tate: [ intro ] [ 1:thames path ] [ 2:cannon st ] [ 3:southwark ] [ 4:waterloo ] [ 5:tate à tate ]

Tate

1. Thames Path

The Thames Path passes the Tate on the South side and St Paul's on the north, and they will be remarked upon in lots of publications. The reverse though isn't true and signing locally is minimal. Connections will be to London Bridge and Waterloo.

2. Blackfriars

This station is on Tate's leaflet but as an Underground one only. No mention of Thameslink which stops here giving a good fast service to Gatwick, East Croydon, Hampstead, Luton, Bedford, and slower to Wimbledon and Sutton. Frequent connections to London Bridge and Elephant and Castle, as well as Kings Cross.

No mention either of the London, Chatham and Dover line to the South East through Loughborough Junction. A most mysterious line this.

The exit from the station takes you onto a busy road interchange, most unpleasant, and lots of little maps showing pedestrians how to navigate it all. But you simply want to cross the bridge. Notice a missed opportunity. The platform of the station projects to the middle of the river and the pillars of a dead bridge show the old crossing. So easy to bridge. Indeed Railtrack has a plan to build Thameslink 2000 and perhaps this interchange will counter some of the opposition?

Beautiful landscaping to mask the misery of the motorway on the Thames Path below but that doesn't make up for the long walk round which could be avoided by some steps or a lift.

But crossing the bridge is the easy walk, we want to use this for surprise, variety and the hiding of boundaries so instead, turn right up the hill along Queen Victoria St. Shortly you pass St. (Wren) with a beautiful garden

Then the Abbey church (Wren) with a walk through its churchyard as a route into the city at the top of the hill, a courtyard with rather an interesting modern building housing a post modern pub

The traffic is unpleasant, a motorway through the City but at the top of the hill a lovely moment, the garden dedicated to a worthy Cleary but a picture of what can be done: a small urban hole turned into a marvellous garden. It doesn't connect us with much, but makes for a moment.

Then the Cathedral and the bridge so to the gallery.

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