The Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe

Visited two of the most extraordinary museums today, the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe, and the Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret at St. Thomas' church.  This has been the most difficult entry to choose an image for in the three week trip.  I'll add additional images to Flickr when I get the time.

We met a guided walking tour at Bermondsey tube station at 10:45 a.m.  Our guide, Tim (an actor and singer, said he'd been in the movie Four Weddings & A Funeral), was absolutely wonderful.  Our walk took us from the tube station down to the river Thames, along Bermondsey Wall and a short route to the Brunel Museum at Rotherhithe.  It wasn't a long walk but there were many stops to look at fascinating things and learn lots of history.  If I'd thought of it I'd have taken notes!  

On arriving at the Brunel Museum we waited in a sunny square next to a pump house (part of the museum) for our turn to descend into the tunnel shaft of the Thames Tunnel.  I really wasn't sure what to expect.  First of all we had to climb over a wall, in front of us was a round structure which really gave nothing away.  There was a very small opening in the wall of the structure which meant we had to stoop and shuffle through it and along a narrow passageway into darkness... It took a minute to adjust and the guy in front of me said: Don't stand up!  

After my eyes adjusted to the darkness I found I was right at the (current) roof line of the shaft, standing on a scaffolding stairway, the drop clearly visible through the metal platform!  Knowing I couldn't dither as folks were coming in behind me I started to carefully make my way down the scaffolding stairway to the concrete "raft" built across the tunnel shaft.  There's no longer access to the tunnel via the shaft as the tunnel is in use by the East London Railway, connecting Wapping on the north side of the Thames to Rotherhithe on the south.

Rows of seats were arranged in a semi-circle on this "raft" and was the stage for Tim's lecture on the construction and history of this pioneering tunnel.  Absolutely fascinating stuff!  Once the lecture was over I hung back a bit as I wanted to take a few photographs and didn't want be in the crush on the scaffolding with the other visitors!

Once back into the bright sunshine it was definitely time for some lunch.  Nearby was the Mayflower pub, at the back a deck overhung the Thames and as luck would have it we bagged a table on a busy Sunday lunchtime!  I'd managed to go this whole trip without eating any fish & chips but gave in and enjoyed some for lunch.

Our next stop was the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at St. Thomas' church in Southwark.  Our walk from Rotherhithe to Southwark took us past Butler's Wharf, then along Bermondsey St. which was a hip neighborhood full of gastro pubs and boutiques, very interesting to see this area transformed.  We also passed the Shard, one of the new skyscrapers on the London skyline.

We reached the church where we found a small doorway with a few small signs directing us up a very narrow and well worn stone spiral stairway to the church tower.  Several spirals up we came to a door and stepped into another world!  It was like something out of the pages of Harry Potter.  The operating theater was just as intriguing and also somewhat spooky, the thoughts of early medicine and surgery made me feel rather uneasy!  The cases of surgical instruments adding to that sensation.

It was a really excellent day, full of amazing facts, history, and sights.  I highly recommend both places if you are ever in London.