Thursday 10 November 2011

Kennington takes on the City

I don't know whether the marches in London today scared the parents but today's Pedal Power Kennington trip in search of gold in the City of London had just two pupils, one regular and one whose bike we'd fixed on Monday at a Dr Bike at his school.


I'm pleased to say both pupils had a fabulous time.

Our first port of call was the Bank of England Museum to pick up a bar of gold. We arrived within their opening hours but they had locked the doors early to prevent us (or anyone else) from entering, apparently out of their fear that the students' march today turning nasty. There were an incredible number of police throughout the city though we saw no students.

With the bank shut to its customers we decided to nip down to the Monument, where the staff were pleased to see us and let us in. The views from the top of the 311 step tower are fantastic



I got a little nervous on the spiral staircase three quarters of the way up when I saw this sign

We managed to make our way down safely and were given certificates

We then moved on to One New Change which has a wonderful view of the adjacent St Paul's Cathedral from its roof terrace

We then meandered past more van loads of police to see the tranquil tent city (where my photographic skills deserted me), before returning to Lambeth via Southwark Bridge and the superficial highway 7.