Walking with family: Embankment to Gabriel's Wharf... and beyond

Saturday June 13, 2026.

Partly cloudy with a high of 22°C (71.6°F).

Today marks the official birthday of His Majesty King Charles III, which involves the Trooping of the Colour parade, a 41-gun salute, and a flypast by the Royal Air Force. It was the latter that my uncle Martin and I headed off to London to see.

Martin picked me up and we made the short drive to Croxley station, where we boarded a Metropolitan line train that would only take us to Harrow-on-the-Hill station, as engineering works had overrun.

Arriving at Harrow-on-the-Hill station, at 09;40, we made our way down the stairs from the platform and used the subway to reach Platform 2, where we would catch a National Rail Chiltern Flyer to Marylebone station. There was a wait of about 30 minutes, but at least we pretty much guaranteed a space on the train, unlike those waiting for the Metropolitan trains to start running again at around 10:30.

Sure enough we were soon aboard our train, speeding towards Marylebone station, where we disembarked and headed down to the Bakerloo line trains, which we took to Embankment station.

Leaving Embankment station we crossed Victoria Embankment and headed east, following the River Thames, until we reached Bazalgette Embankment. Here we explored one of London's newest public realms, which is built above one of the bore holes of the Tideway Tunnel. It was fairly empty with a few people sitting in some of the various seating areas, enjoying the morning sun, while a few skateboarders were practising their tricks a little further on. But it is always nice to get up close to the Lion heads that have always been out of reach.

Walking with family: 'Up at The O2' and Rotherhithe to Tower Bridge... and beyond

Saturday May 9, 2026.

A cloudy start turning sunny in the afternoon, at 21°C (69°F).

For Keilyn's 13th birthday, last Thursday, my mum bought her a ticket for the 'Climb Up at The O2', which was something that she has always wanted to do. Emma purchased me a ticket, so that I could do the climb with Keilyn, as it was something that I wanted to do, too. As my mum was unable to accompany us, my uncle Martin would be joining us for the day, to take photos of our climb.

We set off from Croxley station, where we boarded a Metropolitan line train towards Baker Street, alighting at Finchley Road, where we took a Stratford-bound Jubilee line train to North Greenwich. The journey time was around 1 hour, so we ended up at The O2 with plenty of time to spare. 

Martin purchased a drink and a roll, from Starbucks, which he ate in the shade, while Keilyn and I tucked into our sandwiches and drinks. 

Just after 11:30 Keilyn and I made our way to 'Base Camp', with Martin waiting in the shade. As we were early we were allowed to join the 11:45 climb, and made our way through the waiting area. We were soon joined by 11 more climbers and our guide, Conner, who, after showing us a four-minute safety video took us through to get kitted out.

We then made our way outside, where we put on our harness, and clamp, before heading up the stairs to the starting point. By now Martin had headed towards Base Camp, from where he would watch and take photos of our ascent. Here we were met by Emma, who took photos of us all, before we set off on the 30° incline, with Keilyn leading the pack.

Photo ©Martin Bullock.

We stopped where the walkway took on a less acute angle, allowing the others to catch up, before setting off for the centre of the O2. Daisy's group, that had started before us, were still taking in the sights, from the viewpoint, so we joined them, before they headed down and left the thirteen of us to take in the view.