A Walk through the City of London
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Sheila bought me a present of a book of walks through London by Time Out. We often visit the city and did so when we followed the Thames on our Big Trail Walk from the Cotswolds. One walk that stood out for us was the route entitled Building Blocks by Dan Cruikshank.
The author writes that
The Square Mile Contains a Potted History of British Architecture.
That statement was too tempting so we set off to try it out. We booked into accommodation within the city boundary and followed the author's route in happy toing and froing as we uncovered one great treasure after another. It was a brilliant walk and in fact after 2 days of exploring, we still have a big chunk to complete.
Just out of interest, we realised that it would be awkward to carry the guide book around so Sheila dictated it onto her Ipad and cut it into 5 sections with blown up maps supplemented by the AtoZ App on our mobile phones. She also visually identified the walking instructions against the history and with another form of identification of the places to look out for along the way.
This was a master stroke even though it ran to 28 pages of a4 type along with map pages. It rained a bit on one day and we had put our route into a poly pocket so all was well.
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I agree with Paddington Bear. "In London everyone is different so anyone can fit in"
I could also say that on many streets there was a Pret a Manger so there was no need to carry our marmalade sandwiches!
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Please take a look at these images of the city taken by two "country cousins" with cameras....
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This was one of the 8 maps to accompany the route notes that we used to help us along.
We popped into Citizen M at Towergate for a coffee, sticky bun and to use their facilities before setting off in a drizzle.
We walked through Savage Gardens to the Mercantile Marine Memorial and even The Shard suffered from low cloud.
Then it was a walk past a very posh hotel.
Oh dear, we are only 1/2 mile into the route and Sheila cant find Pepys Street on our way to St Olave's church.
Being polite I didn't want to tell Sheila that the sign was just above her head and her directions into the church went under an archway bearing three skulls....
Th picture below sums up perfectly what we were to find throughout our walking exploration. This medieval church survived the Great Fire of London. Samuel Pepys worshipped here and he and his wife are buried inside.
We were amused to find a watch house in the churchyard to ward off body snatchers!
Entering the church through the churchyard we stepped into another world.
What a joy to behold.
A bright, cheerful building with lovely stained glass windows and ornate carvings particularly on the pulpit.
It's not every day that you are privately entertained by a concert pianist, but that's what happened to us as he rehearsed for a lunchtime recital.
Would you ever guess from the outside image of the church that this colourful, rich scene lay behind the walls?
Onwards we walked passing our first city pub. The Ship Inn has a long history but had to be rebuilt after war damage with an eye- catching facade.
Next we highlight architectural design to incorporate and respect
existing Listed Buildings. In this case its Fenchurch Street Station looking very grand.
This was the first railway station to be built in the City and was opened in 1841. If you find yourself travelling to Southend from London via this station Just look up at all the newer surrounding buildings which enhance the scene.
Just over the road from the station take a look at the development styles surrounding the old church of All Hallows Staining.
Then our first view of City Shapes.
There are no prizes for guessing which building is the Cheesegrater and the Gherkin.
Next we entered St Katherine Cree church. Its an amazing space and the high arches reminded us of the build style of nearby Smithfield Market.
We gather that the design of this famous Jacobean church is in the manner of Brunelleschi's work in Florence.
Looking up the chancel towards the exceptional Rose Window
Looking back towards the organ which was used by Purcell, Handel and Wesley.
Once again we were lucky to arrive whilst the organist was striking a merry tune.
We now offer a binge fest of gherkins.
We thought the developers had built 7 or 8 such structures because we kept turning corners and always this iconic building seemed to be close by and if it wasn't, then there was a reflection of it to admire
Excuse me Sir, Do you fancy a Gherkin with your Pret Cappachino?
This is our favourite photograph of the gherkin even though its not in the picture. The angled reflection is immensely powerful.
St Andrew Undershaft is a largely Tudor church housing a memorial to John Stow, author of the 1598 "A Survey of London". The unusual name of the church comes from the fact that a maypole once stood nearby, so the church stood literally 'under the shaft' of the maypole.
For those who do not know this building, it was built between 1978 to 1986 for Lloyds Insurance on a revolutionary design with all the heating ducts and lifts placed externally. The logic for this exposure is that a building's services wear out and need to be accessible.
It is a building which looks industrial and functional but the damp atmosphere of the Thames basin creates corrosion and even the lifts suffer as they go about their wall crawling.
and eventually we arrived at Leadenhall Market which was an enjoyable experience, albeit busy with city life.
That was as far as we went on our first walk.
Tea and a sticky bun under a chandelier. What could be better?
Thanks for following our walk. I hope you found it interesting.
For those who know London, perhaps it brought back some memories.
Work in progress. To be completed
