Horse Guards Parade grounds before crossing to the South bank. Everything was super busy, and in some places just moving along the sidewalk was a challenge.

people walking through the parade grounds at Buckingham Palace

Between us, we got a nice set of London Eye photos.

London Eye "ferris wheel" and old county hall, along the Thames River in London

section of the London Eye, visible above and between trees

passengers ina pod aboard the London Eye

We crossed the Thames via the Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges, and found the South bank crowded. Not only was it a warm spring day, it was the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend.

We both liked the details of the under side of the Blackfriars Bridge.

Under Blackfriars Bridge, photographed with a fisheye lens

Underside of Blackfriars Bridge, photographed with a wide angle lens from the south bank of the Thames River

One objective for the day? Find the outdoor viewing deck at the Tate Modern. We were eventually successful. It offers a pretty good view of the Millennium Bridge. We had hoped to go in the evening, but the Tate Modern hadn’t yet switched to summer hours. We ended up being there mid-afternoon.

Millenium Bridge and St Paul's cathedral, photographed from the viewing deck at Tate Modern

Walkie-Talkie Building, photographed from the Tate Modern viewing deck, London

birds in flight against a backdrop of London skyscrapers

Of course we also toured some of the Tate Modern galleries (free admission to most galleries, paid admission applied to special exhibitions). Here are a couple of brightly-coloured and graphic pieces that caught my eye…

grouping of brightly coloured shapes paintings by Ellsworth Kelly at Tate Modern

blue and yellow sculptural "painting" by Rasheed Araeen

One of my two shopping regrets from this trip was not picking up a copy of this poster by Craig and Karl. Yes, I know I can buy it online from the Tate Modern gift shop and pay the postage to ship it to Canada, but I subscribe to the “if you miss your chance, too bad for you” school of vacation shopping. 🙂

colourful poster of London by illustrators Craig & Karl, available at Tate Modern

Leaving the Tate Modern, Mr GeoK was keen to try some long exposure shots from the south end of the Millennium Bridge. He set up while I took a bit of a break.

people on the Millenium Bridge in London, St Paul's cathedral in the background

woman wearing sunglasses, sitting on a bench set against a brick wall

He reported that passersby were interested in what he was doing, stopping to chat and asking to squeeze in to use his vantage point! He was patient, and worked the situation for a bit. Here are a couple of the results:

Long exposure taken from the south bank end of the Millenium Bridge, St Paul's cathedral in the distance

Long exposure taken from the south bank end of the Millenium Bridge

Once he was ready to move on, we crossed the Millennium Bridge to the North bank. This was as close as I could get to a long exposure, taken with my phone part way across the bridge.

Pixel 8 PRO long exposure shot along the railing of the Millenium Bridge, St Paul's cathdral in the distance

The North bank was somewhat quieter. We came across a mural, a mosaic, and one juxtaposition of old vs new that caught my eye.

Shakespeare mural, Clink Street tunnel, London

Roman days detailed in the Queenhithe Mosaic, London

Mid-17th century notables detailed in the Queenhithe Mosaic, London

"London Price" detail from the Queenhithe Mosaic, London

old street lamp and The Shard, photographed from the north bank of the Thames in London

Given where sun’s position in the sky, we eventually crossed back over the Thames to set up for some photographs of the Tower Bridge – another key objective of the day. Again, Mr GeoK used the tripod he carried all day. I used the long exposure mode on my phone! Bonus? The drawbridge opened while we were there and Mr GeoK caught that it a few of his shots.

Tower Bridge, draw bridges opened to allow a vessel to pass through

Pixel 8 PRO long exposure of London Bridge

By the time the drawbridge closed again, it was time to think about supper. The one nearby place we wanted to try was closed for changeover between lunch and supper service. So we caught the tube back towards our hotel, figuring we’d freshen up a bit and come up with a plan. Lucky us, about 2 blocks from our hotel, we passed Heist Bank, where we ended up stopping for amazing sourdough flatbread pizzas and some bevvies. This turned out to be one of our best meals in London.

