Block or report Brennan Noailles
Wed 19th Jul 2017 at 6:00pm
Westminster Report written by Katie Welford
17 lovely summer school students saw St. Paul's, crossed the Millennium Bridge and visited Tower Bridge on an 8km run
Luckily this week was a little bit calmer for running - both because the LSE did not have any graduation sessions on and also there were no state visits from foreign royalty!
This week we headed east down Fleet Street to the beautiful dome at St. Paul's cathedral - one of London's greatest landmarks. Katie took possibly the worst group photo of the runners at this first stop, as it really isn't clear where you are....she probably needs to work on her photography skills...
After that it was a lovely run over the Millennium Bridge and then along the river to London Bridge, past the Mayor's Office to London Bridge. We managed a better snap here before heading over the bridge and enjoying some lovely views out over the river, before running through the Tower of London grounds.
We headed back west along the river path and then nipped up back to the LSE at Temple Station. It was a lovely evening for a run, being a bit cooler than last week and I hope everyone enjoyed the tourism!
Wed 28th Jun 2017 at 6:00pm
Westminster Report written by Adele Prince
On a perfect evening for a run, twenty tip top runners took to London's streets for a sociable jaunt, taking in some of our city's finest buildings and passing through two of our many green spaces.
It was great to see some of last week's runners returning and to see so many new faces, welcome!
For our second run at the LSE, we were pleased to have weather much more suited to hot-footing it through the city, having run through treacle last week in THAT HEAT! There was still talk of air-conditioning (sorry, we haven't got on the case and probably never will, being a country of cool greyness most of the year) and mention of the gym here being a bit too hot for comfort. Gym?! Who needs a gym when you have all these wonderful spaces to explore?! With everyone arriving promptly, we had time to do a brief warm-up before heading out towards Waterloo Bridge and the Embankment.
Our route was slightly different from last week, but still gave us the opportunity to grab a group photo near Big Ben (or Elizabeth Tower, if we're being pedantic; the bell that we hear on the six o'clock news is Big Ben) and outside Buckingham Palace. We took a more leafy diversion this time, through St.James's Park (still no pelican sighting) and over into Green Park. You will see in our photos that one of our runners forgot his PE kit but, undeterred and keen to join in, he still ran - kudos to you for running up front in jeans and not being put off!
With our runners being from all over the world, we had the chance to talk about running in different kinds of weather. Some were surprised to hear that we rarely have the challenge (or joy) of running in snow here in London and besides, everything pretty much grinds to a halt in this situation and sledging is the order of the day :) Having sampled the delights of running through our parks, people were asking about other green spaces. We touched on the edge of Hyde Park and, if you continue out of Green Park, you will find a vast park with lots of activities, such as boating, swimming in a lido (with swans!), a gallery and plenty of room to stretch your legs. Go a little further north and you will find Regent's Park, again with lots to do. If you feel adventurous, head out a bit further to:
Hampstead Heath, which is like being in the countryside, with the opportunity to swim in one of the ponds
Greenwich Park, with its observatory and rich maritime history (take the boat here, it's pretty special)
Leaving the leafy calm, we took on Piccadilly Circus (with a pause at Eros, to see if his arrow would reach us), then through the mayhem that is Leicester Square. Stepping up Long Acre, we took a sideways glance at Covent Garden and soon found ourselves back at our start point, for a good stretch.
Well done everyone, I look forward to seeing you again next week.
Wed 21st Jun 2017 at 6:00pm
Westminster Report written by Ed Field (he/him)
During the biggest heat wave since 1976, twelve cool runners took to the streets of central London, dodging though commuters and negotiating a path towards our city's finest landmarks.
Our group this week were from far flung places, such as Columbia, New York, Germany and Singapore, so our little bit of sunshine didn't faze them (though I was asked why we don't have air conditioning. Not sure how my advice to stand in the supermarket went down, but really, it's so refreshing!). We took the scenic route, weaving our way through flagging office workers, set on a path towards the train, past post-work drinkers, sipping cool spritzers and brushing by theatre-goers, gearing themselves up for an evening of slightly stifling West End entertainment. Along the Embankment and towards Trafalgar Square we ran, down The Mall, where we discussed whether British people walk on one side of the pavement (nope, it's every (wo)man for (her)himself here, though it would be marvellous if people did adopt a one-side policy wouldn't it?). Here we paused, taking some touristy photos and wondering if the Queen was having her dinner after a busy day in parliament.
Turning down Birdcage Walk, in the opposite direction to all those London Marathon runners back in April, we headed to Parliament Square ourselves, where we were suddenly at the front of a protest march, banners being waved towards us and the line of police, the many sides of London being encountered on this run! A quick Big Ben pic and we ran away over Westminster Bridge, to enjoy the Southbank. I felt very proud pointing out all the amazing buildings along the way, 'And we even have our own beach when the tide is low, look!' A quick gesture towards Tate Modern and a tip to go up to the viewing area in the new extension, incredible views can be seen in all directions, do it!
With everyone doing really well in this heat, we took on the Millennium Bridge towards St Paul's Cathedral and headed home and into some welcome shade, having covered 8 very sticky kilometres. Time to stretch and talk about next week. Most hands went up, so I look forward to seeing you again for some more speedy London exploration - I loved the suggestion of including a boat ride, but maybe we'll stick to pavements!
Thu 22nd Jun 2017 at 9:19pm
Looking forward to seeing you all again next week :)
Fri 23rd Jun 2017 at 2:04pm
looking good LSE