It never fails to give me a small thrill whenever I happen to find myself at Waterloo when the sun is going down. The classic Kinks song always inevitably pops into my head and, if I'm in appropriate company, I sing out the chug-chugga-chugga of the opening bars.
It especially lifts my spirits when I find myself there at sunset upon arriving back into Waterloo Station after a trip away from London. That was the situation last night when I snapped these shots, on my return from a night away and a site visit in Dorset.
As an architectural historian, I also always find myself working out which of the buildings in the views from Waterloo Bridge would have existed when the lyrics were penned. And indeed, what bridges, as Hungerford footbridge, visible in the view below, wouldn't have been there then... One day, I'd like to sit down and work it all out. Perhaps draw up my own little 1960s view, if I can't find a photograph of one. There's a mission!
Last night, I was also particularly thrilled by the sliver of a moon resting above Shell Mex House, one of my favourite Thames-side buildings. How can you not love London at moments like this?
beautiful pics,
ReplyDeletewish I was there with you :))
Thank you! And hopefully one day you'll get to have a Waterloo sunset because even if the pictures manage to capture some of it, it's never quite the same as actually standing there and seeing it all around you...
DeleteVery nice! Lucky me to be in London soon again for a few days. So Waterloo Bridge if I can find the time around sunset :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, there's lots to do around Waterloo anyway, with Southbank and everything, so it's not too hard a place to find yourself! But it does need to be a nice day...
DeleteBeautifully captured, fine Waterloo sunset. Evocative. Thank you for sharing the moment. You definitely should look into the cityscape at the time of the Kinks' song. Must be captured somewhere - probably by a few fans...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. And you're probably right that there would be fan photographs of Waterloo from the time - I know I would have made pilgrimages down there as an obsessive fan at one point in my life!
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