Walking with Emma: 13th anniversary weekend

Tower Bridge and The Shard at sunset.

Friday March 7, 2025.

As Monday 10th would be the 13th anniversary of our wedding, Emma had booked us a stay at the Tower Hotel, as a present for me.

With our girls at school, then off to my mum's for the night, Emma and I set off.

Uber to Watford Metropolitan station, a train to Finchley Road, then a Jubilee line train to London Bridge.

As we made our way along Tooley Street, heading to More London Place, I was surprised at how quiet it was, considering the temperature was at 18°C (64.4°F, for my continental friends).

His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London.

Meandering around The Scoop and the old City Hall building, I stopped to take some photos of the City of London and His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, before we passed under Tower Bridge, to Shad Thames, where we stopped for a coffee at Starbucks.

The Tower Hotel.

Sitting beside The Vault 1894 beer garden, we sipped our coffees and looked across the River Thames towards the Tower Hotel, where we would be spending the night. Usually we are more than happy to stay at Premier Inn, as their beds are incredibly comfortable and their breakfasts are equally as good. But, as it was a special occasion, plus the fact that I had always wanted to stay there, ever since I first saw it on TV and film, Emma had secretly booked it. Plus, according to all of their Social Media releases, it offered unparalleled views of Tower Bridge... unless your room was at the back. In which case you would probably have a great view of St Katharine Docks and Marina, which is still pretty cool.

With our beverages finished, we climbed the well-worn stairs to bridge level and crossed Tower Bridge.

Once on the north bank we made our way down the stairs and sat beside David Wynne's 'Girl with a Dolphin' sculpture, before heading into the Tower Hotel reception.

A Starbucks in the Tower Hotel lobby.

The brutalist style exterior architecture, of this 1973 building, was a complete juxtaposition with the shiny interior, with its marbled columns and mirrors, making the lobby seem larger and grander than expected.

There were plenty of people working at reception, so we didn't have to wait to check in. The receptionist, named Padam, was polite and professional and seemed genuinely interested in why we had booked this hotel, congratulating us on our anniversary, asking what our plans for the weekend were and generally made us feel welcomed. After taking our payment, and handing us our key, he promised us that our room had one of the best views and then gestured us towards a bank of four lifts.

There is nothing brutalist about the interior of the Tower Hotel.

The lift was silent and its movement was barely susceptible as it raised us to the fifth floor. On exiting the lift, we turned right and right again, following the corridor, before a sign told us that our room was down the corridor to our left. Onward we went until we reached our room. My mental GPS had been calculating our location, within the hotel, and I knew that, with the room on our left, we were in for a decent view. I was not wrong. 

A standard Tower Hotel room.

On entering the room our bathroom was to our left, with three doors, to our right, hiding the wardrobes. The main room was spacious, with a bed to our left and, on our right, a desk (hiding a small fridge containing complimentary drinks), and TV. Bedside tables, 3D art, paintings and an arm chair completed the room. Directly in front of us, the window spanned the width of the room. And the view?

The view from the fifth floor.

The view was everything that we had hoped for. Tower Bridge and The Shard were our view, while in the distance Crystal Palace Tower could be seen on the horizon.

After settling in, refreshing ourselves and changing, we made our way downstairs into the warm spring evening. By now the sun had set (or, rather, the Earth was completing another rotation, hiding the sun from our view) as we made our way around St Katharine Docks, with its still waters and reflected lights. 'Gloriana', the Queen's Rowbarge, was moored in the marina, along with yachts, barges and boats of varying size and style.

Following the path we made our way to Zizzi, via Coronarium Bridge, where we would be dining. Our plan had been to eat at the Dickens Inn, but Emma had read the recent reviews and wasn't that impressed, so we had booked Zizzi, instead.

The staff, our server was named Charlotte, the atmosphere, the food... was perfect. 

After settling the bill Emma and I went for another walk around the Docks and Marina, with a slight diversion, as Telford's retracting footbridge is under repair. Although the temperature had dropped, slightly, it was still warm, as we walked along the River Thames, listening to the various parties going on some boats, while families walked along, taking photos of Tower Bridge in all of its night time glory.

