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Itinerary London utk Day-1

Panduan utk 1st timers ke London. (Part 1/3)
8 walking attractions sekeliling Tower Bridge.

Tuju ke Tower Hill underground stn menaiki Circle/District line. Kuar dari stn Tower Hill, dah nmpk Tower of London, satu historical castle. Guna terowong pejalan kaki utk melintas & di seberang sana, ke kanan utk Tower of London. (Yg mengguna DLR, turun di stn Tower Gateway bersebelahan stn underground Tower Hill. Juga bleh nmpk Tower of London bila turun escalator utk kuar. Belok kanan ke stn Tower Hill)

Tower Hill Underground Stn. Guna laluan terowong pejalan kaki utk melintas ke Tower of London sbrg jln tu.

Tower Gateway Stn (DLR) yg berdekatan (50m) dgn Tower Hill Underground Stn.

1. Tower of London
Takde tower tinggi, takde pencakar langit pun, hanya bgn lama Istana Diraja bersebelahan river Thames berdekatan Tower Bridge. Dari luar pun, dah boleh nmpk sbhgn pekarangan dlm istana tu. Yg berminat istana lama, boleh explore dgn dikenakan bayaran masuk.
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of…/visit/tickets-and-prices

Pekarangan Tower of London dilihat dari luar. Pd tahun 1078, menara dlm tu yg tinggi nya 27m, dah kira tower.

2. St Katherine Docks Marina
Bkn lah satu ‘attraction’ tp di anggapkan sbg satu dpd ‘London’s Secret’. Ia adalah sebuah marina dgn kompleks perumahan betul² dlm kota London. Lokasinya di antara Tower of London & Tower Bridge. Alang² dah dekat, dari Tower of London jln terus ke kaki jambatan & lintas terowong pejalan kaki bawah nya. Seberang sana, jln terus antara Guoman Hotels & Tesco Express, dah blh nmpk bot² parking situ.

Laluan utk ke St Katherine Docks.

St Katherine Docks dgn suasana tak crowded & agak sunyi bersebelahan river Thames. Klau kuar umah, naik bot, kediaman have-have ni.

3. Tower Bridge
Jambatan ikonik London BUKAN London Bridge, tp ianya adalah TOWER BRIDGE. Perbetulkan fakta anda klau tersilap. Jika tak lawat jambatan ni, kira x’sempurna lawatan ke London. Nak naik ke street level jambatan ni dari St Katharine docks, patah balik menghala terowong yg anda lalui tadi & ambil tangga sebelah kiri utk naik ke atas.

Tower Bridge dgn sebahagian jln nya di naikan utk memberi laluan kpd kapal/bot. Di atas, antara menara tulah Glass walkway. Ada 2 walkway, kiri & kanan. Satu menghadap Canary Wharf & lagi satu, Southbanks. Dua² bleh lawat.

3.1 Tower Bridge Glass Walkway
Kita boleh naik ke atas menara Tower Bridge dgn lift utk menyeberangi ke-dua² titi antara menara jambatan ini. Lift terletak di menara jambatan tu. Titi di atas, berlantaikan gelas tahan pecah. Sambil berjalan, kita tengok kenderaan serta pengguna melintasi Tower Bridge di bawah. Jika ‘ngam’ dgn hari & masa, kita bleh tengok jambatan itu di naikan utk memberi laluan kpd kapal/bot menyelunsuri sg Thames. Di anggarkan ada 1,000 lintasan setahun, average 2~3 sehari. Tiket masuk x’terlalu mahal.
https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/your-visit/glass-floor
https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/lift-times

Lift di menara jambatan utk naik ke atas.

Pandangan bawah menurusi lantai gelas tahan pecah jambatan Tower Bridge.

3.2 Engine Room
Bilik engine terpisah dari bngn menara di penghujung jambatan pd ground level sblh kanan. Ada stairs tepi jambatan utk turun ke bawah. Entrance fees telah termasuk dlm tiket Tower Bridge Walkway. Di bilik inilah terletak engine yg menghasilkan wap utk menaikan jambatan ini dulu kala. Skang ia menggunakan kuasa elektrik.

Engine room jambatan Tower Bridge.

4. City Hall – Majlis Perbandaran London
Dari engine room, jln ke hadapan menuju bngn City Hall. Sbb bngn ini odd shaped mcm telur, mrk yg dah melawat area Tower Bridge akan recognise. Opis Datuk Bandar London, Sadiq Khan terletak di sini. Di khabarkan City Hall akan berpindah berdekatan London City Airport (LCY) utk cost savings x’lama lg. Bngn ni tak ikutlah Sadiq Khan pindah sama!

City Hall, London.

5. HMS Belfast
Hadapan lg di tebing river Thames, adalah bekas kapal perang Tentera Laut Diraja yg pernah di gunakan pd WW II. Sekarang di jadikan sebuah muzium terapung. Peminat kapal perang bleh masuk dgn bayaran.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/hms-belfast

HMS Belfast, muzium terapung yg berlabuh di tebing Sg Thames.

6. Hay’s Galleria
Terus ke hadapan sebelah kiri, terletak mall kechil ni. Reka bentuk bumbung dia agak unik. Kita msk dari bhgn belakang (river Thames) & kuar ke hadapan utk ke London Bridge train station.

Hay’s Galleria, mall yg kecil aje.

6.1 London Bridge train stn
Dari hadapan Hay’s Galleria, menyeberang jln ke stn ni & jln dlm bngn ke penghujung kanan bangunan. Di hujung nnt belok kiri, msk mcm terowong (Joiner St) ke The Shard. Sblm penghujung terowong, sebelah kiri adalah entrance ke The View From The Shard. Masuk sini utk naik ke viewing platform di tingkat 69 & 72.

