London Views



Intriguing London views fill your eyes at every turn.  This is at the top of the Ludgate Hill road that leads to St. Paul's Cathedral and the "Guerkin" is peeking over the top of the other buildings.

This article, mainly pictures, is meant to portray the "feel of London" even when I don't recall the names of the streets.  The architecture, the cleanliness, the blending of such a vast history with the modern world that meshes so well, are here to observe.

This is one of the London views that is world renowned.  Big Ben (now Elizabeth Tower) with the twin towers of Westminster Abbey off to the left, Houses of Parliament alongside, Porticullis House on the right and the River Thames nearby.

A short walk up the inclined Ludgate Hill road that leads to St. Paul's Cathedral offers opportunities to see numerous older structures.

This is one of the London views that simply "caught my fancy".  The clock, the tower, the street lamps and the historical architectural buildings blended nicely.

Visible pieces of buildings in Trafalgar Square...on the left is the National Gallery with 2,000 works from 1260 A.D. onwards.  The National Portrait Gallery alongside has every kind of painting, sculpture and statues from the 16th century onwards...all depicting Britons past and present.  St. Martin-in-the Fields Church is to the right.

Queen Elizabeth Gate is also know as the "Queen Mother's Gate".  The gates are behind Apsley House at Hyde Park Corner.  It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 to celebrate the 90th birthday of her mother.  It was funded by private donations and features a red lion and a white unicorn on the stainless steel and bronze gates.

Traffic at the Marble Arch

Statue of the 8th Duke of Devonshire (Spencer Compton Cavendish), stands on a pedestal in his Garter robes, at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall.  Edward VII was a close friend. It was unveiled Feb. 14, 1911.

Gabriel's Wharf

Left: famous Caviar House Above: unique terraced houses with ornate porches in Queen Anne's Gate area.

R.A.F. Memorial (listed on the Landmarks page) is also on the left in the photo above.

London views of the London Eye and Old County Hall across the River Thames from the Victoria Embankment

The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge.  It is a steel truss railway bridge with two cable-stayed pedestrian bridges named the Golden Jubilee Bridges  flanking it.

Charing Cross railway station is at the north end of the bridge near Embankment Pier and Victoria Embankment (seen above) and the south end is near Waterloo station, County Hall and the London Eye.

Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge that crosses the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.  It gets its name from the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.  The location, at a strategic bend in the river, affords spectacular views of Westminster, the South Bank and London Eye to the west...while to the east the City of London and Canary Wharf are clearly visible.



Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station on the south bank of the River Thames.  Half the station was operational throughout the 1930's and the second half went online in the 1950's.  They  ceased generating electricity in 1983 but it's celebrity as a landmark grew because it was used as the backdrop in movies/videos such as "Help"/Beatles, "Another Thing Comin"/Judas Priest, "Animals"/Pink Floyd, "The Flood"/Take That, "Quark, Strangeness and Charm"/Hawkwind. 

Since the closure the site has been unused although numerous schemes have popped up with purchasers buying and selling without any results thus far.



Coutts Private Banking Services building is visible on the left.

Whitehall where it intersects with Trafalgar Square.  On the corner is a statue of Charles I, cast in 1633, and erected on the site of Eleanor Cross in 1674.  The King is shown in half-armor.  This equestrian statue was the first of its kind in England. 

Buckingham Gate Street has the Crowne Plaza Hotel-London, on the left.

The I. O. D. (Institute of Directors) building is on the right side of Pall Mall Street.

Building on the right is HSBC

London views are not just of older, longer established buildings but also have a mix of newer modern architecture interspersed.

Elizabeth Tower (formerly Big Ben) looms above St. Margaret Church on  St. Margaret Street.  To the left you can see Porticullis House that was opened in 2001 to provide more offices for Members of Parliament and their staffs.

Wellington Arch with the Quadriga on top.


Related Articles......


London

London Landmarks

Marriott County Hall, London

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     By Carolynne Woods, © Copyright 2010-2020. International Travel Writers.com   All rights reserved images and text