Old meets new

Brr, it was chilly today! Just my luck that it turned cold on the day that I was going on a walking tour of London. I was prepared though, had a warm coat and my woolly hat. This was a walking tour called 'Old meets new' and it was to have a look at some of the new architecture that is springing up in London - the Shard, the new 'cheese grater', the 'walkie talkie'. These buildings have not yet been finished, and already they have nick names.

We started off at St Andrews undershaft, a medieval church that was built in 1532 and has survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz. It stands incongruously amongst many of these new buildings, with the 'gherkin' just behind it - as seen in this photo. Just across the road is the famous Lloyds building, the clever inside out design by Sir Richard Rogers. This building was completed in 1986 and already it has Grade I listed status, the 'youngest' building ever to do so.

Out tour guide was very well informed, and he tried to be unbiased in his opinions on these new buildings but some, like 20 Fenchurch Street - more commonly known as the walkie talkie - he simply could not contain his dislike for this design.

For those of you who work in the city and see these building every day, they may be quite indistinct to you by now, but I found the tour fascinating and the new architecture very exciting and innovative. Here are some of the other buildings.