Travel test

WHAT: The Illuminated River Project, London. The LED lights art installation spans nine London Bridges and is inspired by each one’s architectural heritage.

Created by American artist Leo Villareal – a pioneer of LED sculpture – it showcases London in an entirely different light.

WHERE: The installation runs from London Bridge to Lambeth Bridge including the seven in between, such as Millennium, Southwark and Blackfriars bridges. The lights are turned on at sunset and operate until 2am. It’s the longest public artwork in the world with the total length of the trail at 3.2 miles.

THE EXPERIENCE: You can view it on foot or, as I did, on an Illuminated River Official Boat tour (adults £12.50/children £8.50/ under-5s free at thamesclippers. com). The city takes on a new meaning from the river. Each bridge is beautiful with one-off designs. The intensity and patterning of the lights is set through sequencing.

Millennium features white lights that fade and subtly pulsate, while Southwark is lit from underneath to emphasise the elaborate lattice work. You’ll learn fascinating facts along the way too. Did you know a ‘keep left’ order imposed on an overcrowded London Bridge in 1722 became the rule for all our roads?

If following the trail on foot, you can download a fun map featuring major landmarks such as Borough Market and Lambeth Palace. It’s a one-stop shop for a tour of the River Thames and its surrounds (illuminatedriver.london).

A new audio guide describes each artwork with snippets of cultural, historical and social information.

During September the Totally Thames Festival will also be celebrating the completion of the artworks with guided tours, sketching workshops and talks.

VERDICT 9/10