…towering above its neighbours in so many views of London, the Shard is even more striking in its place by the Thames. For though hidden at times as the river curves sensuously through the city, it suddenly comes into sight and takes over its surroundings. Now a familiar part of the London landscape, its ever-changing reflections of London’s skies and clouds in its glass panels turn it into a dazzling ornament.
Seen from the London Eye: The Shard an unmissable part of London’s landscape
Yet, just as it’s visible from miles around, if you go up to The View on The Shard platforms, you can look out over London for up to forty miles in any direction. But before looking at the horizon, the first marvel is being able to look down at a model world beneath your feet including miniatures of the Tower of London; Tower Bridge; HMS Belfast; St. Paul’s Cathedral; the South Eastern railway lines and trains; and of course, the Thames.
There are unparalleled views along the river looking east towards Canary Wharf, the Thames Barrier and just beyond, into Essex and Kent.
Looking East you can see the river meandering to the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf, and just visible the silhouettes of the Thames Barrier piers
To the west you can see several of central London’s bridge crossings, Westminster, Pimlico, Chelsea, Battersea; the Lott’s Road power station; Fulham, and as far out as Surrey.
Views to the west include Pimlico, the Royal Hospital Gardens, Albert and Battersea BridgesThe Shard echoes the lines of Southwark Cathedral below
Believe it or not, after a short conversation on the concept, the basic elements of the Shard were simply sketched out on the back of a menu by architect Renzo Piano during a lunch with developer Irvine Sellar. Renzo had been immediately attracted to the site by the Thames, and to the idea of building by railway lines with their constant movement, energy, and links to elsewhere.
Seen from above the railway is a toy train set
In just a few moments he came up with a rough design that closely resembled the Shard as it is today. Sellar promised that if Renzo would put his signature to the design and sign up to the project, he would actually go ahead and build the Shard. He kept his promise but it was not a smooth ride as planning approval took a long time and funds dried up during the crash of 2008. However, the State of Qatar came to the rescue with substantial financial backing and, after dangerous and demanding work in sometimes very difficult conditions, the Shard was finally completed and opened by the Prime Minister of Qatar in 2012.
The Shard adds to London’s wonderful architectural contrasts
London’s skyline and the buildings that border the Thames have changed so much in the last few years not always for the better, and in many cases generations who grew up here, all with memories of their lives and experiences linked to the landscape, have been moved away, or lost their points of reference. There have been good restorations and conversions such as Sea Containers House, St. Katharine’s Dock, and Butler’s Wharf but also some ugly, unimaginative blocks. Canary Wharf and the City have distinctive and interesting buildings, some of them more attractive than others and I particularly like the Gherkin. However, when it comes to elegance and height, the sharp, edgy Shard really does take pride of place.
As night falls, a train crosses Cannon Street railway bridge
For further information on access and prices: https://www.the-shard.com/about
Helm at Tower RNLI Lifeboat Station and Casualty Care Trainer for the Thames
The tide was flowing fast upstream as I made my way down a ramp to the Tower RNLI Station on Victoria Embankment to meet Chris Walker. Kindly welcoming me during a break in his shift he led me to a table in the crew’s kitchen where the duty crew can cook something to eat and socialise but still be ready to launch within ninety seconds of a call.
Cleaning station lifeboat HURLEY BURLY ready for action
Chris engages with social media, giving a particular insight into the work of Tower RNLI and his part in it, often signing off a tweet with a virtual #TimeForACuppa. But this time he begins with a real one for us both. We feel the movement of the river with an occasional surge, sway or knocking sound caused by the wash of a passing boat as the station is built on a floating pier.
He tells me about the RNLI’s relationship with the river, explaining: “We have to pass a Local Knowledge Endorsement, an intricate test run by the Port of London Authority for all commercial river users. You get a real grilling but it’s vital to know the river intimately by studying the behaviour of the tides in open water, beneath the bridges, round the cofferdams and piers. Cofferdams are particularly challenging because the flow around them changes all the time.”
Turbulent waters at the Blackfriars Bridges
The crews learn to be wary of difficulties such as the turbulent water “bottlenecking” at the Blackfriars Bridges and a standing wave that appears on an ebbing tide caused by a shoal at London Bridge. Speed limits and the often shifting position of beaches and sandbanks have to be thoroughly learnt. And, as if to underline the point, Chris produces a comprehensive, six page, hand drawn revision map marking all the bridges, piers, Thames Tideway construction sites, moorings, boating bases, fuel barges and points of interest. Familiarity with these means that crews can react more swiftly and safely in an emergency.
