Monday 28 July 2014

First Day in London - 28th July

This morning Adam called in to see us and stayed to have lunch. It was really nice catching up with all the news. Hope you and Adrian enjoy your next canal adventure.

Later in in the afternoon we went a walk to Hyde Park passing some lovely houses and interesting Mews leading off them.

1 Mews

We came across Sir Henry Moore’s sculpture “The Arch” with its view back to Kensington Palace. The view from the Palace is one of the longest uninterrupted avenue vistas in London and takes in The Round Pond, the Physical Energy Statue, and Long Water. A short walk on gave us a view down the Serpentine to the Shard and the Tower.

2 arch

Crossing the bridge we saw the Princess Diana Memorial surrounded by adults and children who were taking full advantage of the water to cool down.

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Passing the Serpentine Gallery we came upon the Albert Memorial with all its shining gold and across the road the Albert Hall with the Proms prominently advertised on the front.

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Further down the Kensington road is the Hyde Park Barracks the home of the Household Cavalry. The Princess Royal unveiled in 2008 a wall of plaques at the Barracks as a permanent home for the British Horse Society’s Equestrian Hall of Fame, which was launched in July 2005. Speakers corner was vacant so perhaps everybody has had their say for the day.

3 spker albert

Back in Paddington Basin the work is progressing well with the new Kinetic Fan bridge. The three-metre-wide cantilevered moving structure will span 20 metres across the canal and is raised using hydraulic jacks with an action similar to that of a traditional Japanese hand fan.

The deck of Merchant Square footbridge is made of five fabricated steel beams which open in sequence, with the first rising to an angle of 80 degrees; the four subsequent beams will rise at lower increments. Shaped counterweights assist the hydraulic mechanism and reduce the energy required to move the structure. The handrail will house a low-energy LED downlight which will illuminate the structure.

5 new bridge

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