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.

Battersea Power Station

Refurbished and reopened.

Battersea Power Station has been an iconic landmark on London's skyline since the 1930s. 

I had only visited the area once, back in 2014, when I visited Battersea Park and took a walk back to Westminster via the north bank. At that time the power station was in a state of neglect, having been closed since 1983.

A derelict icon.

I took a few photos of the building, from the north bank, but never went to close to the building. 

Battersea Power Station in 2014.

One of the other reasons for not visiting was that the entire area was more industrial, so didn't appeal to me at the time.

From 2014 a major regeneration of the area and the power station began. The Embassy of the United States opened just down the road in Nine Elms, in 2017 and with houses, apartments and an extension to the Northern line soon following the area was soon on the up.

Embassy of the United States, Nine Elms.

Arriving at the power station, via the aforementioned Northern line extension, we made our way around the outside of the building, grabbing a coffee from one of the street vendors to fend off the bitterly cold wind. We walked around the building, which has numerous entrances on different levels, taking in the landscaped grounds and seating areas, which include a deck on the River Thames. A playground for children to enjoy, in warmer weather, is close by and I can see the entire area being the place to be in the warmer months. 

An original chimney segment.

Suitably warmed we headed inside the building and were immediately dwarfed by the scale of the cavernous building. We passed through Turbine Room 'A' to Turbine Room 'B', with Emma checking out the various shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

Lots of levels and lots to do.

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station

Emma and I at the top of Lift 109.

Friday March 10, 2023.

For our 11th wedding anniversary Emma and I had decided on a trip to London, where we would go for a meal, take in the sights and stay in a hotel.

Emma had also booked a trip up the newly opened Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station, which I was unaware of until the day.

It was a blustery and chilly afternoon as we arrived at Battersea Power Station where we grabbed a coffee from one of the local coffee vans, before taking a walk around the perimeter of the building. We then headed inside the enormous building that had been lovingly restored and refurbished.

You can just make out Lift 109 sticking up out of the top of the chimney.

I won't talk about the Power Station itself as I will be writing a blog about this magnificent building soon. Suffice to say that I was blown away by the sheer scale of the interior.

After a spot of lunch, we made our way to the reception area for Lift 109 and, after passing through the now customary metal detector, waited patiently in line.

We didn't have to wait long and were soon in the interactive area, where we could control the power grid and look at some of the original machinery that had been left over. Original records and media displays brought to the life the history of the building.

Time to control the power grid.

We also stood by the green screen and, after choosing a background, stood for our photo (above) which we would collect on the way out.

Moments later we made our way to the lift lobby where the walls came alive with flames, sparks and a depiction of London's skyline.

London's skyline.

We then moved into a lift that took us up to the start of the 39 steps, that spiralled around the interior of the chimney, that would lead us to Lift 109.

Ready to enter the lift.

Walking with mum: Westminster Cathedral to Battersea Park... and beyond

Saturday March 8, 2014.

My mum and I had decided today would be a good day to go to London, so off we set. Because the Jubilee line was closed from Finchley Road to Waterloo, we changed from the Metropolitan line to the Bakerloo line at Baker Street and travelled to Oxford Circus, where we changed to the Victoria line and continued on to Victoria Station.

After a quick coffee, we headed along Victoria Street until we reached our first destination. Westminster Cathedral. After some exterior photos were taken we headed inside. Now, I thought the building was impressive from the outside, but the inside was breath-taking! The lower half of the Cathedral walls are clad in marble, which come from twenty-four different countries, across five continents, of which there are over 125 different types. Above the marble the walls are bare brick, right up to and including the four domes, which make for a truly grand ceiling. In some ways this gives the effect of an unfinished building, but, on the other hand, the marble also draws the gaze of the parishioner to the altar. The low hung chandeliers also give the upper floors an almost melancholy look, where the shadows dance across the rough texture. The Cathedral is a building that could almost be said to be alive.

We arrived during Mass so we waited patiently for this to finish, and for the procession to file out, before we could take a look around. There are chapels to St. Patrick, St. David, St. Andrew, St. George and various others. There were also smaller chapels, as one might expect, for private prayer.

We then decided to head up the bell tower, which contains 300 steps! Fortunately, the steps are off-limits, so we took the elevator. Arriving on the seventh floor, which is 64 metres or 210 feet above street level, we stepped out and into the top of the tower, where four doors lead to four small balconies; North, East, South and West. Unfortunately, the West balcony was closed due to there being a problem with the padlock. Even so, the views were incredible and it was well worth the few quid we were charged to see them. We must have spent a good half-hour looking out into the distance, pointing out the landmarks that we could see through the light haze, that still hung over the city.

We then headed back down into the Cathedral proper, where we had another look around and took even more photographs, before heading up to see the 'Treasures of Westminster Cathedral' exhibition. The exhibition consists of chalices, sacred relics, vestments and other ecclesiastical objects that the Cathedral has acquired, since it opened in 1903.

Although the Cathedral opened in 1903, it wasn't consecrated until 1910 because Catholic buildings can not be consecrated until all debts have been cleared. The Cathedral's architect, John Francis Bentley, was also responsible for the Church of the Holy Rood, Watford, which is said to be his 'Gothic Masterpiece'.

We left Westminster Cathedral and headed south towards Warwick Way, where we stopped at The Queens Arms, Pimlico, for a spot of lunch and a drink.

We then continued down Denbigh Street and onto Claverton Street which brought us out on Grosvenor Road. From here we headed west towards Battersea. Soon, we could see the old Battersea Power Station which looked like the hulking upturned skeleton of some prehistoric animal.