09 May 2025
First swim complete, back to the hotel for lunch, followed by a trip into London: Walking through Westfield Mall to the tube station, experiencing the hustle and bustle of London Transport, making our way to Waterloo Station.
Spending a little time at Waterloo Station, we moved to London Bridge to get a photo with Tower Bridge as the background.
Walking through the South Bank we came across the beloved bear, Paddington, as he warmly greets visitors to London with a doff of his hat. In celebration of the new Paddington in Peru film and Paddington becoming Visit London’s first-ever Welcome Ambassador, you can spot the colourful portrait of Paddington at Sutton Walk outside Waterloo station.
Hidden by the tall buildings and narrow streets, we looked right down the next street and we saw…..
……The London Eye!!
At 135m, The London Eye is the world’s largest cantilevered observation wheel. It was conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects and was launched in 2000. It has won over 85 awards for national and international tourism, outstanding architectural quality and engineering achievement. In fact, it has become the UK’s most popular paid for visitor attraction.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to board the Eye, as we had dinner booked at the hotel.
Next on the trip was to cross Westminster Bridge (opened on 18 November 1750), walk past Big Ben, turn right into Parliament Street /Whitehall into Trafalgar Square, onto Charing Cross to return “home”.
Along the way, we encountered the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, the Cenotaph, statue of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Field Marshal Earl Haig Memorial, Horse Guards and into Trafalgar Square.
While in Trafalgar Square. We asked if anyone knew what Trafalgar Square represented and who was on top of Nelson’s Column. Myself and Ms Gray were met with blank faces, then a voice shouted “Napoleon!!”
More underground experiences back to the hotel for dinner, evening briefing before turning in for the night.