London according to Google

I have chosen to take a digital stroll through several key streets in the UK capital, London. The specific area that I will analyze is bounded by St. Margaret St./Abingdon St on the west, Bridge St. on the north, The Victoria Tower Gardens on the south and on the East by the Thames River. This area contains the Houses of Parliament and the London landmark, Big Ben.

This section of London is a kind of pie shaped plot narrowing as it moves south. There is little hint as to the imposing nature of the buildings from the sky. The width of the streets is the only clue that this is an important area.

Tracing from the northeast, the viewer glimpses Big Ben just before crossing over the Westminster Bridge. On the bridge, the full view of The Members of Parliament’s gothic architecture comes into the picture.

On the corner of Bridge St. and St. Margaret St., there are hordes of pedestrian traffic that flow into the grounds of the historic structure. From there, the virtual walk moves from St. Margaret St. to Abingdon St. as the street slants to the east. The road becomes less populated with pedestrians as it moves down to the Gardens.

If you cross the Thames, there is no view of the block in question from Google Maps street view. There are pictures submitted by users that include a riverside view, but no street gives an unobstructed view.

There is a break in the flow of street view photos in between St. Margaret St. and Abingdon St. This could be due to the unorthodox flow of traffic or the fact that access is limited to non-pedestrians. Whatever the case, it is far more difficult to navigate across the building from the west.