A while ago, I decided to start periodically making these photo posts with pictures I took in London during my walks and mini adventures. It’s always fun for me to scroll through my phone’s camera roll and relive the memories, appreciating how lucky I am to live in one of the most famous cities in the world. I remember that prior to moving to London, I was always eager to see photos from this stunning city and learn about the most beautiful places, making lists of locations to visit in the future. Now that I live in London, perhaps I can help someone else build their travel itinerary! So, sit back and enjoy my photos of London from summer 2024.
Flowers – Olympic Park, Regent’s Park, Victoria Embankment Gardens
Summer 2024 in London was quite generous, with plenty of sunshine and warm days. I had lots of opportunities to go on walks around various parks and enjoy the colourful flowers. My favourite park in that respect is probably Regent’s Park – its Rose Garden if filled with stunning rose bushes in various colours, but there are also carefully designed flowerbeds along pathways in other parts of the park.
One of my recent discoveries is a small green space on the north bank of the Thames, near Waterloo Bridge – Victoria Embankment Gardens. It’s a small enclosed area with a few large flowerbeds. In the spring, they were filled with colourful tulips. This time, there were various other flowers adorning the space.
I couldn’t not include the flowers of my local park, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. There are flowerbeds stretching along River Lea, and in the summer they were filled with a full rainbow of colours.
Another park near my home, West Ham Park, also blossomed this year, with colourful flowers and lavender decorating the flower gardens.
Horizon 22 and Sky Garden, a walk around the City of London
When my sister came to visit me in London, we went to Sky Garden, as we do every time she visits. If you’ve never heard of Sky Garden, it’s a free to visit viewing platform in the City of London, with great views of the Tower of London, the Shard and River Thames. From Sky Garden, you can see almost all of London’s famous landmarks, provided that the weather is good and the air is clear – from London Eye and Big Ben, to Wembley Stadium, St Paul’s Cathedral and the O2. Sky Garden is also beautiful itself. As the name suggests, it’s a stunning indoor garden located on the top floor of a skyscraper. A must-visit place if you visit London!
We were also lucky to watch Tower Bridge being lifted while we were on the terrace in Sky Garden.
We also went to Horizon 22, a more recently opened free to visit viewing platform in the City of London. It’s located much higher than Sky Garden and it tends to be easier to get into, with walk-in tickets available at the door. A great place to enjoy the panorama of London, though personally, I prefer the greenery and vibes of Sky Garden.
I’m usually unlucky with dark, foggy weather whenever I visit Horizon 22!
After visiting the two viewing platforms, we went on a stroll in the City of London. The tall, glass skyscrapers still amaze me to this day, after seeing them hundreds of times.
Famous landmarks – Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Albert Memorial
Naturally, I took some photos of the most famous London landmarks, including the Big Ben, illuminated London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Harrods department store and Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens.
Natural History Museum
I had been to the Natural History Museum many times before and didn’t go inside this time, but I went to check out their newly opened gardens. They didn’t disappoint! Whilst small, the garden reflects the character of the museum well, with a large model of a dinosaur as the main attraction. You don’t need a museum ticket to visit the garden, and if you happen to be in the neighbourhood – go check it out!
A visit to Greenwich Observatory
In August, I finally had a chance to visit the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It was interesting to learn about timekeeping during long ship voyages centuries ago. You can read about that visit here.
After the visit to the Observatory, I had a stroll around Greenwich. The photo below just screams “London” to me – a corner pub adorned with fresh flowers, a couple of red double-decker buses and rows of brick buildings, each and every one of them looking out of place.
Formula 1 exhibition
There was a Formula 1 exhibition at the Exhibition Centre in London, and as a huge fan of the sport, I couldn’t not go. It was an educational and highly informative display, with lots of models and exhibits – including actual Formula 1 cars. It was good value for money too, considering that it took us over 2 hours to see everything. Both my sister and I enjoyed the exhibition’s content, but logistically, it could have been better – there was a huge number of people inside, poor ventilation, and no drinking water (bringing water into the venue wasn’t allowed, and there wasn’t anywhere to buy it either). Physically, it was exhausting!
Yummy food – birthday scone, Ole& Steen, fish and chips
Whilst scrolling through my camera album on my phone, I also found some food pictures. I don’t often eat out, but I did have a few memorable meals in London this summer.
First of all, I enjoyed a classic scone on my birthday. It’s one of my favourite British foods and I was craving it, so decided to get one for myself on my special day. Scones are small, round dense cakes that you typically cut in half and enjoy with clotted cream and strawberry jam. It may not look the most impressive, but it was delicious!
One of my sister’s favourite cafes in London is Ole & Steen, a Danish style bakery chain. We had a little feast when she visited me in London and enjoyed our coffee and cakes at the cafe. The almond pastry is out of this world, it never disappoints!
We also enjoyed fish and chips, one of the most traditional British foods, in a recently opened Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street restaurant in my area. The mushy peas were a bit too minty for our taste, but the fish and the chips were top quality – we’ll definitely go back in the future.
Covent Garden
One of my favourite famous places in London is Covent Garden, filled with interesting shops, food places and a crafts market, all housed in a construction with unique architecture. But what makes Covent Garden even more special is the decor, which tends to change a few times a year. This time, the ceiling of the hall was filled with cute clouds. So lovely!
I also saw a cute floral installation in one of the alleys near Covent Garden.
Mudchute Farm
Naturally, I had to find time to visit one of my favourite hidden gems in London – Mudchute Farm. As always, I had lots of fun feeding and petting the farm animals.
Sunset
One of my favourite photos from this year’s summer features the futuristic-looking ArcelorMittal Orbit slide during sunset. The top of the tower already has dark, blue sky in the background, whilst the bottom is still illuminated by the golden hour sunshine. You can also see the Shard far in the background!
Autumn in Victoria Park
One of the last photos I took this month was this one. I was on a walk in Victoria Park in East London and saw a row of trees with completely yellow leaves – an early reminder that the autumn is coming and the cold season is imminent. Let’s end this post here, then. But if you want to see what autumn in London looks like – make sure to come back in a couple of months, when I’ll post photos from the upcoming season!
Also see:
Alphe's Corner 