Thames Barrier

Thames Barrier

                                             

Perhaps the most peaceful – and desolate – spot in London. By the Thames Barrier, there's a visitors' centre with no visitors; it's an essential part of London's flood management with no witnesses. Forget Olympics redevelopment, the landscape here is stark and industrial. The entire area is decorated with barbed wire, handwritten signs and cranes. The river is a blank shade of taupe with slim waves of brown. It's uninviting until you reach the barrier itself, which is impressive, its huge steel gates rising nobly from the river. It's also worth a stroll for a couple of miles along the river from North Greenwich.