Ini adalah train stn London Bridge. Stn underground, kena msk dalam ke penhujung kanan, mcm terowong lama. Ada mall besar dlm stn ni.

7. The Shard
The Shard adalah bngn tertinggi di UK & yg ke-7 di Europe. Viewing platform dia adalah tarikan utama utk di kunjungi. Tiket yg agak mahal tp kita dpt pemandangan 360° kota London. Di tingkat 33, kita tukar lift utk ke tingak 69. Seterusnya, kita naik tangga ke tingkat yg teratas. Views waktu senja & mlm adalah superb. Jgn lupa ke bilik air dia yg tingkap bercermin floor to ceiling tanpa langsir menghadap river Thames utk menikmati views dr toilet pula. 😅
https://www.theviewfromtheshard.com/book-tickets/

The Shard, menara tertinggi di UK.

Permandangan Tower Bridge hingga ke Canary Wharf dari atas The Shard.

Views dari toilet The Shard. Dari ketinggian ni, x’perlu curtain.

8. London Bridge
Turun drpd menara Shard, belok kanan menghala jalan besar Tooley St (A200). Sblm sampai ke hadapan, kita lalu entrance stn underground London Bridge. Di dpn jln besar nnt, belok kiri & di hadapan lg ada simpang empat. Sini, ambil kanan & dah bleh nmpk jambatan ori London Bridge yg biasa² aje. Dari pertengahan London Bridge, boleh nmpk Tower Bridge. Menyeberang jambtan ini & di hadapan sebelah kanan terletak menara Monument to the great fire of London, serta stn underground Monument berdekatan.

London Bridge underground stn (Joiner St). Nun di blkg, laluan ke Tooley St, sampai sana belok kiri.

Ha, ni dia London Bridge ori yg sebenarnya.

The Monument. Berdekatan juga dgn stn underground Monument.

Sila plot laluan anda di Google map utk ke tmpt² yg di senaraikan. Anda bleh opt utk balik dari stn London Bridge ataupun Monument.

Next post, kita lawat walking attractions dari St Paul ke Big Ben.

Eh, bukan London bridge ke ni?

Border UK dah mula buka. 1st timer ke London jgn TER-confuse satu benda ni. Gmbr jambatan berkait dgn lagu nusery ‘London Bridge Is Falling Down’ selalunya mrk tonjolkan, TOWER Bridge bukan the actual London Bridge. Lyric x’sama dgn reality. London Bridge jambatan yg biasa² aje, nothing special pun. Jd, sila perbetulkan fakta jika tersilap!

Tower Bridge (NOT London Bridge) dari tebing Thames river.

View of Tower Bridge dari dlm Thames Clipper ferry. The Shard belah kiri, ‘Walkie-talkie’ bldg sebelah kanan.

Ni dia, London Bridge. Jambatan yg biasa² aje. Lembu punya susu, sapi dpt nama.

Ke-dua² jambatan ni tak jauh. From the other, can see the other. Walking along Thames riverside walking path, 15-25 minit sampailah sblh sana. London bridge berhampiran The Shard & London Bridge underground on one side dan Monument underground on the other.

Dari atas London Bridge, kat blkg sana nun Tower Bridge.

Aerial view of London Bridge. Lower right, yg puncak kaler emas sblh crane merah, Monument to the great fire of London.

Tower Bridge Glass Floor Walkway, London

April 2016

The Tower Bridge is a combined drawbridge and suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames and is an iconic symbol of London. It consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways. The walkways were designed so public could cross the bridge when it was raised but was later closed down due to lack of use. The drawbridge opens for river traffic at 24 hours’ notice around 1,000 times a year. You can check the advanced bridge lift time here.

Each of the drawbridge pivots, and its operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge’s twin towers walkways is accessible by lifts. The Victorian engine rooms on the ground floor together forms part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

The Tower Bridge raising to allow vessel to pass underneath.

London icon with bridge fully raised as seen from the river bank.

Pre-purchased voucher exchanged for tickets to go up the Tower Bridge. Not free, it cost £8.

Small queue waiting for the lift up.

One of the two Tower Bridge walkways.

Glass walkways were introduced in 2014 and measures 11 meters long and 1.8 meters wide along the 61 meters walkway and consist of six separate panels weighing more than ½ ton each. Apart from experiencing stunning panoramic views surrounding the Thames from 42m above the river, visitors can view vessels sailing under the bridge and pedestrians crossing on the road below. On specific days, you can even catch the rising and lowering of the drawbridge right beneath you. The glass is five layers thick and can hold the weight of an elephant.

Tower Bridge Glass Walkway. Both walkways has glass floor.

Looking down to one of the tower foundation. Big bus crossing the bridge.

The ‘dots’ in the photo are imbedded in the glass.

The Tower Bridge raising as seen from the glass floor.

The walkway on the other side of the tower.

Bridge lifting time schedule..

To the left side of the river bank, the City Hall, The Shard & HMS Belfast.

To the right, Sky Garden, the Gherkin and Tower of London.

The walkway as seen from ground level.

The original drawbridge lifting mechanism were powered by pressurised water back then, has now been replaced by modern electro-hydraulic drive system. Some of the original hydraulic machinery has been retained, although no longer in use, is open to the public and can be viewed in the engine room south side of the bridge.

This way to Engine Room exhibition.

Giant water pump used to raise the bridge.

Pressure pipes.

Boiler to produce steam to drive the pumps.

Tag Archives: tower bridge

Itinerary London utk Day-1

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Eh, bukan London bridge ke ni?

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Tower Bridge Glass Floor Walkway, London

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