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I wonder if we ever stop to think how fortunate we are to live in the Royal Arsenal with the River Thames right at the bottom of our gardens?
It has been a major highway running through the centre of London since the city was just a small town and now we are in the unique position that we can use the river as our mode of transport to so many places in the centre of London. I know we grumble about not having a Tube station and that the buses get held up in the traffic so why don't we use Thames Clippers, our own Water Bus?
Public transportation by water is used in lots of cities such as New York and Venice and we have our system leaving from Royal Arsenal Pier, we couldn't ask for it to be nearer than that. The river offers hassle-free travel, on time and in comfort with some of the most famous views in the world.
Just because it is so close and convenient we sometimes don't think of the benefit of this form of transport - the green ecological option is a big consideration not sitting in choking fumes in traffic jams has to be a better way of arriving at work or for a day of relaxation.
The Thames Clippers boats run every 20 mins in peak time and every half-hour for the rest of the day, the fares are reduced if you have a Travelcard and it takes only 40 minutes to get to the centre of London. What better way could there be of planning a day out using the Water Bus. You could plan an artistic journey by taking the Tate Boat to Tate Britain, a classical building overlooking the Thames at Millbank where the best of British Art from 1500 to the present day is housed. At the moment the Constable Exhibition is at Tate Britain until August 28th, which is a wonderful experience of the paintings of one of Britain?s best loved artists and from Sept 28th to Jan 7th there will be the largest and most important exhibition of paintings by Hans Holbein staged in the last 50 years.
The restaurant at Tate Britain is wonderful and there is a fantastic mural by Whistler on the wall. When you have seen this you can hop onto the Thames Clippers and travel down river to Tate Modern, which is housed in the old abandoned Bankside Power Station across the river from St Paul's Cathedral, which you can reach by crossing the Millennium Bridge.
Tate Modern is contemporarily challenging and the engine hall alone is awesome, like being in a very modern cathedral. At the moment there is an exhibition by Kandinsky until 1 October. From October 10th to April 1st Carston Holler will be filling the Turbine Hall with his art and will be encouraging visitors to participate in the artwork which should be a brilliant experience.
From February 15th to May 7th there will be the first major retrospective of the subversive artists Gilbert and George. By this time you may well be 'pictured out' but another experience would be to stop off at Waterloo Pier, next to the London Eye. Hop in the London Eye and take in the wonderful panoramic view of the City that has inspired so many artists.
Finally why not visit the Dali Universe Exhibition which is housed in the former home of the Greater London Council next to the London Eye. Four of Dali's famous sculptures have been sited along the river at this point such as the long legged Space Elephant and the dripping watch Nobility of Time.
This experience of the surreal may be just what you need to reflect on as you cruise homewards to the Royal Arsenal Pier.
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