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Westminster to Waterloo - a Gentle Stroll


by Jeannette Briggs 

 Westminster and the Embankment Gardens - a Gentle Stroll on the North Bank

This classic walk is one of the most enjoyable in London, affording as it does magnificent views over the River Thames and its wonderful buildings, monuments and tourist sights right round to St Paul's Cathedral.

Starting at Westminster Bridge north side (by the Tube Station entrance on the Embankment) you can see in front of you the London Eye and County Hall (now a grand hotel) plus vistas towards the huge bend in the river - beyond which you can see St Paul's Cathedral, the Swiss Re Building - now christened "Gherkin" by irreverent Londoners, and even the skyscraper buildings on Docklands.


 View from Westminster Bridge - photo by SW

From Westminster Bridge you pass Westminster Pier from where you can take boat cruises.  You continue along the Embankment past Hungerford Bridge and the Diana Memorial Walkways.  Here you can walk through the Embankment Gardens and past the Shell Mex Building and Cleopatra's Needle. 


A pod on the London Eye seen from the north bank

On the South Bank of the Thames you see the Royal Festival Hall, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, the National Theatre and the Hayward Gallery, before you arrive at Waterloo Bridge.

Some of the famous memorials along your walk are the RAF War Memorial and the Battle of Britain Memorial (new).  You can see HMS President, and  The Oxo Tower and Sea Containers buildings, the Coin Street shops and restaurants, and  - finally - Blackfriars Bridge.  The walk will take you about 2 hours to do it justice.  The tube from Blackfriars will bring you back to Westminster.

Nearest Tube stations: Westminster and Embankment

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