After dining, and despite the fact that it was still only early evening, we called it quits for the day. 24,000+ steps in the heat took its toll, and we had photos to back up and a bit of photo processing to do. 🙂

Day 3

We caught a double-decker bus to meet friends for brunch late Sunday morning and arrived at the restaurant about a half hour early. That mean we had time to explore Brunswick Square Gardens for a bit. Turns out it’s home to some very old Plane and Beech trees and is adjacent to the Founding Museum. Past residents of the area with broad name recognition include Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes. We wandered for a bit and took photographs…

pale purple and white iris bloom, fully opened, plus 3 buds on the same stalk

small blackbird with yellow beak and yellow rimmed eye, perched on a leafless branch

man walking under a very tall tree with copper-colored leaves

Our friends made a great choice when they booked us in for brunch at Riding House, Bloomsbury. The food was great, service was attentive but not hovering and the company was excellent!

four people standing together and smiling

After a good long visit, we parted ways: our friends off to shop at John Lewis & Partners department store, us for a short visit to the British Museum before making our way to a matinee. This was an impromptu decision, that almost went sideways when a gate attendant asked us if we had tickets. Since we did not (last visit, admission to the British Museum was free), he pointed us around the block to the back of the museum to book tickets.

But thanks to the unlimited data attached to my 30-day Vodafone SIM card, I soon discovered that we could book a timed entrance for less than 5 minutes in the future. So we did! And then we got past the gatekeeper, no problem.

Since our time was limited, we each chose one area of the museum to explore. I opted for the Japan galleries:

Pen and ink drawing of a boy sitting on a tree branch reading a book, in the Japanese exhibit at the British Museum

Museum display of old Japanese mask, casting a shadow

Duck illustration in a Japanese book on display at the British Museum

Mr GeoK wanted to see some of the treasure hoards discovered by detectorists, so we headed to the Roman displays:

museum display of glass from 1st and 2nd century AD

various pieces of really old jewelry unearthed by dectectorists in England

Of course, any visit to the British Museum includes taking in the amazing architecture of the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court. I carried only my phone camera, so can foresee another visit with the fish eye lens.

massive central pillar under a geometric sky roof at the British Museum

We arrived at the Gillian Lynn Theatre in good time for the Sunday matinee performance of Standing at the Sky’s Edge – winner of the 2023 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production and the South Bank Sky Arts Award. Set to songs from singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, the musical tells the story of three generations of families living, loving and losing in Park Hill estate. We Canadians simply didn’t get some of the humor, but that didn’t prevent us from thoroughly enjoying the performance (well, except for a few extra loud bits).

man photographing a theatre with a signboard reading "Standing at the Sky's Edge"

After the show, we headed to East Street by Tampopo Fitzrovia for supper. They did a great job of accommodating my allergies. Turns out sulphur dioxide (aka sulphites) are one of 14 allergens/dietary restrictions that restaurants in the UK have to track. This is far more than in Canada, with just 7 main allergens. And I learned that in most restaurants in the UK, all of these allergens are indicated on the menus. In Canada, you have to tell the server about your allergies and trust they will communicate appropriately with the kitchen staff.

spring rolls, tempura shrimp, karage chicken and gyoza with steamed rice

Anyhow, after our allergen-free and delicious supper, we walked back to our hotel, for a grand total of about 15,000 steps for the day. Along the way, we spotted a photographic opportunity at the John Lewis department store.

man photographing his reflection in a mirrored overhang outside a store

Morning Day 4

Monday morning, we packed up, checked out, and caught at tube to King’s Cross where we had a morning reservation for train service to Edinburgh. We arrived more than an hour early, as we had two photography objectives in mind. First, King’s Cross train station. In the run-up to the 2012 summer Olympics, the then 160 year-old original building was refurbished. At the same time, a major expansion (the Western Concourse) was added – all while continuing to operate train service as usual. The showpiece of the Western Councourse is a great steel funnel fans out to support a diagrid roof of glass, steel, and aluminum. It’s all modern curves, and very fun to photograph!

Our last photographic objective for this trip to London = a 90-meter light tunnel connecting King’s Cross station to nearby shops, bars and restaurants. The gently curving tunnel features an “art wall” comprised of 190 controllable vertical panels of LED lights behind toughened glass. Open daily from early morning to evening, the tunnel has been used as a catwalk during London Fashion Week, hosted CogX – the Artificial Intelligence festival, and even the occasional yoga workshop.

Colour pulsing down one wall of a tunnel connecting tube platforms under London's King's Cross train station

This was a lot of fun to photograph, and is worthy of a return visit next time we’re in London.

That’s it – a recap of our 72 hours out and about in London in May 2024. We plan to return in a few years, so leave a comment if there’s a “fun to photograph” location that we missed.