Thames Barrier

City guardians

/ mikeosbornphoto / 17 Comments

A set of glinting, silver bulwarks protect riverside capital London from being overwhelmed by flooding. If you walk along the Thames Path from Woolwich, this is the sight you get, with the lofty might of Docklands beyond the barrier. A stretch of the walkway is etched with the high water marks of communities down the Thames – including Hammersmith, a familiar neighbourhood.

The barriers look like hoods swathed in bumpy tin foil, but this is a stirring sight and an absorbing place to photograph.

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The Photo Shop

South of the river

/ mikeosbornphoto / 14 Comments

View from the southOn a walk around London, a camera can be your best companion. It encourages you to take in the landscape, architectural details and other people enjoying the views. This absorbing walk, on the south side of the River Thames, took me from Woolwich to the Greenwich peninsula. My starting point was Woolwich Arsenal station (DLR), ending up at North Greenwich station (Jubilee Line). Here’s what you’ll see along the route:

  • Woolwich Arsenal with its mix of original and contemporary architecture
  • River views all the way to Docklands
  • Plane spotting courtesy of London City Airport
  • The Victorian Woolwich foot tunnel – a subterranean delight
  • The Thames Barrier
  • Greenwich peninsula’s industrial edginess, new buildings, cable car and crane installation

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Beauty at the Barrier

/ mikeosbornphoto / 7 Comments

One is a hulking mass of steel. The other is a gentle spray of fluffy, lavender blue blossoms. They are in the same tiny corner of London.

The man-made structure defends the capital from floods, while the flowers perhaps have less practical uses. But they are both beautiful and photogenic, in very different ways.

The Thames Barrier sits sturdily in a corner of south-east London, a might of engineering which some might consider an unnatural blot on the riverscape.

But next to the Barrier, a wonderfully sculpted garden sits, and is full of blooms and nature’s colourful bounty.

More photographs will be published here soon. In the meantime, which of these beauties do you prefer?