Thursday, August 18, 2005

Kew Bridge, London

Yesterday evening I had the chance (by mere coincidence) to cross Kew Bridge. It is pretty near to my home (2.5 miles) but I never been to this part of London before, so it was kinda lucky for me.


The view of West London from the bridge. Somewhere on the right is the Kew Bridge Steam Museum (not visible).

The bridge runs across the River Thames between Kew Green and Strand on the Green (north bank). On the south side of the river you would be able to find the Royal Botanic Gardens (normally known as Kew Gardens) just a couple of hundred yards away.



Kew Bridge is 'littered' with houseboats. I seriously love this tiny floating homes.


According to Wikipedia, the bridge "forms the connection between the South Circular and North Circular roads to the west of London, and is often very congested". This is very true as I had to cross the M4 (with the A4 flyover over me) when walking home. It was a nerve wreaking experience with huge trucks zooming by at 60mph. (BTW, the M4 connects London to Heathrow and the west side of M25 which explains the presence of huge container trucks)


The bridge with a view of the north bank.



The tower forms part of the Kew Bridge Steam Museum.



A close up of a docked houseboat.


When the bridge was rebuilt it was renamed King Edward VII bridge. This was unpopular with the residents.


The Thames path beneath the south side of the bridge. The Kew Pier is on the east side of the bridge. If you continue walking down east (I did not) you will also meet a tiny island called Oliver's Island.


More here:
Tides at Kew Bridge

Wikipedia
Map

1 comment:

Jaja said...
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