My NYE in London

UNITED KINGDOM | Thursday, 4 July 2013 | Views [281] | View Smaller Image

The Battle of Waterloo With midnight fast approaching we decided it best to find a good viewpoint to watch the show. Of course, trying to get anywhere in London - even at the best of times - is a mission in itself. Thanks to a bit of research and planning we quickly came upon a set of stairs in a back alley and, after waiting for the right moment, ascended above the crowds on the street. After many flights of stairs we found ourselves on the roof of the Savoy Hotel with a wonderful view of Waterloo Bridge (so packed with people that I thought it might collapse), huge amounts of boats on the Thames, The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye and Millennium Bridge. We were ready to enjoy the show.

In Control
After a scout around, the entrance was located and, after squeezing through some very tight spaces, we set about finding the good bits. Much of the interior of the building is now gone, with no generators or really anything of note in the main bulk. There were, however, two virtually untouched control rooms, which would once have controlled the supply of power to most of South London.
The station is the largest brick building in Europe and despite numerous efforts at restoration (most recently by a Malaysian company who purchased the site for £400million) it has remained abandoned.
Aware that we had other things to see, we made a visit to this London gem a quick one.

< previous

3 of 5

Show Time
With ten minutes to go, we focussed on The Wheel, poured another glass of mulled wine and got ready for the action. 20 minutes later as the last fireworks died out (and we had also been joined by some of the staff of the Savoy) we decided to pack up and head on to the next location.

next >

Return to photo gallery >>

My NYE in London

Share