Final

I can't say I ever approached the walks with too much excitement. I enjoyed getting out and seeing new areas, but sometimes felt a little pressure to spend my time in other activities with just six weeks in London. I do see the benefit in the walks, especially looking back now. The underground is out primary mode of travel and, naturally, offers very little in terms of view. Walking brought not only the benefit of exercise (which provided a source of justification for stopping at Ben's cookies), but helped me to orient myself. The walks allowed us to see more than the stretch from the tube to the next attraction. I saw the diversity between each area in the city. The three walks I enjoyed most are Lambeth and Southwark, Bankside to Southward and the City.
We had quite a few people in our group for Lambeth and Southwark. It was just enough people to have a good time, but not too many to get around with. Part of the walk went through a park. We stopped to play in the park. It was a nice break from simply walking. We climbed, hung, used the swings and slides; it was great! After a little while, a truck came around with a whistle. We assumed that meant we were too old to be in the park so we left. Still, it was a nice detour. The rest of the walk took us along the Thames. We could see Parliament and Big Ben against the sunset. It was so beautiful. It was one of the moments where you realize again you are in London, England. Parliament and Big Ben are such iconic images that it was exciting to be around them. It was similar to seeing the Eiffel Tower in France.
Another of my favorite walks was Bankside to Southwark. I enjoyed this for similar reasons to Lambeth and Southwark. We walked across another London icon, the Tower Bridge. We walked at night so we were able to see the bridge lit. The Thames River below reflected the lights on the bridge. I am glad I took a chance to walk across the bridge. I had only seen it from a distance before hand and since. There was a lot more detail on the bridge that I had realized. It seems like that is the general rule in England. Everything has an elaborate royal crest somewhere. Walking up to and across the bridge was, again, one of those moments you realize you are in England.
The third walk I liked the most was The City. We went on this walk on a Saturday evening. Because the City has a lot of business and government buildings everyone was home for the weekend. The streets seemed deserted. The emptiness combined with towering buildings made us feel quite isolated. This was a stark difference to most London streets. The norm is to be dodging people, smoke and vehicles. I enjoyed wandering the city in a moment of peace. The busyness is my only complaint in London. The crowds and smoke can be overwhelming so it was nice to experience the city without that.