On Tuesday, 18 August, we will make our first visit to the ruins of St Alphage, at London Wall Place. Poor St Alphage only remains as three sides of its tower, with no ceilings, but there are a number of arches which offer an opportunity to suggest past and present, as they are surrounded by new offices. Alongside there is a good stretch of the original Roman wall, with public gardens and seating, and a little further along there is a ruined tower which is suggestive of the Tarot tower, as well as other odd bits of Wall and greenery. Lots of opportunity to work on the texture of the disintegrating flint and rubblework. The Corporation of London will probably have the drought situation under control so the landscape planting will be looking nice. There are trees and shade. Details of St Alphage can be found here. This includes a map.
We may also be able to get access to the St Alphage Highwalk, a pedestrian flyover. There are apparently steps in the St Alphage section of the Highwalk. We are not sure if the Highwalk is open or not, that depends on the state of new office building in the area. If open, it offers interesting aerial views.
We will meet at 11 o'clock by the remains of St Alphage which are unmissable if you are on the right section of the main road London Wall (between Moorgate and Wood Street). The nearest tube station is Moorgate, about a 5 minute walk away. Many buses will pass close by. There is a cafe/restaurant alongside, Barbie Green, with chairs outside so it will (hopefully) be possible to have a cup of coffee there and use the loo. The cuisine is no doubt delicious, but can get expensive quite quickly. The menu can be seen here , some of us will probably wish to bring a picnic.
As always, bring your sketching stools, there are benches but they will not always be where you exactly want to be.
Sue's telephone number for the day will be: 07975 864 142.
