LONDON CALLING: London Eye & County Hall

The Queen's Walk is a pedestrian route along the South Bank of the River Thames, between (it says, in some sources) Lambeth Bridge and Tower Bridge. However, we started at Westminster and crossed the river northwards at St Paul to find The Gherkin, before crossing back at London Bridge and The Shard. We went to The Tower the next day.

The Queen’s Walk is a section of the Silver Jubilee Walkway, a 15 mile trail connecting many tourist attractions in London and first opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977, for her Silver Jubilee. A part of it was only completed in 1988. From 2002, year of the queen’s Golden Jubilee, the walk was simply promoted as the Jubilee Walkway.

The Queen’s Walk can be joined from the steps beside the South Bank Lion at Westminster Bridge (see previous post).

Located in the County Hall building: The London Marriott Hotel County Hall

– there is also a Premier Inn hotel in another part of the building.

The circular building on the right on the picture is the hotel Park Plaza.

At this corner, is the impressive size of County Hall, with its elegant contrast of great straight lines and curves, large eccentric statues and majestic Ionic columns - very white save for the roof and some verdigris dormer windows and bell tower.

Built in 1922 (with some parts added in the 1930s) and Art Deco in style, it was the headquarters for the Greater London Council (GLC). In the 1980s, the Labour Party held the reins of the GLC, under Ken Livingstone, while, right across the river, the Conservative Party reigned over Parliament when Margaret Thatcher was in government. The façade was famously used as a giant billboard for anti-Tory slogans… In 1986, the GLC was abolished and the building eventually sold. It is now a leisure complex.

1984 GLC - Ken Livingstone

I read that some of the office space is empty, but what a busy place it is! There are cafés and fast food outlets, visitors’ attractions such as amusement arcade, the London Dungeon, the Sea Life Aquarium, DreamWork’s Tours Shrek’s Adventure, etc. and the London Eye Visitor Centre (where one can buy a ticket to use the giant Ferris wheel.)

Ram’s head with tiara ? not a reflection on MacDonald’s food…

Art Decoy pigeon on top!

♪♪ Even Billy Joel was promoting the landmarks on The Queen’s Walk that week-end!

Obviously, the London Eye dominates the view here, as its wheel reaches up 135 metres in the air.

When it opened in 1999, it was the tallest observation wheel in the world – not anymore, though its cantilever system makes it still special. 120 metre in diameter, the London Eye remains the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, but visiting The Shard’s observation desk offers now an even higher view over London, at 245 metres above the ground! (the skyscraper is further down the riverside.)

Another pier for cruises on the Thames is situated here
– the London Eye Millennium Pier.

The large rounded building at the other end of the railway bridge is Charing Cross railway station (which also houses The Embankment Place shopping complex).

Beside it, behind the trees is The Royal Horseguards Hotel (with pointed turrets).

The London Eye was supposed to be a temporary feature, it is now the most popular paid-for attraction in the UK, with over 3.5 million visitors a year, more than 40 million passengers so far.
One full rotation lasts 30 minutes and on a clear day, one can view as far as 40 km away.

Next along The Queen’s Walk, following downriver: The Jubilee Gardens with playgrounds, etc. and this bronze sculpture called “Jubilee Oracle” by Alexander (1980)

Charing Cross railway station and Hungerford Railway Bridge across the river.

The quote from the artist reads,

“Mankind is capable of an awareness that is outside the range of everyday life. My monumental sculptures are created to communicate with that awareness in a way similar to classical music. Just as most symphonies are not intended to be descriptive, so these works do not represent figures or objects.”