London Time

We continue to visit new areas with our friends, with weekends being easier for them (work related). We are very grateful to have our generous hosts also acting as tour guides 😊.

Yesterday we went to Battersea. When I was young my parents declared they would leave their savings to the Battersea Dog Home.

Whilst we learned that there is such an organisation there are many cooler things to see in the area.

MI6 (think James Bond) is on the fringe, overlooking the Thames.

The old, very large, coal fired power station (once used on an album cover by Pink Floyd, with a pig shaped balloon that broke free 😂) is now an excellent mixed use property (retail, residential, commercial).

Like many 'heritage' buildings it almost fell into ruin during the tussle between protection and commercial realities.

I suspect it is a better use of the property now because the developers are also building many lovely apartments around the area. The power station only functioned for about 40 years, which cannot have been a good financial outcome.

Berthing a long boat in the tidal areas (below the locks) wouldn't appeal to me.

From Battersea we crossed the river to the area of fancy pants, flash cars and  beautiful people (Sloane Square and Chelsea). 

We found a nice old pub (not hard) for cold beverages before heading home to cool off.

Today, in 30 degrees of heat, we went down to Richmond to see their garden shop, then continue current to the river area for lunch. A lovely way to spend the day.

This was the venue for Katie and Nigel's wedding.

Tomorrow we head off on tour for a few days, just West and North West of London.