London By Night
London, like most cities, looks and feels different at night. The most dramatic part of the city after dark, of course, is near and around the City, and More London, where many of the financial companies, hence the giant towers of metal and glass, are. The City is the oldest of the three financial districts of London. More London and Canary Wharf are the other two.
I had walked along the Thames, diving in and out of residential areas and streets when I couldn't remain on the bank of the river, all the way from the east. I actually started off in daylight, but by the time I arrived at Tower Bridge, darkness had fallen on the city. Tower Bridge is the last bridge in London before boats head out to Essex to eventually join the sea. The river widens and widens until it opens into the larger water body surrounding the island at Essex to the north and Kent to the south. There is a very long bridge, Victoria Bridge, that crosses the river at one of its widest points at Dartford.
Tower Bridge is the one that opens to late the larger vessels in. Many of those boats would be unable to continue past that point since none of the other bridges open, and may be too low for them to pass under, especially if the tide is particularly high. Most tourists that come to London, and even some people that live here, think Tower Bridge is London Bridge! London Bridge is another bridge on the river which is not particularly remarkable in any way. There is a story behind that, for other days.
North Bank
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On the northern bank of the Thames, and the northern end of the bridge, are Wapping and St. Katharine to the east and The City of London to the west. St. Katharine Docks historically served to welcome boats bringing things into the London, but now mostly serves as a marina of sorts housing many luxury boats and yachts. The warehouses have also been converted into a mixture of residential and business unites. The area is some of the most exclusive, and expensive, places to live in the country.
On the northern bank also resides the world famous Tower of London which is one of London's tourists attractions. As such, the area is always busy. One can usually access it directly from St. Katharine Docks, via a narrow pathway that goes under the bridge, but it was closed and cordoned off when I got there. Probably some lingering crowd control protocols from COVID days. It was my first time of going to that part of London since 2020.
Tower Bridge
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Every time I cross Tower Bridge, I always hang around for a while hoping it would open to let a boat pass. In all my years of living in London, which is decades now, I've only seen the bridge open a handful of times - barely more than five times, definitely fewer than ten times. It's always quite a spectacle.
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Having seen the Spider-man movie, I was glad the bridge was still intact haha. I don't know, it didn't do well in the movie. I'm also always reminded that these towers are actually functioning buildings. They are "towers" as the name suggests, and as such are actually used. The bridge, unlike most of the others crossing the thames, also requires personnel to run it. All that opening and closing stuff. That's someone's job. It's just one of those things you take for granted.
South Bank
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The south end of the bridge, on the south bank of the Thames, is even more cool than the north. To the east is Bermondsey, and area evenly split between trendy and rough, and to the west is More London and the famous "South Bank". The south bank is home to such landmark structures as City Hall, The Shard, Shakespeare's Globe, HMS Belfast (floating), Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, London Dungeon, The OXO Tower, London Bridge Hospital, and so on and so forth.
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The views from the south, looking north over the river, are impressive in the day time, but even more so at night. Thankfully London has preserved the skyline around St. Paul's such that it can still be observed unobstructed by modern towers, especially from the Millennium Bridge. That is another mis-identified bridge in London. More on that some other time.
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It goes without saying that London looks more amazing at night during the late Autumn and Winter months because the night is longer and extends from working hours. It means one can observe from outside, people getting on with their day - at work or at play, without being noticed. It's spectator heaven.
The festive lights have gone up in many parts of the city now. I should take a walk, perhaps tomorrow, along Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus area, to see what they look like and take some photos. There's a guy near where I live who's put is lights up, American style, one day after Halloween. I wonder if he is American, mind you, the house is in the stereotypical Greek style with the faux lawn, two lion statuettes at the entrance and the Greco-Roman pillars :)
Peace & Love,
Adé