Much earlier start today as we were able to leave the hotel at 8:30 and immediately get started. This had the advantage of missing the hotter part of the day and it was quieter too.
This leg was initially not overly interesting as you tried to navigate around all the converted warehouses which went right to the bank of the Thames or were private land that we couldn’t cross. At one point we found ourselves in the corridors of a Hilton hotel desperately looking for an exit back onto the path!
Eventually, though we left the tower blocks of Canary Wharf behind and began to see the sights of London.
Tower Bridge and Beyond
Depending on which guide you are following the end point for today’s walk was either Tower Bridge or The London Eye. The former seemed too short and the latter too long!
Like the Dome yesterday you can see Tower Bridge from quite a distance which meant that you had something to aim for. As you can see from the picture below the bridge is flanked on either side by two more modern landmarks in the shape of The Shard (South Bank) and The Walkie-Talkie (North Bank).
Beyond the bridge, you hit peak tourist area as you pass HMS Belfast, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern and the Royal Festival Hall to name a few. It’s a beautiful place to be but when you are on a mission to reach your goal of The London Eye having all these slow-moving tourists creating a road-block is a pain.
Like yesterday there was a lot of public art on display, a selection of which you can see below. What has been interesting is that some impressive pieces of work are still being commissioned and displayed for all to see. At Hay’s Galleria alone there were two temporary Morph’s and a rather impressive looking ship. This I found really uplifting somehow.
Stats
Day: 2
Start: Greenwich
End: The London Eye
Distance: 9.23 miles
Cumulative: 17.86 miles
To go: 172.5