Being a tourist in London – Canary Wharf

Recently on a visit up country my partner and I got the opportunity to spend a day sightseeing around London. Arriving in Stratford we took the train over to The O2, where we then took the Emirates Airline over the river Thames and then visited The Crystal and learnt all about the future for cities and the environment.

The next stop was to wander between the skyscrapers in Canary Wharf and take in the atmosphere and the sights of the financial business district, an area that is so far from what we are used to in Cornwall. I think the tallest skyscraper we have in Cornwall is a block of council flats in St Austell and that doesn’t come anywhere close to what’s in London.

Arriving by tube we arrived in the centre of canary wharf, surrounded by men in sharp suits and women wearing designer clothes with immaculate hair and makeup. Again a long way from my lifestyle in Cornwall wearing flip flops and having dreadlocks!

We took a walk into the shopping arcade at the base of the buildings and spent some time perusing the shops. I couldn't really get my head around the fact that we were in a shopping precinct whilst above us there were 50 stories with hundreds of people busy working away above us. Important people, business people, people earning more in that afternoon than I would probably earn in a week.

The bars outside were relatively quiet as we were there just after lunch so were able to soak up the scenery without getting in the way of people on a busy commute or late for work. One of the things that we were both keen to explore was the area around the brand new Crossrail station. It might sound an odd thing to explore but my partner loves mechanics, building and engineering and this would be a major feat of engineering once open. In London they are currently building a whole entire new branch of train travel, whilst London works, sleeps and plays. Deep underground there are thousands of people and machines working on building this new railway infrastructure and to both of us that's rather fascinating.

Having seen a recent documentary on the television about the new railway and how there had been an indoor garden built 7 stories above the new train station at Canary Wharf with a roofing structure similar to the Eden Project, we were keen to explore.

The garden had only just opened and it was incredibly quiet, it felt strange. One minute we were walking through the hustle and bustle of the financial business district in the city of London and then a few minutes walk we were in garden in peace and quiet.

After taking in the sights around Canary Wharf it was back onto the tube to head deeper into the city of London and our next stop was going to be Tower Bridge and the new iconic building, The Shard.

If we thought the 50 storey tall One Canada Square was high then we would surely be blown away with the newest building to adorn London’s' skyline that currently stands at 87 storeys high and currently holds the record for being the tallest building not only in London but also in the EU.