It was time for my Covid vaccination, so a good opportunity to get on a train to London without feeling guilty about bending lockdown rules. The nearest station to the appointment at St Thomas was Waterloo, but looking at the map, I decided that it would be a much nicer walk from Charing Cross.

There is only one fast train per hour to London these days (it used to be four), so I had plenty of time to explore before my appointment.

I crossed the river using the western Golden Jubilee bridge – there used to be a grotty walkway alongside Hungerford Bridge, so this is a vast improvement:

A nice view of the (closed) London Eye from the bridge:

and then to a very deserted South Bank:

then Westminster Bridge, looking quite resplendent in the gloom:

Time for a quick mid-morning snack opposite the Houses of Parliament:

Then it was time to get vaccinated at St Thomas:

I then walked over Westminster Bridge to St James Park:

then past Horse Guards parade and The Mall (looking very empty indeed):

finally, through Admiralty Arch into a very empty Trafalgar Square:

then past the National Gallery & St Martin in the Fields:

and to Charing Cross Station and the train home:

It all made a nice change! And it was nice to see bits of London without pushing through lots of foreign tourists…