London Bridge is falling down, so goes the children’s rhyme, and it’s true that, by 1965, the bridge was being hammered deeper into the bed of the River Thames with every rush hour. Built for horse-drawn carriages, modern cars and double-decker buses were taking such a toll on the iconic crossing that the Bridge House Estates Committee of the City of London Common Council knew the time had come to demolish the old and build new, to serve the needs of the modern commuter.
Council member and former PR guru, Ivan Luckin, suggested selling the bridge in the US, and news of the sale of this well-known London landmark spread far and wide. Buyers would not only purchase the structure itself, but also own a slice of history – bridges have crossed this part of the Thames since Roman times.
Exactly how millionaire inventor RP McCulloch and his business partner Cornelius Vanderbilt “CV” Wood heard about the sale, is a matter of debate, but on 18 April 1968 the $2.46m sale contract was signed, and London Bridge was taken down, stone by stone, and shipped to the US, Lake Havasu in Arizona.
Lake Havasu City calls itself Arizona’s playground. 300 days of sunshine every year, this city in the desert offers boating, biking, hiking, golfing, off-roading, rock-climbing – everything you need for a full-throttle desert adventure – against the iconic backdrop of one of the most famous bridges in the world: London Bridge.
The scenery is simply stunning. Rough and rugged mountains, scenic canyons and access to more than 60 continuous miles of waterways offer adventure pretty much year-round. Accommodation ranges from 5* Arizona hospitality  in a hotel or motel, or a rented condo, to one of the numerous desert campsites to park your RV or pitch your tent.
Dining options in Lake Havasu are varied, and some venues offer views of London Bridge. American, Mexican, Italian and Asian cuisine features as you might expect, but the international taste offerings of Cuba and Peru, Greece, India and Ireland are also on offer.
With more than 300 events year-round in Lake Havasu City, from hot air balloons to jet-ski acrobatics, concerts to charity walks, there is plenty to see and do in this desert city. Around three quarters of a million tourists visit the city every year.
Most bizarre perhaps, is the opportunity to cross London Bridge in its new home. Reconstruction finished in October 1971, almost a decade after Lake Havasu was founded, and the bridge was formally dedicated in a ceremony attended by a crowd of more than 50,000 American and British spectators.
The bridge is next to the English Village, an open-air mall and convention centre that has similarities to some quaint British towns, but as if re-imagined by Walt Disney. True, there is a red phone box and you can visit the Hog in Armour Pub but the real British bastion is the re-homed London Bridge. Â Visitors can walk around, under and over the structure, a half-mile tour, and discover more about the deconstruction and subsequent reconstruction of this iconic crossing way.
Once connecting the City of London with Southwark, London Bridge now connects England with a patch of desert more than 5,000 miles away, Lake Havasu City.
