Continuing my series from London , today we visit few more important locations…take a look….
Wembley Stadium
This “Home Of Football” was opened in 2007 and hosts major football matches including home matches of the England national football team. With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in UK and second largest in Europe. It has a circumference of 1 km. It is owned by the English Football Association.
Its signature feature is the Wembley Arch , which , apart from adding aesthetic value also supports major part of the weight of the roof.
It played a major part in the 2012 summer olympics in London hosting many of the matches.
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium by night
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is an iconic landmark of the London built across the Thames river. The Neo-Gothic architecture and the lifting central sections make it special. It was built to give better access to East end of London which had expanded its commercial potential in the 19th century. It was built between 1886 and 1894.
This 240 m long bridge has two towers , one on either end connected at the upper level by horizontal walkways. The central bascule can open to allow shipping .The bridge deck is accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians whereas the towers, upper walkways and engine rooms form part of an exhibition.
The Tower Bridge
Driving under the arches of the Tower Bridge
The lower portion opens to allow shipping
The Shard
The tallest building in UK, the Shard is a 72 floor skyscraper also referred to as the Shard of glass. It is a glass clad pyramidal structure with a viewing gallery and observation deck called The View from the Shard.
It houses a 26 floor office complex, 3 restaurants, 10 residential apartments and the viewing gallery.
The Shard
Thames River
Just like the Tower Bridge, pictures of London are incomplete without the Thames River. Flowing through most of London ,it is 346 km long and is the main source of water to London city. It is also used for navigation purposes.
Around 50 years ago , this river was highly polluted and declared biologically dead. But there has been a turn around and is now one of the cleanest rivers. The installation of oxygenators or bubblers to increase the dissolved oxygen levels has been a turning point in this river’s history.
The Thames river
Waterloo Bridge
This is a road and foot traffic bridge across the Thames and commemorates the victory of the British in the Battle of Waterloo. Due to its strategic location, it provides great views of the London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster.
Waterloo Bridge with the London eye , Big Ben and Westminster in the background.
Trafalgar Square
A public square, Trafalgar square commemorates the victory of Britain in the Battle of Trafalgar. The square is lined by iconic buildings like the National Gallery and has multiple sculptures and a central high column. On top of the column is the statue of Admiral Nelson who led the battle of Trafalgar. The area is called Charing Cross.
The square is the location for many gatherings and political demonstrations. New Year’s eve celebrations are also popular here.
Trafalgar Square
The Trafalgar Square column with Admiral Nelson’s statue on top
The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square
St Paul’s Cathedral
One of the most famous and recognizable sights of London, is a working church with hourly prayer and services. Located at the highest point in the city of London, is the seat of the Bishop of London. It has a magnificent dome which is one of the biggest in the world. It has been hosting many important ceremonies of the royalty and notably was the venue of Princess Diana’s wedding.
The original cathedral was destroyed in a fire and what we see today is a rebuilt cathedral.
St Paul’s Cathedral
The British Library
The national library of the United Kingdom, it is one of the largest libraries in the world.
The entrance to the library
Lord’s
Lord’s cricket ground, called Lord’s in short is referred to as the Home of Cricket and houses the world’s oldest sporting museum. Named after its founder Thomas Lord, it hosts various cricket matches. When we visited, it was the 200 years of Lord’s . Some pictures…
200 years of Lord’s
Entrance
At Lord’s
The Lord’s Pavilion
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
Founded by the sculptor Marie Tussaud in 1835, the wax museum in London is bigger than many others world wide. It displays wax figures of popular personalities. Some pictures…
The royal family
With Sachin
Natural History Museum
A treasure house of exhibits from various ages, a visit to this museum is a very educative experience. It has one of the largest collection of exhibits ; some of which belonged to Charles Darwin. Its exhibits are displayed in various sections like life, earth, wild life gallery etc. Fossils of dinosaurs, virtual reality shows and experiences of geothermal phenomenon are some of the unique sections. A huge blue whale skeleton takes center stage here. Some pictures..
The Natural History Museum
A blue whale skeleton…an exhibit at the museum
After a long but entertaining day of hip hopping through London, we returned to the hotel. Our next destination was Paris.
We travelled to Paris on a P&O ferry crossing the English Channel. The ferry leaves from Dover on the England side to Calais on the French side.
Our tour bus took us to Dover passing some beautiful English countryside on the way.
Typical English countryside
At Dover we also saw the famous white cliffs of Dover.
The White cliffs of Dover
Around seventy million years ago this part of Britain was submerged by a shallow sea. The chalky skeletal remains of a type of alga were deposited on the sea floor and these subsequently became the white cliffs as we see it today.
For ancient mariners, these white cliffs signalled their arrival at UK while crossing the English Channel.
The White cliffs of Dover….
At Dover, we boarded the ferry to Calais…see you next week at France…
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