The Shard

The most prominent of the many new spectacular buildings in London is The Shard. This skyscraper is shaped to resemble a gigantic shard of glass, and you get only one guess for what its main structural material is - yes, it's glass, and lots of it - enough to cover eight football pitches according to the trivia which entertains punters on the trip to the top of the building for a viewing. At more than 70 stories high it stands out on the skyline like the proverbial dunny on Ayer's Rock, and is apparently Europe's tallest building at present. It costs 25 quid to go up to the top and enjoy the view (more if you don't book a time slot in advance) but the view is outstanding. The Shard's location on the south bank of the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge means that it overlooks some of London's most famous landmarks, both old and new. The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and Boris's HQ at City Hall are just below, with St Paul's and the Eye in the near distance. The overground rail network below looks like a toy train set. We visited at 18:30 on a cloudy day, and the glass walls of the viewing area produce many reflections which make taking clear photos difficult, but hopefully the photos below give an idea of the views available.

Thames with HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge and City Hall

The Gherkin from the Shard

HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, plus office buildings

Young ladies with pointy glass

More Shard ladies

It's a long way down ...

Riggwelter beer

 Footnote: As I write this post, I am enjoying a really nice dark beer. There are many excellent beers in the UK, but this one has really captured my taste. I get it from a small off licence in Upper St,  run by a Turkish family, who I suspect are not members of the beer cognoscenti, nevertheless they have stocked a winner. The beer is called Riggwelter, a strong ale which comes from Yorkshire (Wensleydale to be more precise) and is from the Black Sheep Brewery. The etymology of "riggwelter" is apparently from the Old Norse: rygg - back and velte - to overturn. To quote the label "when a sheep is on its back and cannot get up without help, in local dialect it is said to be riggwelted". I've posted a picture of the attractive label, featuring a black sheep flat on its back with what looks like a grin on its face. I will speculate no further about the label design. But whatever, the beer tastes great.