But what is that ahead of us, glistening in the sun? Why, it is our first glimpse of “Old Father Thames”! Chelsea Embankment follows that world-renowned river, and it is relaxing to drive through this tree-lined avenue to Millbank. There, to our left, is the Tate Gallery, one of London’s finest art museums.

Lambeth Bridge to St. Paul’s

We now cross the Thames, riding over Lambeth Bridge. Before us is Lambeth Palace, official London residence of the archbishop of Canterbury. Attention may be focused on its Lollards’ Tower. Why is it so called? Well, it was named after the Lollards, followers of the 14th-century Bible translator John Wycliffe. Equipped with handwritten English translations of parts of the Bible, they spread across the countryside preaching to all who would listen. Vehemently opposed by the established church, often they were arrested and imprisoned​—some say in this very tower.

Looking across the Thames, we see the stately Gothic facade of the Palace of Westminster, better known as the Houses of Parliament. This building is just over 120 years old, but the Abbey standing behind it dates back to the 11th century.

Passing Westminster Bridge and the County Hall, general offices of the Greater London Council, we cross Waterloo Bridge, skirting the Royal Festival Hall and other South Bank concert halls. Across the Thames once more, we reach Aldwych, which is the Anglo-Saxon term for “old village.”

Ahead of us is the substantial descendant of the nursery rhyme topic​—London Bridge. Reportedly, a bridge was standing here in 43 C.E. But it was the fifth bridge constructed here that is remembered in the words, “London Bridge is broken down!” You see, the severe winter of 1281 brought great chunks of ice down the Thames, causing five of the arches to give way. Until 1738 this was London’s only bridge, but Parliament then consented to the building of a second bridge, at Westminster.

Turning up Tooley Street, we pass through a compact area of warehouses and emerge at Tower Bridge, a truly grand sight. Opened in 1894, this half-mile- (.8-kilometer-) long structure has two hinged bascules, each weighing 1,000 tons. To allow passage of ships, these are raised in just one and a half minutes. Crossing the bridge, to the left we see one of Britain’s oldest and most celebrated fortresses, the Tower of London.

Queen Victoria Street leads us back to the Thames again. To your right are the Temple Gardens, land that once belonged to the Knights Templars. They were a 12th-century religio-military order whose original interest was guarding the roads and protecting pilgrims journeying to the “holy places” in Jerusalem. The order was dissolved in 1312 and the property went to a body of lawyers. On this land were built the schools of law: the Inner Temple, Lincoln’s Inn and others. Barristers and lawyers still have their “chambers” here.

The ships moored alongside the Embankment have attracted your attention. Most picturesque is the vessel last in line, the three-masted bark-rigged whaler that is now a floating museum. This is the famous “Discovery” commanded by Captain Robert Falcon Scott on his 1901 expedition to the South Pole.

Passing beneath Waterloo Bridge, watch for the slender granite obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle.