Journeys›Photograph

An Afternoon on the South Bank Above the Thames

·London Eye·#summer#architecture#urban-scene#london#london-eye#thames-river
The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben stand beside the River Thames with Westminster Bridge and boats.

London Eye day. Tickets come from a counter inside County Hall on Westminster Bridge Road, then you queue under the wheel itself, which is bigger from directly below than from anywhere else — it went up in 2000 as the Millennium Wheel and is cantilevered off just one side, so the whole thing leans out over the Thames on struts.

The capsules don't stop; you step on while it creeps past the platform. About 135 meters at the top, and the river turned out to be brown all the way up — proper mud brown, with the boats dragging pale wakes through it. Parliament and Big Ben sit right across the water, close enough that you look down on the clock faces for part of the ride. Upriver you could count bridge after bridge; the other way, St Paul's dome and the Gherkin off in the City.

Afterward we crossed Westminster Bridge for the standard view back at the wheel and County Hall. A full rotation takes about half an hour, and it's over before you've finished picking out landmarks on the far side.

A person in a London Eye capsule overlooks the River Thames, Westminster Bridge, Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben.Panoramic view of a city with a wide river, multiple bridges, and dense buildings under a blue sky.Aerial view from a capsule of a city, a wide river with boats, bridges, and a large building complex.Aerial view of a large city with a brown river, several bridges, historic buildings, and a tall clock tower.Aerial view of a city river, bridges, buildings, and a London Eye capsule with people.Aerial view of a city with a wide river, numerous buildings, and a partly cloudy sky.Aerial view of London's Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, with the River Thames and Westminster Bridge below.A large Ferris wheel, a river, and historic buildings line the bank under a blue sky, with a small boat.

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