Round The World and other travels

A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries

October 2012: London

This short trip was originally intended to mark my post-op return to the world of flying and travel. As we have already seen, in the event I just couldn't wait that long! The main focus of the visit, again according to the original plan, was meant to be an opportunity to have look at the legacy (in terms of buildings, etc) of the London 2012 Olympic games. And again, this slipped well down the agenda as I realised that the main site would be closed to the public for many months to come. On top of these departures from plan, the weekend that I chose turned out to be desperately cold, with strong Arctic winds blowing down the North Sea and across south-east England. This must all sound as though my plan went well and truly off the rails, yet none of the above in any way prevented me from having another enjoyable visit to a constantly changing and endlessly interesting city.

By Night

As a result of not arranging any theatre or concert tickets on this occasion, I had the opportunity to undertake a little night tour of some of London's landmarks.

 

The Shard

Soaring above London Bridge station, the UK capital's latest glass-clad tower opened in 2012 and instantly became the tallest building in the European Union. Roughly a quarter of its floor space is due to become a new Shangri-La hotel.

Base: Hilton Tower Bridge