With time getting on we headed back to the hotel and returned to our room, to settle in for the night. 

Saturday March 8, 2025.

As is usual, for me, I awoke early and, without waking Emma, got myself dressed and headed out to get some morning photos of the Docks and Tower Bridge.

By 07:30 I was taking pictures of 'Gloriana', the warehouse buildings (now apartments and offices), the boats and yachts, with their reflections caught perfectly in the still water. Then I went round to the River Thames, with Tower Bridge shining in the morning sun (now that the Earth was on its next rotation). Wendy Ann Taylor's 'Timepiece Sundial' and David Wynne's 'Girl with a Dolphin', were next in my lens, before I headed back up to our room.

By now Emma was awake and getting dressed, as I stood by the window with my phone in hand. I had completed a Google search, the night before, and discovered that Tower Bridge would be 'opening' for a maintenance lift at 08:30. Sure enough, just before 08:30, the traffic lights turned red and various barriers moved into place, stopping pedestrians and road traffic. Then the roadway began to lift. Pausing at a slight angle before completing the 'opening'. Only about three minutes passed before the bridge reopened to traffic.

With this highlight over we headed down to the Upper Floor to grab breakfast. We were shown to a seat, beside a massive window, overlooking St Katharine Docks and, after taking a photo, headed off to fill our plates and to get some drinks.

Once we had eaten our fill we headed back to our room to pack, as we had places to visit.

After checking out of the hotel we headed north, along St Katharine's Way, passing the Old Royal Mint and continued on Mansell Street until we reached Whitechapel High Street. A left turn onto Commercial Street and we soon at our destination of Spitalfields Market, passing the now built-on site of where Mary Jane Kelly's body was discovered, following her murder by Jack the Ripper.

Insects made from computer and electronic parts.

Surprisingly, the market was not too busy, so we were able to take our time perusing the various stalls and chatting with the owners. Nearly every stall was independent, with wares that couldn't be found elsewhere. After a while we stopped for some refreshments, in the centre of the market, before deciding to head somewhere else. 

On leaving the market we headed along Hanbury Street, passing an indoor market that now stands on the site of where Annie Chapman's body was discovered, following her murder by Jack the Ripper. We then turned north onto Brick Lane.

We wandered along Brick Lane until we found ourselves on Bethnal Green Road and, with the temperature rising again, we followed Bethnal Green Road to Shoreditch High Street, before following Braithwaite Street to Wheler Street and back to Commercial Street.

Back at Spitalfields Market we walked along Lamb Street until we reached Bishops Square, where we discovered the 'Herd of Hope'. Obviously, I had to stop and take photos of some of the various bronze Pachyderms that were placed around the square. The 'Herd of Hope' is a collection of 21 bronze elephants (1 matriarch and 20 baby elephants) that are all orphans. They are the work of Gillie and Marc Schattner, who have exhibited lots of their work in London. 

Being in Bishops Square also gave me a chance to look down, through protective glass at the medieval Charnel House, which was built around 1320. It was in this building that the dis-articulated bones of many thousands of people, who died following the Great Famine, were stored. I need to find out more about this piece of London's history.

We then made our way out of Bishops Square onto Bishopsgate and our destination of Liverpool Street station. Descending into the station we stopped at WH Smith, for some refreshments, before heading through the gates to the westbound platform. Within minutes an Uxbridge-bound train arrived, which we rode to Baker Street, where, after a 13 minute wait we caught a Metropolitan line train to Watford.

It was a great visit to London, where we got to spend some time together and saw different places, all without having to worry about the girls.

So, a big "thank you", to Emma, for booking the hotel and for your continued love and support. And a big "thank you", to my mum for looking after the girls for the night. 

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles
• Car - 0.0 miles
• DLR - 0.0 miles
• Ferry - 0.0 miles
• Overground - 0.0 miles
• River Boat - 0.0 miles
• Taxi - 1.8 miles
• Train - 0.0 miles
• Underground - 37 miles
• Walking - 4.3 miles