An Entertaining Walk Across London...

Paddington Basin

On May 15, I went to an art exhibition at a small gallery near Paddington Station. Afterwards, I decided to walk home. 

Boy and Dolphin in Hyde Park Rose Garden

Wellington Arch Built in 1830

For the first time, I happened upon Tower Bridge when the drawbridge was open. I was surprised to learn that the bridge actually opens several times every week and there is no charge to the ships to pass through despite the havoc they wreak on traffic. 

It was quite exciting to watch a cruise ship sailing through the iconic bridge.

While this cruise ship was relatively small, holding only around 200 guests, it looked huge compared to the Thames Clipper ferry that zooms past our house every day. 

Tower Bridge is as far as larger ships can go up the Thames as nearby London Bridge doesn’t open. 

The only place for large ships to tie up overnight is next to the USS Belfast, which is permanently docked on Southbank. Apparently, this ship was ending their cruise there and then setting sail with new passengers the following day.

As I continued on my walk home, I also saw the lock at St Katharine’s Dock open for the first time.