High Holborn – 22m / 72ft – 10/03/20
My original plan was to drive round to do Greater London and Kent high points, but a change of mind based on distance, timing and the looming threat of the Coronavirus spread persuaded me that I needed to get the City of London out of the way ASAP. Just to clarify this odd journey, although it only covers an area of less than 3 square km and is really just a financial centre including the Stock Exchange and Bank of England, the City of London is classed as a separate ceremonial county of England and its high point is therefore on my official list. There is a part of me which does enjoy the occasional walk around big cities, seeing the sights and soaking up some atmosphere, despite the noise, crowds and pollution, so I was quite excited and a bit curious to see how people were dealing with the Covid-19 situation (although not nearly as serious then as it was soon to become!).
The drive from Totternhoe was not going to be terribly interesting – the SatNav took me back to the A41 towards Watford then round the M25 and back along the A3 in the direction of Central London. I had decided to park at Morden and get the Underground train to London Bridge from where I had planned a circular walk which I expected to take about 2 hours. Well nobody was wearing face-masks and the era of social distancing had not yet arrived so I just tried to act cool and blend in with the eclectic mixture of cultures and styles that is synonymous with all big cities.
25 minutes later I alighted at London Bridge station and headed off immediately towards the south of the Thames with the enormous Shard hotel behind me, Tower Bridge ahead and the City skyline across the river to my left. It was still quite windy, starting to rain and would be dark before too long.
My route took me along the river past City Hall and then across Tower Bridge swerving to avoid, joggers, photo-snapping tourists and the general hubbub of folks who had finished work for the day or were still enjoying a late lunch. I turned left back along the north bank of the river past The Tower of London in the direction of London Bridge.
At London Bridge I took a right and headed up King William Street into the heart of the City, Monument station, St Clement’s church then left and north west leading to the Bank of England. From there I turned onto Queen Victoria Street, past the Mansion House (residence of the Mayor of London). I then veered right again along the narrower Watling Street in the direction of St Paul’s Cathedral, the unmistakeable dome visible through the gap in the buildings ahead.
The next section took me up Farringdon Street and along the busy A40 – not much traffic just thousands of people now leaving work and filling the streets, pubs were full to bursting and the thought of a quick pint was almost too much to resist, however it was now raining, getting dark and I needed to get back to my car and onto my planned overnight stop. The exact spot of the City high point on High Holborn is not easy to locate – it is not at the top of the hill, but has to be inside the boundary of the City itself, so the spot I chose was on the corner of Chancery Lane, coincidentally by a Cotswold Outdoor shop!
Obligatory photo and video done, in the middle of a busy street, I continued briefly along High Holborn to Holborn station then turned left into the heart of the legal district, past Inns and Chambers and courts, The LSE and The Law Society Hall, eventually zigzagging my way back to the embankment by Blackfriars Bridge. The rain was getting heavier as I passed underneath the bridge and hurried along the path to cross the Millennium footbridge back over the Thames.
It was actually quite windy crossing the bridge but an interesting experience nevertheless. On reaching the south side I turned left back along the embankment footpath and followed that past the Shakespeare Globe theatre and the Golden Hinde ship in dry dock before arriving back at London Bridge station to find that there had been an “incident” on the Northern Line which was temporarily closed meaning I could not immediately get a train back to Morden. The crowds of people waiting at the closed platform entrance did not thrill me so I managed to find a quiet place for a coffee and bite to eat. Once the panic was over (Covid scare??) I got the next train and reached the car safely, glad to get out of London and off to Kent later than I had hoped. Number 14 ticked off.
