Deserted London - Shots of the Eerily Empty City

It’s a tough time to be a photographer, when everyone is supposed to be staying inside. We at Pixangle have temporarily suspended our face to face operations to avoid visiting clients and going into people’s homes. We’re carrying on with all virtual and digital work - CGIs, Virtual Staging, Lease Plans etc - but we do miss being out and about with our cameras, especially at such a time when London is virtually deserted and providing such incredible photographic opportunities!

Fortunately for all of us, urban photographer London Munchies has a day job with essential worker status, and he has taken the opportunity while out and about on his business in London to grab some shots. Behold, the eerie beauty of the deserted capital city!

London Bridge Station - Tooley Street Entrance

Leading straight up to London Bridge itself, Tooley Street is usually packed with commuters

Inside London Bridge Station

The 2017 stats had 131,000 passing through London Bridge station every day.

From London Bridge Underground To Overground

Massive amounts of development have taken place on London Bridge Station in recent years, and this tunnel linking the Underground and Overground stations still feels very shiny and new.

Hay's Galleria

Hay’s Galleria, just off Tooley Street, serves as tourist attraction, shopping centre, office space and a handy link through to the river walk. It’s usually bustling with activity throughout the day.

More London

More London is a development along the river, housing City Hall, The Scoop amphitheatre, many restaurants and shops and, of course, fantastic views across the Thames and of Tower Bridge.

The Scoop and The Shard

The Scoop puts on many performances for free throughout the year, attracting huge audiences, and the Shard is one of the premiere tourist sites in London, with up to 6000 people visiting every day, not counting tenants.

London City Hall

As of 2017 nearly a thousand people worked in London City Hall for the Greater London Authority, not including contractors.

Tower Bridge

It’s not every day you get a shot of London’s most photographed bridge with so little traffic

Shad Thames

Picturesque and partially cobbled Shad Thames is a photographer’s delight

Borough Market

You’d never know it from today’s shot, but 16 million people visit Borough Market every year. It’s both a wholesale and a retail market, and you can buy almost every kind of food you can imagine there.

Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market has a Harry Potter vibe at the best of times, but emptied out of all its people it looks more like a film set than ever.

The Bank of England

The buses are still running through the City and the Bank of England but is anyone on them?

Gants Hill Station

Gants Hill Station, in all its Charles Holden-designed, barrel-vaulted ceilings, is at its most impressive when empy

Gants Hill Station

Oh the symmetry.

Waterloo Station

Terry and Julie meet every Friday night… but not this Friday, with apologies to The Kinks. Under normal circumstances there are nearly 100 million exits and entries into Waterloo station every year, as one of London’s busiest rail stations.

Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge, devoid of traffic, heads over the river to The Strand, with Somerset House looming majestically on the right.

South Bank

Usually the runners have to duck and dodge the crowds on this stretch of the Thames - today they have a bit more freedom of movement!

Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank

What a perfect day for a glass of wine on the rooftop bar of the Queen Elizabeth Hall of the Southbank Centre. Alas, it is not to be.

South Bank

On the one hand, the pigeons are free to land and hang out for once. On the other, what will they eat with no tourists dropping food around?!

The London Eye

More than 3 million people go on the London Eye each year, and it is one of the UK’s most visited attractions.

Banks of River Thames

Westminster Bridge and County Hall

Empty roads, perfectly framed.

City of London Dragon Boundary Mark

These guys mark the boundary of the City of London, and bear the City’s coat of arms.

Police doing their best

Trafalgar Square

Fountains off, pigeons gone, and Nelson watches over the silence.

The National Gallery

2018 saw 1.5 million visitors to the National Gallery, which by the way is free and amazing, and everyone should go once it’s open again.

Leicester Square

No people, and no street entertainment and no pickpockets.

Chinatown

And, lastly, the closed shops and empty streets of Chinatown still manage to be pretty.

London Munchies travels the world in search of abandoned beauty and delicious local food. You can (and should) follow him on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/londonmunchies/?hl=en