Poppies and Boats

This morning we caught the overland train from Crystal Palace to Tower Bridge.  A walk across the road and you are confronted with the The Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy memorial which is commemorating 100 years since the start of WW1.  By the time the last poppy is planted on November 11th there will be 888,246 of them, each one representing a British military fatality in WW1.

 It is truly staggering and well worth a visit, just to sit and reflect on the magnitude of it all. 

We walked down to look at Tower Bridge but, as per usual, the dogs wern't interested in the sights ...

We then walked down to Katherine dock which was very busy with lots of classic boats arriving for a classic boat festival this weekend ...

The Royal row barge Gloriana was there ...

Next to Gloriana was the boat Havengore ... this boat carried Winston Churchill's coffin across the Thames in 1965...

The Dickens Inn in Katherine Dock was looking good...

What boats?!

More classic boats arriving in the Katherine dock lock...

By now we were getting peckish so we had lunch outside the Tower Hotel next to the bridge.  It is a great little spot with a mobile food stall and an outdoor bar, plus comfy chairs, tables, deckchairs and blankets in case you are feeling chilly!

We hadn't been there long when the bridge opened ...

To let a cruise ship through ...

She was going through the bridge stern first with the incoming tide, using the bow thruster to steer plus a tug was attached to the bow to control the speed ...

Once through the bridge she was tied up next to HMS Belfast ...

We walked over Tower Bridge to the other side.  Half way across and the alarm started sounding, they were raising the bridge again!

The tug was leaving this time,  plus this Thames sailing barge was going up stream ...

Whilst all this was going on an Asian couple were having their wedding shots taken on the bridge.  They seemed to be chucking a mosquito net over the pair of them!

Next stop was a walk around the old Butlers Wharf warehouse, now home to mega expensive apartments and restaurants ...

Next stop was Covent garden where we were going to have a quick catchup with Elaine's niece Josie.  The quick catchup ended up being a long catchup in a pub!

No complaints from me, it had a comfy Chesterfield ...

Once again another magical time in the greatest city in the world bar none!