The City on the Thames

 Today's group excursion began early. Meeting prior to 9am with our tour guide, we set off for a day of history and discovery. Our guide lead us first to the Underground, where we wound our way as a large group through stations and onto trains. Ensuring that our group had indeed entirely made it to our first destination, the tour began.

Upon exiting Tower Hill Station, we were greeted with a view of the Tower of London. Our guide gave us background on the tower, the Roman architecture, past renovations, and modern discussions. 

A first and rather underwhelming view of the Tower.

The remains of a Roman Wall, within quick view of the Tower.

On yesterday's excursion in Kensington, our tour guide Michelle mentioned that the Natural History Museum on Exhibition Road was putting forth a re-wilding effort, in order to re-grow Britain's lost meadows. It was fantastic to see this effort in action, where the former moat of the Tower is now a sweeping meadow. 

The grassy meadow planted where the moat once existed, full of wildflowers.

Once we had passed the Tower, we came to the Thames River. Our group journeyed along the river, stopping here and there to learn about various buildings or events. We eventually made out way to the Tower Bridge, which we crossed together. 

The Tower Bridge.

A view along the Thames.

After more walking through crowds and discussions pertaining to the sites around us, we took some time to recuperate at Hays Galleria. Despite the large crowds and bustle of a busy city, Hays remained calm and quiet, allowing us the chance to rest before continuing onward. 

Hays Galleria.

We continued our tour by winding through smaller streets to view older and more obscure places. One such place was The George. While the services are modern, the building dates back to the 1600's, and the Southwark bar proclaims to be the only surviving coaching inn in London. 

The Sourthwark Bar at the George Inn. 

A helpful informational sign detailing the history of The George. 

We continued on to Borough Market, stopping for roughly 20 minutes to disperse, explore, and perhaps grab a bite to eat. I myself had a very tasty Tomato, feta, and pesto Danish. The Borough Market has been in operation in this location since 1756, though the market itself has run far longer than that. 

The covered entryway. 

One of the stalls.

Once we were underway again, we continued on past many landmarks, tourist destinations, and places of historic importance. One such place was The Globe, a reconstruction not far from where the original Shakespeare's Globe used to exist. This is the only building in London with a thatched roof, which made it stand out among all the glass, cement, and steel. 

There are many types of architecture in the area but The Globe really does stand out.

Our next goal was the cross the Thames yet again, giving us better viewing and potentially access to the Palace of Westminster and further historic tourist destinations. Our guide spoke at length about the buildings, their history, and the political set up inside. 

How amazing to see the Queen Elizabeth Tower, containing Big Ben, in person!

Getting close however proved to be quite difficult as the bridge was crowded and chaotic.

Our guide concluded our tour with recommendations for what and how to access, visit, or view various destinations. All in all it was a wonderful introduction to British History and he did a fantastic job leading such a large group through such a chaotic area. This was certainly worth the time! 

Our brave guide, attempting to be heard above the crowds and vehicles, and being completely lovely about it.