London – through a lens….

(This is going to be a long one… so buckle up…)

Once upon a time…. long long ago…. well, round about March’ish, I threw out the question: what would you guys like to see snapped in London? Well, in this past week, I had the opportunity to run around London, trying to snap as much as I could. The results were… well, you can tell me!

I will break down each album in the order that I visited them; since there are a lot of pics, I’ll grab one or two for each section, and you can click on each of the album links to view all the pics.

p.s. – you guys can use the pics for personal use if you want!

The Plan

I started my day by going for a 5k run, and left home within 90 minutes of getting back (after having a shower ofcourse ) . I caught the tube (the District line – or the Dark Green one) and realised…. I didn’t quite have a plan as to where I wanted to go. The only reason I got on the train is because everything else is westbound from me!

Anywho, a tube map, and some thinking on my feet later (mainly because I was standing in a cramped rush hour train), my agenda was set, and it went something like this…..

Kensington Gardens

My day started with an hour and 20 minutes journey from home to South Kensington. I have never been to this part of the world, so it took me few minutes to find my bearings, and once I found the park – I was on my way! I was expecting the place to be uber posh for some reason…. possibly because it is smack bang in the middle of rich people country… so it was a nice surprise to see “normal” surroundings. I pretty much ambled around Kensington Gardens (mostly because I ran 5K first thing in the morning) stretching my legs, taking in the beautiful surroundings. I enjoyed my walk around the lake, especially checking out the swans. It is a huge park, and I didn’t get a chance to visit the Diana Memorial; I think this place warrants another visit!

Kensington Gardens was requested by the inspirational Digital Nomad, and the full album can be found here.

Covent Gardens

Covent Gardens is an area which I hear about week in week out from my colleagues. It is an amazing place to be in the evenings, with a lot of hustle bustle, street shows, and excellent dining. I reached there during early lunch time, and as I was surveying the place, I heard huge roars of laughter and clapping from somewhere nearby. I checked out further and found a street performer entertaining the crowds with his show. I have snapped some pics, but the atmosphere was just quite something else! I walked around a little bit more, and I love the setting in the surrounding areas; I NEED to spend some time here in the evenings over the summer!

Covent Gardens was suggested by my super ex-boss GJ on Facebook. The full album can be found here.

Mornington Crescent Underground Station

Mornington Crescent is a London Underground station a stone’s throw away from Camden Town. I don’t think there is anything of ‘interest’ around this station as such (I did spend a very generous 6 minutes around the station), although it is a game featured on a radio game show called I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue.

Mornington Crescent was requested my awesome Twitter buddy Lili, who probably knows more about London and all things English than I do! Her request for the London Underground signs for this station can be found here.

Camden Town

I visited Camden Town for the first time in April 2007, and found it to be a fascinating place. It wasn’t as buzzing on a Thursday as it would normally be on a Saturday, but it was busy. I wandered around the markets, and unfortunately was stopped from snapping within the markets generally. The beauty of Camden Town is in the fusion of the old markets, with the new regenerated areas which include bars, clubs and comedy clubs. The place is buzzing closer to when the sun goes down, however, a lot of the old ‘flavour’ was lost in the fire in February 2008.

Camden Town was requested by the lovely Katherine and the genius that is Lhjunkie. The full album can be found here.

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar square is one of my favorite places in London. It is centrally located, and within walking distance of most tourist areas in London. It is a loud and vibrant place when there is an event taking place; recently, the Dutch Queen’s birthday was celebrated by Dutch folk and others alike with a huge party in Trafalgar square. There are always a huge number of people around the fountains, but they were not working on Thrusday, so I didn’t get any snaps.

Trafalgar Square was suggested by a university buddy of mine on Facebook. The full album can be found here.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the London residence of the Queen (of United Kingdom); I was actually making my way to St James’ park, but my camera was starting to run out of battery, and since Westminster is a short walk away from the palace, I snapped away at the palace, and made my way towards Parliament Square. The super extra presence of the police and guns makes me a touch nervous, so I kinda moved on swiftly from here.

The full album can be found here.

Westminster

Westminster is one of the most popular points of interest in London. The parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral, London Eye, and random protesters, all take center stage here.

Walks by Westminster are amazing at night, especially in winter. Westminster is one of the safest areas in London, and you can hang around here all night, and know that you will be safe outside. Standing by the Thames, amd watching the lights at night is something else, and the New Years fireworks are quite spectacular as they start from the London Eye, and end in the dark skies.

The walk from Buckingham Palace to Parliament Square via Bird Cage Walk is very beautiful. The shade created by the ginormous trees, and the park on the left hand side creates a very scenic view and walk. When I reached Parliament Square, I saw the Sri Lankan Tamil supporters getting a touch out of hand near the parliament house, and I heard later that some were arrested for disturbances, I also walked alongside the Gurkhas who were celebrating their right to stay in the UK.

I wanted to take some night time shots, but we get past twilight at about 10-1030pm at night, and I was in no mood to stand on my feet till then (I hit the road at 9am’ish)… I will try later in the year when it gets dark at 4pm.

Sites around Westminster were requested by Mars, Cee, and Candace (aka Sarcastically Bitter). The full album can be found here.

St Paul’s

I try to walk from Tower Bridge to St Paul’s once a week (although I haven’t done it for a while), and it is an excellent location to be around when the sun is out. The highlight of St Paul’s is the Millennium Bridge (which wobbles when it is windy) which connects the Tate Modern and St Paul’s Cathedral.

The better cultural parts are on the South side of the river (River Thames), with the Tate Modern, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to name a couple.

The full album can be found here.

This has been a loooooong post, and I hope you enjoyed viewing the pics as much as I enjoyed getting around on a glorious London day.

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