HURLEY BURLY racing towards Blackfriars Bridge
Considering how long the Thames has been a place of danger, it is only recently that the RNLI set up stations along the tidal Thames. Before that, rescues were carried out by Police vessels. However, following reports into the tragic sinking of party boat the MARCHIONESS on August 28, 1989, when fifty-one people were drowned after the dredger BOWBELLE rammed and sank her near Southwark Bridge, it was decided that the RNLI should have a twenty-four hour presence on the Thames. In 2002 stations were set up at Teddington, Chiswick, Tower Pier and Gravesend; Teddington operating with volunteers summoned when needed as on coastal stations but Chiswick, Tower and Gravesend permanently manned by paid crew working on an organised shift basis. They are joined on station by a team of volunteer crew members, who stay there for the entire shift rather than responding to pagers. Tower has around sixty volunteers on its books and most volunteer for about two twelve hour shifts every month. This means that crews can plan their family lives and come in to work from outside London. In 2006 the Tower Pier station, retaining the name Tower, moved to where it is now by Waterloo Bridge.
Gear ready to put on at a moment’s noticeBoots to fit the crews
Chris explains that the RNLI crews were newcomers to a river community, many of whose families have been working on the Thames for over three hundred years. “As our members passed the tough Port of London tests, and so were put on equal terms with the commercial skippers, we were gradually accepted and respected by the long term river users.” And now they’re very much part of the river community involved with exercises alongside some of the many operators, including joint exercises with Cory tugs, practising the rescue of casualties from awkward places below deck.
Their rescue work covers a whole variety of incidents from people trapped on beaches by rising tides; passengers taken ill on cruise boats; industrial accidents on construction sites; pleasure boats in difficulties; saving people who have fallen into the river by accident, and sadly the recovery of those who, by design or by bad luck, haven’t made it. But like all those working in our Emergency Services and Armed Forces, they support each other through the darker moments.
But there are lighter moments too and time for camaraderie and joking between the Thames stations. “Chiswick is known as ‘the shallow end’; Tower as ‘shiny pier’; and Gravesend as the ‘deep end’. Yet in a crisis they immediately pull together with absolute professionalism. And their sympathy with all sea rescuers extends beyond our borders. On June 13, the duty crew stood silently in memory of three French SNSM (Sauveteurs en Mer) lifeboat crew members, drowned after their boat capsized during a rescue off the Breton coast near Les Sables d’Olonne.
Apart from his position as Helm, Chris Walker is also the Casualty Care Trainer for the Thames and holds regular RNLI training courses at the station. On Thursday, June 18, the session included: the use of immobilisation tools and stretchers, airway management, and the strapping of different kinds of fractures. Other training can include the use of three heavy practice crew dummies, all called ‘Bob’. Usually hanging dejectedly at the end of the station platform, they are placed in a variety of scenarios where crew members have to work out how best to effect and cary out a rescue.
The ‘Bobs’ hang their heads ready to play their part
HURLEY BURLY, the station lifeboat, was out with a crew on a training exercise during my visit, though as they were in constant radio contact, they would have been able to respond immediately in the case of an emergency. A class E Lifeboat, she was specifically designed for easy manoeuvrability; to cope with submerged detritus; and to weave between heavy traffic at speed. When Chris is on shift, he is at the helm and he knows her well.
HURLEY BURLY, an E class lifeboat specially designed to cope at speed with conditions on the Thames
Over his time on the Thames, Chris has become very much attuned to the moods of the river. “There is a palpable pulse, you can feel the pulse of the river and, under certain conditions you expect something to happen.” And he clearly loves working there. Though his work does have its difficult and sometimes tragic side, this is offset by the breathtaking beauty of the river both by day and at night. Seeing London’s buildings and bridges from water level “You get to discover things that no one else knows.”
HURLEY BURLY speeding past the Tower of London
Chris Walker, drawn to the sea and familiar with boats since childhood, has been involved with the RNLI since his first days of volunteering for the Helensburgh Lifeboat in Scotland. He came south to do his degree and still committed to saving lives at sea, volunteered for the Calshot Lifeboat in Southampton Water. He became a lifeboat trainer at the RNLI College in Poole and after a spell at Chiswick, further upstream on the Thames, came to take on the role of Helm at Tower. As well as his training and instructing role, he is also part of the RNLI Flood Rescue Team and an RNLI Instructor. In September 2018 he was delighted and proud to receive a Long Service Medal.
The crew of HURLEY BURLY carefully take a casualty to safety
On the alert for twenty-four hours every day of the year, London is lucky to have dedicated and experienced RNLI teams covering the tidal Thames. And Tower is its busiest station. Their ‘scores on the door’, since the station opened in 2002, accurate at the time of writing, show that they have had 7,760 call outs, or ‘shouts’ with 311 lives saved, meaning that their intervention has actually made the difference between life and death for the casualty. But the lives they have saved are not just human, a yellow sticky at the foot of their tally board records the rescue of a dog and a Harris hawk in difficulties earlier this year, both restored to their grateful owners.
Thank you to Chris Walker and all the RNLI crews who watch over the tidal Thames.
The crews of Tower RNLI watch over their section of the tidal Thames twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year
To learn more visit Tower Lifeboat Station and follow @RescueShrek and @TowerRNLI on Twitter
