In a previous post about our 2025 visit to London I described a journey downriver on the Thames from Westminster Bridge to Woolwich. On a different day we took another boat trip, this time heading upriver. The plan had been to visit the historic Hampton Court Palace, once the home of King Henry VIII. Sadly this proved impossible due to repair work being undertaken at Teddington lock, but nevertheless – despite the relentlessly gloomy weather – we decided to take the boat upriver to Kew to view this area of London from an unfamiliar angle.
The Vertrouwen is a Dutch barge dating from 1929. It is now moored at Dove Pier in Hammersmith.
In common with most cities, London is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. Mostly ugly, of course, but the river journey did reveal a few interesting bridges, boats and buildings. Although I grew up in the capital, most of the sights were new to me, but a few – such as Hammersmith Bridge – were achingly familiar.
Hammersmith Bridge
An elegant suspension bridge that opened in 1827, Hammersmith Bridge is etched into my memory. Over half a century ago I attended school in this part of London, and can clearly remember our class being sent on “cross-country” runs – following a route that included crossing the bridge – by a teacher who was clearly allergic to teaching in the conventional sense. These days the bridge is closed to all motor traffic due to the appearance of cracks in its pedestals, but foot traffic (including, I imagine, cross-country runners!) can still cross here.
Hammersmith Bridge
One of the most recognisable buildings we saw during our trip upriver was Battersea Power Station. Built in two phases between 1929 and 1955, the coal-fired power station once produced a fifth of all the electricity used in London, keeping the lights on in buildings as illustrious as Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.
Battersea Power Station ceased operations in 1983, when the generating equipment began to wear out and oil, gas and nuclear fuels started to be preferred over coal for the generation of electricity. Demolition would have been the obvious next step, but the building’s iconic appearance on the London skyline resulted in it being given listed status in recognition its heritage value.
Battersea Power Station
For over 20 years the former power station remained unoccupied. It fell into disrepair, before plans were agreed to redevelop the site to include residential accommodation, bars, restaurants, offices, shops and entertainment spaces. When viewed from the Thames there is little indication today of what now lies within, but it’s easy to see why such an imposing structure captured the imagination of several generations of Londoners.
We had been fully expecting and were looking forward to seeing Battersea Power Station, but another nearby building took us totally by surprise. Just a few hundred metres upriver from the power station is the Peace Pagoda, one of around 80 similar structures built across the world since the end of the Second World War. They owe their origin to the Japanese Buddhist monk Nichidatsu Fujii (1885-1985), who devoted his life to promoting non-violence after an inspirational meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931.
The Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park
The first Peace Pagoda, which was intended as a focus for people of all races and creeds to help unite them in their search for world peace, was inaugurated in the Japanese city of Kumamoto in 1954. The Battersea Peace Pagoda dates from 1985, and was built by a group of 50 volunteers who were members of the Japanese Nipponzan-Myohoji Buddhist order that had been founded by Fujii.
Taking off from London Heliport
Journeying through London on the Thames proved to be the perfect way to escape the chaos of the capital’s road network for a while, but travel by boat does not suit everyone. If you’re in a hurry, filthy rich and don’t give a damn about noise pollution, you can travel to and from central London by helicopter. London Heliport’s website proclaims that it offers “ultimate comfort and convenience” by acting as “the vertical gateway to London for VIPs and the business community for over 50 years.” Plainly it’s not for the likes of me and Mrs P, but we were interested to watch a helicopter taking off as our boat passed the heliport. It reminded us – as if we needed reminding! – why we would hate to live in London.
These images show a few of the other sights we witnessed during our upriver excursion. Top Left: “The Powerhouse”, a former power station converted into luxury apartments. Top Right: former Dutch barge the “Amethyst Atoll”, now moored at Dover Pier, Hammersmith. Middle Right (top): Kew Bridge. Middle Right (bottom): Unidentified boat moored at Chiswick. Bottom Right: Lambeth Bridge. Bottom Left: “Houses on the Strand” at Kew. All very interesting, but I definitely wouldn’t want to live here!
Now I'm 64 
Interesting to see the city from the water for a change.
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Yes, it offers a very different perspective on the city.
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We have been to London on a few occasions for gardening activities – the Chelsea Flower Show and the Hampton Court Show – and have regularly commented that a trip along the river would be very interesting and I can see from your writing and photographs that it certainly would be!
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It’s definitely worth doing. Interestingly, the upriver journey offers views of more parks, trees and greenery than we’d feared; we had anticipated nothing but ugly urban sprawl, and so were pleasantly surprised.
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A lovely journey then! I always enjoyed seeing the barges on the river, people living on the river.
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I went to London with my parents when I was 12 but we never went that far along the river so it’s nice to see it through Mrs P’s photos. Battersea Power Station would look quite attractive if they got rid of those chimneys. I like the pagoda, it looks beautiful.
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If I ever get the chance I’d like to visit the pagoda on foot – from what I’ve read it has attractive design features that are better seen up close. One day, maybe?
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Here they’re called “high net worth individuals,” which is somehow supposed to be less pretentious than VIPs or the classic “elites.”
Is it worth visiting Battersea Power Station as a tourist with, say, a week to see the city, or is it just another mall?
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Forgive my chiming in. It’s just another mall really. It is fine if you want to shop in chain stores in a large expanse but if you are only in London for a week I would not recommending wasting time there with so many other things to see and do!
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Agreed, there are much better ways to spend a week in London than visiting shopping malls!
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Thank you, Lana! I wasn’t sure if there was anything interesting to see with regard to the historic nature of the structure, but I will take your good advice and skip it.
Is there anything you’d recommend that maybe falls outside of the usual tourist traps? As silly as it sounds, I plan to visit some of the locations from Slow Horses and Sherlock, as I love those shows, but I do want to get off the tourist path as much as possible.
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I am not a Londoner so I am not best placed to advise. I have hiked about mostly well known things. I would recommend getting hold of books like Quirky London, Unusual London or Bizarre London (I can see them for around £3 on second hand book sites). Perhaps the movie locations will keep you busy enough for your trip and when you are looking for one thing, something unexpected and hopefully interesting will pop up. For walks, pubs and other general area guidance you could see A Lady in London’s blog. On my pending London list I have a note to go see the giant stuffed walrus at The Horniman Museum, Forest Hill.
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Thank you, Lana. A Lady In London is exactly the sort of blog I was looking for, and I will check out your book recommendations. The walrus looks magnificent!
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Yes, “VIP” is a pretentious and outdated term; you don’t hear it so much these days. I think the Heliport’s wording is attempting to appeal to the vanity of some potential clients. “High net worth individuals” is, I guess, an objectively accurate way of describing people with a lot of money. But it says nothing about their worth / value as human beings. I can think of many rich and famous individuals (naming no names, obviously) whose true value as members of the human species is negligible!
Regarding Battersea Power Station, I’ve never been inside and so I don’t know if it’s any good. Lana has offered you some thoughts based on her experience of the place, and I’ll happily defer to her verdict. There’s definitely enough to see and do in London for a week without resorting to shopping malls!
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Exactly. Possessing money is one of the least interesting things about a person, despite this idea in society that someone who has accumulated a ton of wealth is worth listening to, on every subject no less. Just as often as not, the wealth is ill-gotten in some way.
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There is a replica of – or very close to one – of the Battersea Powerstation outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
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They are powerfully impressive – though not very pretty! – pieces of architecture.
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Great post! I was in the Battersea Power Station towards the end of 2023. It’s a shopping and eating centre. I had a tasty, if expensive, Italian lunch. I have put Hammersmith bridge on my pending travel list. I do like a nice easy water crossing (no sprints though) 🙂
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Correction: 2024
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It was 2023. Ha! Time is going crazy the older I get.
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That’s the story of my life these days too! 😂
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Thank you. Shopping’s not my thing, but I have to say that I’m intrigued to see how they re-purposed the original building. I do like a nice pasta, so maybe that will encourage me to go along and check it out if we ever go back to London.
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I’m glad to see it is still so green, going upriver….but poor Hammersmith Bridge! However long has it been awaiting repair!
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The bridge first closed in 2019. At one point even cyclists and pedestrians were kept off due to safety concerns, but that’s no longer the case. There are plans to upgrade it to permit cars, buses and lorries to use it again, but whether the funding ever becomes available remains to be seen. Given the state of the public finances here I’m not holding my breath!
