So, Where Shall We Go On Our Journey Today... The Shard, London

It has been a long time coming.  Walking through the streets of London seemed such a distant memory even though the last time I was in my home town was only on the 1 November.  Such a lot has happened and having fit feet was essential for any of my trips to my home turf.  So, are you ready?  It's been a while since I said this, grab yourself a chocolate digestive or two and a nice hot cup of tea and let me do the walking.  So, where shall we go on our journey today?... The View from the Shard, London.

The Shard has had a bit of bad press with its imposing presence on the London skyline, especially by me.  How dare it take away the beauty of the old buildings.  BUT, now I have been to the top and seen my wonderful City laid out before me like an 3D map, I have to say I'm sold!

St Paul's Cathedral in the centre

Looking East towards Tower Bridge, The Isle of Dogs and Greenwich

To get up to the top of this 95 storey skyscraper in Southwark, London didn't take long.  After going through security (yay! the pins in my feet didn't set off the alarms) you then go into two lifts.  One takes you to the thirty third floor, then a short walk around the corner and the second takes you to the seventy second!  A fast lift that I have to say makes you feel a little uncomfortable as it slows to stop, but the views take this all away (and the champagne!).  

Yes it's high but as we slowly walked around this level, we enjoyed looking out for places that we knew so well.  St Paul's Cathedral of course...

The Monument, dwarfed by the buildings that now surround the area that it once represented as a monument to the great fire of London.

The Cheesegrater, The Walkie Talkie and The Guerkin.

The Tower of London with its beautiful green lawn, so different from when the poppies made such a statement.

Tower Bridge providing the gateway into the City along with HMS Belfast.

And in the distance on the opposite shore to the Isle of Dogs, my favourite place - Greenwich.  The zoom had to be used to its fullest, but you can just make out the Observatory where the Meridian Line takes us on its journey, the Cutty Sark, The Queens House and The Royal Naval College.

The Razor in the opposite direction.

And then the square mile.  The London Eye's views will not be the same for me after this experience.  Looking at the Eye as the face of a clock, at 7 o'clock you can see the Houses of Parliament and at 10 o'clock, Buckingham Palace.

There are two viewing platforms, one enclosed and one open!  Yes, you read that right, open!!  Looking down at the enclosed platform gives some perspective of just how large this place is.

And, yes again, the next level is open!

Looking up and feeling the air and looking up at sky was quite an experience.

But this was open only above us, not right next to us so there was no worrying about going too far over the edge.

From up here we were able to work out where we were going next.  Looking down we could see Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market.  Lunch was calling us!

But a little crowded by the looks of things!

The Thames flowing below us, so busy and so beautiful with its bridges keeping London moving.

So what did we think of this place?

Absolutely amazing.  Worth every penny if you want to see this fantastic City in one sweep (but then I'm biased).  However, from the outside... hmmm jury's still out.

Once on the ground again we couldn't leave it there.  Borough Market, The Globe, Millenium Bridge, St Pauls, The Museum of London, Tower of London, Tower Bridge and lastly Hayes Galleria - but that's for another post after my ankles have deflated!

I hope you enjoyed this trip from your armchair.  Next time I'll be walking you through the streets of London on firm ground.