Queen Victoria St and it’s surrounds hold a particular allure for me, mainly because of St Paul‘s Cathedral – my favorite London building. But with St Paul‘s dominating the area, it’s easy to overlook the areas other charms. Just off Carter Lane there is Wardrobe Place, named after the house that stood nearby that became the King’s Wardrobe during the reign of Edward III. On Carter Lane itself there is the Youth Hostel with a strange frontage, and at it’s end Carter Lane dissolves into a maze of streets around Pilgrim St & St Andrews Hill that give you a small idea of a forgotten London. Also of interest nearby is Postman’s Park which sits between King Edward St & Aldersgate St and is most well known for it’s public memorial to ordinary people who lost their lives saving others. But, some might think bizarrely, it isn’t any of these little gems that really hold my attention. Perhaps because I drive down this section of road so often (unlike a certain bridge nearby) I just love White Lion Hill. For those that don’t know this bit of road, it’s the slip road that takes you from Queen Victoria St (heading west) onto the last bit of Upper Thames St and onwards through Blackfriars Underpass to Victoria Embankment. 
It’s not pretty in fact, it’s downright ugly for the most part (see picture) but there is something in the way it sweeps you from Queen Victoria St, round the back of City of London School in a typically London way. Not pretty, not sentimental, just doing what it was put there for in the best way it can. But then, just as you turn past the enclosed playground of the school, you get a great view of the river. And sometimes, just occasionally honest, when the river is at it’s highest, you feel like you could forget to turn the wheel of the cab and just drive on into the Thames. Not in any desolate way, or in any attempt to shut up the annoying city boys in the back of the cab, but in a way that sees my cab becoming some kind of amphibious vehicle that can sail majestically down the Thames, cutting out the traffic and giving me the best views in town.
Here is the view that does it for me, click on the image to get a bigger photo, then go and have a look yourself, it’s very London and I love it.
Here are some links for further info……
Postman’s Park
St Andrew by the Wardrobe – brilliant name for a church
[...] and still magnificent. I’ve spoken about this area before, in what was one of my first ever blog posts, so won’t dwell on it too much. But if you do get off the train at Blackfriars, there is [...]
[...] Wardrobe Place, just around the corner from St Paul’s Cathedral this small cul-de-sac is named after the house that stood nearby and became the King’s Wardrobe during the reign of James III. Not much to look at now, but this small street is part of a maze of roads that give you a clue as to how the City was laid out before the Great Fire of London. You can read more about the area surrounding St Paul’s here. [...]