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What an assortment of structures and machines! But this is the world we live in, isn’t it? Glad the power station wasn’t torn down. A lot of materials went into that building. Wish some of those structures would be used to house everyday people. Seems as though they are always filled with “luxury apartments,” built for folks who already have enough. (At least that’s how it often goes in the U.S.) Here’s a song for you. You are probably familiar with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUUhDoCx8zc
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I didn’t touch on it when I wrote this post, but one of the things that depressed me a bit about both the river trips we did was the preponderance of “luxury apartments” lining the banks of the Thames. I fully understand why people with lots of money might want to spend it in this way, but over here too – and particularly in London – there is a massive shortage of decent affordable housing for ordinary folk, which is a problem that could be partly ameliorated by a more inclusive use of riverside buildings.
Thank you for the link to Sly & The Family Stone, it’s been a while since I heard that one. I love the sentiments, particularly “I am no better and neither are you / We are the same whatever we do / …. We got to live together” Wise words, methinks.
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Same everywhere, even in a small state like Maine, with its population of just a little over a million. Housing prices are unbelievable. Even though my children make pretty good money, I’m not sure either of them will ever be able to afford a home. Sigh. Do you think there is a role for government in all this?
Glad you like the song. I was fairly sure you had heard it before, but it’s nice to reconnect with old songs.
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Grim, isn’t it. I’m so grateful not to be growing up in today’s world. I despair at the economic challenges young people face today in buying a place of their own; it makes me realise how lucky I was and still am.
Yes, personally I do think there is a role for government in this, but then I’m an interventionist at heart, just an ordinary guy who believes that an unfettered free market does not necessarily work in the best interests of other ordinary guys. It’s perhaps a controversial view (I have a friend, a high-flying senior economist, who would be horrified to hear me say it ) but I believe it’s a moral imperative that governments work on behalf of ALL their citizens rather than just the wealthy ones,
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I’m with you all the way, Platypus Man. I especially liked “I’m an interventionist at heart, just an ordinary guy who believes that an unfettered free market does not necessarily work in the best interests of other ordinary guys.” Hear, hear!
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I love that trip up the river to Hampton Court, but Mrs T is so appalled by some of the gargantuan modern architecture that has intruded on the riverbank that it spoils the trip a bit for her
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There was more greenery than we’d expected along the route from Westminster to Kew, though it’s not without some monstrous eyesores. I found the downriver trip from Westminster more depressing, it being relentlessly urban and largely lacking in character.
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Chalk it up to a fun place to visit, but there is no place like your current home. I visited London in 1989 and again for my Aunt’s funeral in 2008. It was louder and dirtier than I imagined. I left London by train and fell in love with Stratford-upon-Avon, the Lake District, and other charming places in between. I hope to return one day.
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It saddens me when I hear about visitors to the UK from overseas who never travel outside London. Vitally important though London is to us, there’s much more to this country than its capital city. The best thing I ever did in my life was to leave London – where I was born and raised – first to go to university in Cambridge, and then to build my life in a very different and infinitely more attractive part of the UK. I hope you get to return here one day, and are able to explore more of what this country has to offer outside London.
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London has grown on me a bit over the years, but I wouldn’t want to live there either.
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Yes, London is interesting to visit, but horrible to inhabit (in my humble opinion!)
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Not unless you were a multi-millionaire and could afford a penthouse overlooking the river!
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😂
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I do like a boat trip , the only one I have done on the Thames is one up to Greenwich. They are a great way of seeing places from a different perspective.
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Yes, although familiar on one level, London also seems very different when viewed from the river. And much more peaceful too!
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London looks fascinating from the river. I’ve had a few trips along the Thames but such a long time ago that a lot must have changed.
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Yes, there is a clear tension between the timeless landmarks and the new kids on the block. The London Eye on the south side of the river, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament on the north bank, are a case in point.
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Hello Mr P,
Thank you for giving us another fascinating glimpse into London. I can imagine how London and Tokyo share many similarities – blend of history with modern, the hustle of activity, interesting to visit but not necessarily the best for living in…(like you, we could never live in Tokyo, especially in our current phase in life☺️) We appreciate the stories behind each lovely image, and how history continues to live on in many ways. Wishing you and Mrs P a lovely weekend.
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Hi Takami, Yes, many similarities between London and Tokyo. We spent time in Tokyo during both our visits to Japan (our friends lived there), but were pleased to get away from the capital to explore “the real Japan”. Best wishes to you both for a great weekend.
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