London - Spring 2025

We were treated to two beautifully mild days with clear blue skies for our end of March trip to London this year. Ten of us were on the first Sunday morning train from Honiton to Waterloo for this outing; we were off to a flying start with the train arriving on time – not a given these days. Then it was a matter of dropping off our bags at our hotel in Southwark, grabbing a bite to eat in Nando’s and heading over to Paddington Station for the first part of our afternoon of photography.

We had three hours of photography in Paddington which gave lots of time for members to head over to Little Venice where the Grand Union and Regent's canals meet which is a picturesque and quirky neighbourhood great for street and other genres of photography.

Paddington Basin

That’s all in stark contrast to the modern high rise buildings surrounding Paddington Basin itself which is great for more street photography and a heavy dose of architecture. On these types of trips people tend to go off on their own or in small groups to avoid getting in each other’s way, and being quite a small area, we were constantly bumping into each other and exchanging thoughts on the local photo ops. And I would be remiss not to mention the tea and cake consumed at Gail’s Bakery for our mid-session rendezvous, sit-down and social!

By 5pm we were all at the rendezvous ready for the trip round the Circle Line to Embankment, and from there it was a short hop across the Thames to the South Bank for a gentle photo-walk as far as the Globe Theatre where we had a table booked at Pizza Express for refuelling a well-earned rest. Much pizza and Perroni later, there was a brief spell of night photography by the Millennium Bridge and then it was time to head back to the hotel and collect some ZZZZs.

Monday morning started with the trip across the City to the Barbican. For this we split into two groups with one lot taking the tube, ostensibly in the preservation of their knees, and the others walking for a spot of extra photography en route. We met up again on arrival at the Barbican Centre and after a brief orientation went off on our separate ways to do our own photographic thing. We had over three hours of photography time here, and it was noticeable how as the morning progressed the direction and intensity of the shadows changed to give an ever-changing backdrop for photography. The normal coffee and cake meet-up was around half-time in the Barbican Kitchen, and very good it was too!

High and low-rise inside the Barbican

The Barbican is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes and houses within the City of London built on an area devastated by World War II bombing - it’s quite upmarket! On the site there is also the Barbican Arts Centre, Museum of London, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Barbican public library, The City of London School for Girls, and the second largest conservatory in London, all together forming the Barbican Complex. It’s a very good example of British brutalist architecture and a great photography destination.

At lunchtime we headed over to Canary Wharf on the Elizabeth Line and had an excellent meal at The Big Easy on the top deck of the massive Elizabeth Line station right next door to the roof garden. After that there was another three-hour session for photography out and about round the Canary Wharf Estate with its amazing high rise modern buildings, water everywhere and lots of people going about their business.

Reflecting Canary Wharf

We all met up for a late afternoon rest stop at Café Brera after which there was time for a little more photography before we headed back to our hotel to collect our bags and on to Waterloo Station for the train trip back home.

The weather couldn’t have been better, the public transport was all on time, the food excellent, and the company was great as always; and the photography opportunities were superb. We are looking forward to “show and tell” to see everyone’s amazing pictures!