Editor’s note - this was written while watching the Ryder Cup with some quite excellent red wine. It is not very well written and especially badly proof read. Exclamation points are over-used.

Luckily my wife had a work thing in London so it was only fair that I tagged along to save a few quid with the couple’s railcard. We had 4 full days and I walked 63.5 miles in those days - pretty good going since the St Cuthbert’s way is 62.5 miles. We absolutely wrung the neck of the place while we were there, in a city of £8 pints and £11 tiramisus you have to get value where you can!

Day 0

We arrived at the hotel at 3pm, nipped to the Apple Store to get a new battery in my iPhone - fantastic service and what a difference 26% of battery capacity makes. We then went to the Theo Randall restaurant at The Intercontinental ( after the most complicated subterranean roundabout crossing known to man. To say the food was stunning in an enormous understatement. While we only had the set menu, everything was outstanding. A mix of stunning quality ingredients and simple but perfect execution. We then nipped to the Southwark Hoxton for a sneaky photo drink from the rooftop bar.

Day 1

Alarm set for 5am was the theme for the trip. Jumped on the tube to Canada Water and a 20 minute walk to Surrey Quays. I had seen a couple of photos from this point but actually there were some nicer spots as I walked up Greenland Dock and onto the banks of the Thames. Then a walk back through Russia Dock Woodland. I then went to ‘Fujikina’ a Fujifilm event and macro photography workshop and to say it was dire would be an enormous understatement. We then went to 50 Kalo - for brilliant pizza and tiramisu, a guaranteed stop on every trip to London - one day we will get to the Michelin starred mother restaurant in Naples.

Day 2

5am again and this time getting off at Canary Wharf. This spot turned out to be a bit of a bust but I then turned round and saw the sun coming up behind the dome and had a nice peaceful long exposure session as the sun rose. That afternoon we went up Horizon 22 which is 22 Bishopsgate the 13th tallest building in Europe (most are in Russia) and the viewing platform is on the 56th floor. It is free and an amazing view but not great for photographers, for a start you have to be ready to book tickets at exactly 10am the fortnight before you go and they go in minutes, also no tripods, photographing through reflective glass and the times are only in full sunlight so not very exciting. As a spectacle, it really is impressive.

The evening was back to Canary Wharf for a fantastic cocktail at Hawksmoor and then a trip to Roe - the sister restaurant of Fallow (of YouTube fame). It was amazing, everything you want from a restaurant and the food was tremendous. I’m not one for gawping over my grub taking 25 photos etc. but the blooming onion was a spectacle and the burger was amazing. We were right next to the kitchen and watching the flashes of flame and meticulous preparation really boosted the experience.

Padella for amazing pasta lunch meant we were absolutely done for and crawled back into the hotel room!

Day 3

Sunday morning somewhat limited options for travel so I went to Westminster to try and get a photo I have tried to get 3 or 4 times and always been thwarted. There are a number of problems - it is a tourist hell hole, full of ignorant tourists barging in front to get their shot, it is a wind tunnel and often full of litter and general detritus but most concerning it is an….ummmm….tramp’s urinal and sometimes they even do more serious business there too the general comments when someone posts it among photographers is “I can spell that photo!” It always stinks there. It is a classic shot that is very difficult to get. I arrived at 5:30 and couldn’t believe my luck - no tramp urine, no no vapid instagrammers and only a couple of crisp packets I managed to kick to the side. I was going to get the shot! I set up my tripod and was just about to hit the shutter and was accosted by a group of 4 ‘youths’, three walked past and one stopped to speak to me. Being a country bumpkin and reading The Telegraph meant I was sure I was about to get robbed or stabbed or maybe both. I managed to avoid any sort of problem and got away, he was charming and I was probably very rude to a charming young man. However they decided to spark up a joint on the steps there so I couldn’t go back. They were there for an hour so I thought I would wait it out and finally got the shot. There is also a staircase going down to the Thames that is ALWAYS locked it wasn’t! So I nipped down and got a shot from as close as I dared - the steps were really slippy! Now I never have to go back there. Result!

The rest of the day was a semi tourist day, we went for a walk around Kensington, had some breakfast, moved hotel and then went to Knightsbridge car spotting. We then had a drink with Alyson’s boss and her husband - we are very lucky in that they are fantastic fun and great to be around, then to Flat Iron for a steak.

Day 4

I had been tipped off that Vauxhall was a great place for long exposures so I thought Monday would be the time to get it. Even at 5:45 there was plenty of traffic. The sky was insanely blue, it was almost surreal, originally I tried to make it more realistic but in the end I embraced it.

Back to the hotel for breakfast with Alyson’s colleagues then I went to the City to scratch a couple of itches. I love the Lloyds building and wanted to get some shots of it but it is very difficult to do the steampunk design justice and Leadenhall Market before it was heaving. By chance, I saw The Garden at 120 reflected backwards in the glass and it was 10:05 (just after opening) and I had to be back to the hotel for 11am check out so I jumped at the opportunity. If you go to one high view point in London, go there, it is beautiful and you are in and amongst the glass towers instead of towering above them. I loved it.

Back to the hotel for another hotel move! And back to hit the streets. I got a to Oxford Circus and I got a call from one of my best mates to go for lunch (and a stroll around Regent’s Park (also stunningly beautiful but I was being ‘Romantic Charles’ and not ‘Photography Bore Charles’ A Charles my wife is looking forward to meeting one day)).

I saw him back to his train and then straight back to the City and ticking off a coupe of other places. The Church of St Dunstan, Lovet Lane, and then Barbican - I ran out of time and got very lost in the concrete maze that is Barbican! It is amazing. Then a couple of cliched shots at Kings Cross.

Then a trip to Patty and Bun - we had exhausted our stomachs and wanted something light! - a burger place we got a make at home burgers during lockdown. It was very good but a bit we were great and now we have 6 or 7 restaurants and the charm has isn’t quite what it was. The burger was ironically sandwiched between a fantastic negroni and then gelato at Eatily - a Disneyland of Italian food.

That was a 17 mile day.

Day 5

5am alarm once again. The intention had been a very carefully choreographed photograph in East India and then a few directly at The Dome. This time starting at Kings Cross. The Northern line had never let me down - the tubes seemed to run from about 4am. However Kings Cross seemed to be unnervingly quiet. I got to the platform and the sign said next arrival was 30 minutes. I used this as an opportunity to get some photos of a normally heaving tube station being utterly empty, I estimate there were about 10 passengers in the whole station. The Piccadilly line was running to get people to Heathrow so I jumped on to Picadilly Circus and got a photo of Buck House without the hoards of security and tourists. Then breakfast at Lima Stores in Kings Cross and back on the train home to edit 1200 photos and a lie in of 7am!

London Trip