London Eye • Archives Richard walks London

Today was marathon day in London and 38,000+ runners and walkers took to the streets to run from Blackheath to the Mall in London via some sightseeing along the way.

I hadn’t entered the marathon this year but decided that I would join a few others in the “Reverse London Marathon” which is an informal event that starts at 2am at the finish of the marathon and follows the marathon route back to the start.

The idea was that runners (and me as a walker) would start at 30 minute intervals from 2am through to 4:30am depending on their expected pace, and we would all finish at Blackheath at about 8am.

About 200 runners were expected but the weather put paid to that – cold and wet but calm. Not bad for running but I am sure that many people that were thinking of doing the run changed their minds when they either saw the weather forecast of woke up in the middle of the night and looked out their window.

I woke up when the alarm went off at 12:15am after just three hours sleep, had breakfast, and drove the 35 minutes to Battersea Park where I parked the car and walked up to St James Park where the run would be starting. When I got there I found that about 20 runners had departed at 2am and another 15 were getting ready for a 3am start, but I would be the only person starting at 2:30am – I was planning a 5 ½ hour walk.

So I trotted off by myself and initially I enjoyed the walk, taking a few photos, and seeing some of the nightlife as I headed east along Embankment.

But it wasn’t long before it started to rain again and I very quickly got cold. I hadn’t dressed as warmly as I should have. And by the time I got to Canary Wharf I had already decided to call it a day and walk back along the Thames to Tower Bridge and from there, back to the car at Battersea Park.

It had more or less stopped raining but I was wet through, and cold. And I couldn’t face the idea of walking to Blackheath and then spending up to an hour travelling back to the car via bus and tube in wet clothing.

I also didn’t want to risk getting a cold with the Thames Path 100 mile race next weekend.

In total though, I ended up with a 21 mile walk and was back home in time to watch the TV coverage of the marathon. Not a bad way to spend the day.

And I took plenty of photos as I walked along the Thames:

The famous Tower Bridge is the point where runners cross the Thames during the marathon, and for me it was the point where I turned off the marathon route and headed back to the car

Before reaching Tower Bridge I walked along beside the Thames for a bit. This photo is looking back towards Canary Wharf — Before reaching Tower Bridge I walked beside the Thames for a bit. This photo is looking back towards Canary Wharf

And this photo is looking across the river from somewhere near Canary Wharf

Right at the start of my walk I took this photo of the London Eye

After crossing Tower Bridge I took this photo looking back across the river towards London — After crossing Tower Bridge I took this photo looking across the river towards London

And heading back along the Thames towards Battersea I passed Shakespare's Globe Theater — And heading back towards Battersea I passed Shakespare’s Globe Theater

And back towards the start of the marathon, but from the other side of the river is the Houses of Parliament — And back towards the start of the marathon, but from the other side of the river, are the Houses of Parliament

And one last photo of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

My route home followed the River Thames from Waterloo Bridge to Putney Bridge

I hadn’t walked the section between the Waterloo Bridge and Putney Bridge on the northern side of the river before, although I have done it many times on the southern side.

But this week I have been working in London and decided that was the perfect opportunity to walk home via the city side of the river. And it is quite incredible just how different it is from one side of the river to the other.

Firstly, I got a great photo of the London Eye from across the river and then as I headed up river towards Putney I walked through a number of places that I hadn’t seen before. In fact in the first mile walking from where I was working down to the Waterloo Bridge I passed the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Richard the Lionheart on his horse in front of the Houses of Parliament

I had walked the section between the Chelsea Bridge and Albert Bridge before. This is opposite Battersea Park where I often train on a Tuesday night, but last night (Tuesday) I decided that it was too soon after my recent 24 hour race to do any speedwork, but I stopped and took a photo of Battersea Park from across the river as I went past.

Battersea Power Station only has three chimneys at the moment while it undergoes maintenance which will see all the chimneys replaced this year

Looking up river towards Chelsea Bridge with Battersea Park behind the bridge

Looking across the river towards Battersea Park

Looking down river towards Albert Bridge with Battersea Park behind the bridge

It is only about 7 miles from Waterloo Bridge to Putney Bridge, and I actually ended up crossing the river via the railway bridge at Putney rather than the road bridge – another first.

And in total my walk home from London took a little over 3 hours and covered a total distance of a little over 15 miles. Much better than spending 1 ¼ hours on the tube and bus!