London City Skyline
NOSTALGIC WALK ALONG THE SOUTH BANK OF THE THAMES
I know that this city is changing fast, evidenced by the number of new towers seen everyday and the cranes showing that more buildings are coming. You don't realise exactly by how much it has changed, however, until you see a photo from almost a decade ago.
A friend of mine was visiting from Nigeria back in 2013 and we met up on the south bank of the river Thames, and did the walk along the river. From Waterloo station, along the river from the Royal Festival Hall, down to Tate Modern, past Shakespeare's Globe to More London. We then crossed Tower Bridge, which is often incorrectly referred to as London Bridge by tourists, to the north bank. The north bank is where edifices such as St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London are located.
I actually had a film camera with me at the time, on which I took some very nice photos of my friend. From memory, it was the Praktica BX20 - a vintage film SLR made in Dresden, then Eastern Germany.
These photos were taken on the iPhone 4, which was the phone I owned at the time. Funny thing is, I thought the resolution of the phones were great at the time, but that was what we had back then. It's amazing how much better smartphone cameras have gotten now, especially when it comes to low light performance.
We didn't have the time to actually visit Shakespeare's Globe, which was a shame since my friend was really into that sort of stuff, but we did stop over at Gabriel's Wharf for a quick bite. There is a fantastic shop that serves crepes - both sweet and savoury. I remember I had savoury.
There are also a number of very cool art shops there, including hand-made stuff, to please the art enthusiast. I think I remember my friend purchasing some ethnic looking jewellery - I am not so sure now, it was seven years ago :)
The tide was low on the day, so people were walking on the river bank. You can usually walk down a set of steps located at regular intervals along the way. We didn't, but we did stop to enjoy some of the busking that was going on. It was mid-summer so the weather was nice and the day was long.
The last time I walked this route was last December (2019), and wow have things have changed since 2013, particularly the City of London skyline. There have been several towers erected. Someone from 2013 who didn't witness them go up slowly like I did would not recognise the skyline today, that's for sure.
I think there is some kind of regulation that forbids the obscuring of St. Paul's Cathedral from certain parts of the city, otherwise more towers would have been erected right in front of it, blocking and ruining the view forever.
There was a time in history when the cathedral would have been the main feature of the skyline, with the tower being the second most prominent structure, but nowadays, both St. Paul's and the Tower of London have been dwarfed by the surrounding buildings.
It just amazes me though that as late as 2013 the skyline was still this clear.
In the photo above of the Tower Bridge, some iconic buildings such as "The Gherkin" (30 St Mary Axe), and "The Walkie Talkie" (20 Fenchurch Street) can be seen in the background. In this present day, there are a few more of those towers that are taller and more prominent. There's also something odd about the architecture of these towers that makes them look either out of place, or downright silly. I guess it's a London thing.
Finally, we arrived at what I usually referred to as the "best Starbucks building in the world". It is located in St Katharine Docks - a very nice London marina. It was closed already by the time we got there, which was a shame, but at least she got to see it. I have to admit I've since seen some other Starbucks real estate in the UK that may even be better than this one, but in 2013, this one was my top pick.
Do you live in a changing city? What are you feelings about massive towers of steele and glass?
Peace & Love,
Adé