River Thames Tide Gauge Hut

River Thames Tide Gauge Hut.

If you were to leave Westminster Station via the Westminster Pier exit, or made your way down the north steps from Westminster Bridge, you will quite possibly have walked by this odd little green turret without giving it a moment's thought.

However, this copper turret houses some important scientific equipment, which you can see if you peer through one of the two small windows in the door.

Home of the Thames Tide Recorder instruments.

The Tide Recorder measures the depth of the River Thames at Westminster Bridge, or more accurately the mean sea level rather than the river bed, which it then sends to the Thames Barrier Control Room every fifteen minutes. This information is then published online.

Westminster City Council look after the upkeep of the exterior, while the tide reading equipment is maintained by the Environment Agency.

I have yet to discover when it was installed, but it has been in situ since the 1930's.

If anyone can find more information about its construction or when it was installed, I would be most grateful.

Walking with Keilyn: Westminster Bridge to Battersea Park... and beyond

Keilyn with the heart for our friend and colleague Khalid Jamil.

Sunday July 30, 2023.

Keilyn loves walking through and around London, almost as much as I do, so we decided to walk through a different part of the city, on this visit.

On our way to London for another epic walk.

The day began with our usual walk to the Watford underground station, changing at Finchley Road and then exiting at Westminster.

Our starting point.

We began by crossing Westminster bridge, with its tourists from a myriad countries, before descending the stone steps to the Albert Embankment. and the National Covid Memorial Wall and looked across at the Palace of Westminster.

We decided to follow the Albert Embankment, which stretches for a mile from Westminster Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge, passing St Thomas' Hospital and Lambeth Palace before grabbing a coffee and a hot chocolate from a street vendor near Lambeth Bridge.

Lambeth Fire Station.

We then continued along the Albert Embankment, passing the Lambeth Fire Station, until we were near Vauxhall Bridge, where we had to make a slight detour due to the still ongoing construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. This did, however, give us a chance to see the main entrance to the SIS (MI6) building, which is a side of the building that I had not really seen.

Keilyn with some riverside chairs.

Soon we were back walking along the Riverside Walk, where Keilyn found some wooden chairs that spun round. A few steps further and we could see the Embassy of the United States of America, which is the largest American Embassy in Western Europe, and looks like a glass cube with small 'sails' covering three sides. 

Embassy of the United States of America.

We continued along Riverside Walk before having to make another short detour before finding ourselves in the Tideway Village, with its converted trawlers and house boats. 

'St Michael' is a converted trawler that you can stay on.

One final detour and we arrived at Battersea Power Station, which we entered so that Keilyn could get a sense of the scale of the building. With her suitably awestruck and with us both having made use of the facilities, we headed out of the south entrance and continued our walk.

Battersea Power Station interior.

We passed beneath a railway bridge, passed by Battersea Dogs and Cats home before stopping at a Tesco Express for some extra provisions, before passing beneath another railway bridge and heading into Battersea Park.

It was still quite warm, although the clouds were threatening rain, as we sat in the Rosery Gardens and ate our lunch, while joggers and dog walkers busied there way through the gardens.

The Rosery Gardens.

Suitably rested we headed ever westward along the south of the Boating Lake, before turning north and entered the Sub-Tropical Garden, with its ferns and palms. These were interspersed with colourful bedding plants.

The Sub-Tropical Garden.

The Sub-Tropical Garden.

We then continued along the tree-lined path, passing the Bowling Green Pavilion, the Bandstand, the Tea Terrace and formal gardens, until we reached the London Peace Pagoda, where stopped for another short break alongside the River Thames. 

The London Peace Pagoda.

Next to us, in the small car park, the UK Bungee Club were using a crane with a basket attached to jump from. Their screams echoed as they plummeted earthward.

Tothill Fields Bridewell Gateway

The Old Stone Gateway.

Sunday July 30, 2023.

It was while walking through the City of Westminster, on a Sunday afternoon with drizzle falling from the leaden sky, that I passed by this odd little stone gateway.

It is not completely out of keeping with the area and fits nicely with the building behind which it stands, but I was still unsure as to what its purpose was.

The engraved stone above the gateway states...

“Here are several Sorts of Work for the Poor of this Parish of St Margaret’s Westminster. As also the County, according to law. and for such as will beg and live idle in this City and Liberty of Westminster, Anno 1655.”

This didn't exactly clear up the matter of the gateway for me, but rather made its purpose more confusing.