21 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

"Tardis" at Earl's Court Station

First item on the agenda today — a dry run from Earls Court to Euston Station to see if we are likely to encounter any obstacles on the way. Outside Earls Court we noticed the Tardis had dropped in — don't know how we had missed it earlier! Leaving Earls Court at 9:20, we reached Euston about half an hour later. There are about 3 escalators which may slow us down a little, but all looks good for tomorrow. Celebrated with a coffee and a Pain au chocolat at Euston!

Suzie in Regent's Park

Butterfly

Tropical Bird

From Euston, we decided to walk down Euston Road to Regent's Park and then walk up to the London Zoo to spend a little time there. It's an old zoo, not very large in area, but it does a lot with what it's got. We were there for about 4 hours, only ducking under cover for lunch when a shower came through.

Flamingos at London Zoo

As we were about to leave, happened on a demonstration of carnivorous birds — buzzards, vultures, kestrels, free-flying and showing off their hunting techniques. Fascinating.

Stall at market

We then decided to catch the tube to Camden Town. Good decision! We walked right into the Camden Town Markets, which have a totally different feel from any we've been to before — a lot of alternative culture, tattoos, you name it we saw it. And at the end is the Camden Lock, one of the locks on Regent's Canal. We watched a few boats pass through the lock, then wandered back to the tube station.

Boat & Bridge at Lock

The next station in on the Northern Line is Mornington Crescent. If you've ever heard the old BBC game show "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" you will understand the temptation (which Warren resisted) to get off, go outside, and take a photo of it!

Got back to the Hostel at about 5pm. Tonight we need to pack, because we need to get to Euston Station, bags and all, in time to catch the 10:30am train to Preston.

20 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

Raining. Warren decided to remain at the Hostel and rest his feet while the enterprising Suzie set off on her own. Here's her day...

As it was a wet day, Suzie decided not to take a camera, so this is a text-only blog entry!

The aim was to get to Harrods by 11:30, its Sunday opening time, and then go to floors 3 and 4 which specialise in toys and children's clothing. Walked back along Cromwell Road and Queens Gate. In Kensington Gardens, walked around the back of the Albert Memorial and down to the Physical Energy Statue and towards Lancaster Gate and the Fountains in the Italian Garden, then along the edge of the Long Water (the continuation of the Serpentine in Hyde Park), past the Peter Pan statue, past the Serpentine Gallery. Left Kensington Gardens turning left into Kensington Road towards Knightsbridge and Harrods in Brompton Road. It was raining hard at this time. Queues outside Harrods waiting for the opening time, so Suzie had a late breakfast/early lunch at a Paul outlet, then across the road to Harrods only to find crowds still milling about outside, the doors closed -- closed for Easter Sunday!

As the rain had ceased, Suzie decided to walk back to the hostel via Cromwell Road, and arrived back at about 1 o'clock. A most enjoyable walk, even though the prime aim was not achieved.

The high street shops were all closed or closing, so we relaxed at home with the first two episodes of "Musketeers" before calling it a day ... oops, night!

19 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

The Horse Guards in Hyde Park

At the Serpentine

We were going to do Hyde Park tomorrow, when Speakers Corner is in full flight, but rain is predicted, so we went there today. Took the tube to Hyde Park Corner, then went into the park, walked along the Serpentine, watching the Horse Guards go by, visiting the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain — even if you're not into memorials, it's a fascinating piece of art in its own right — and enjoyed the sights. A beautiful spring morning! Crossed the bridge at The Ring, so only circumnavigated half of the Serpentine.

At the bridge we found the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, which had an interesting exhibition of shelving from the past 50 years. Some of the exhibits were very innovative, all of them were works of art in their own right. One was even from the Ikea range. The building itself, the Magazine, used to be a munitions store during the Napoleonic wars, but its present use as a gallery is far more user-friendly.

While on the topic of the Napoleonic Wars, we then returned to where we had entered the park and went into Aspley House, the Mansion of the Dukes of Wellington. Purchased by the first Duke of Wellington from the Aspley family in 1817, it contains his art collection and all the honours that were showered on him after his defeat of Napoleon. A truly impressive exhibition. My only regret is that the protective varnish applied to all the oil paintings has darkened substantially over the years, and all the paintings could do with judicious cleaning and restoration.

We then walked down Knightsbridge and Brompton Road to Harrods. Didn't spend long there — it's a huge rabbits' warren, very disorienting, and not the ideal place for someone who doesn't like shopping for the sake of shopping — i.e. Warren! We decided to leave, and Suzie will go back there on her own tomorrow (when it presumably will be raining).

Had lunch at a Paul shop just opposite Harrods, then walked to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Went through a few sections. Warren found a delightful Japanese bowl with a couple of rabbits on its lid dating from the early 1870s.

Royal Albert Hall

The Albert Memorial

We then went on to the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial. Suzie just burst into laughter at the extreme extravagance and maudlin sentiment of the whole edifice. But it is magnificent in its own way.

The Albert Memorial is only about a mile from our digs and, at about 3.30pm we decided to make our way home and put our feet up. On the way back, we just happened on a little church we didn't know was only one block from our hostel.

18 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

Couldn't resist giving you a glimpse of the view from our window. There's a private garden just outside, and the birds do a pretty creditable dawn chorus!

St Paul's dome

Good Friday — Bank Holiday. Shops open, but businesses and financial institutions closed. Started off the day at St Paul's. Didn't go inside this time as we didn't want to interfere with the services. Went into a Starbucks nearby where Warren uploaded Thursday's blog entry. Then we went for a long and lazy stroll through "the City", the business square mile of London. It was cold and windy and eerie, because none of its usual inhabitants were in sight.

Lloyds Building

Aldgate

Wandered down Cheapside, past St Mary-le-Bow church (the Bow Bells), the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange, St Michael's Church, Leadenhall Market (not operating today, but spectacular neverthless -- it was Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), round past the Lloyds buildings, various other churches, a queer structure marking where the original Aldgate used to be.

The Gherkin

Wandered further, near the "Gherkin" — the Swiss Re building (2004) — and went into St Helen's Bishopgate, a delightful little church. Services had just ended, the lights were going out and the little place was being put to sleep, but we still had time to look around at the memorials peppering the rear wall, and the rather interesting tomb of Sir Thomas Gresham (died 1579).

The Globe Pub

Decided it was nearing lunchtime, so we went to Liverpool Street station. Decided the eateries there were not that appetising, so adjourned to the Globe pub on Moorgate, near London Wall, for lunch. Shared a delicious Cottage Pie and vegetables for two, Warren washing his down with a pale ale!

After lunch, realised the Museum of London was not far along London Wall, so went there for a historical fix. It's a well-appointed museum, with a plethora of exhibits from prehistory up to the present, but all associated with the City of London and its environs. One interesting display was a set of windows looking outside to where a remnant of the original London Wall still stands.

London Wall remnant

We had just about walked our feet off by now and, as it was already getting into the late afternoon, we decided to call it a day and return to our digs to put our feet up. Another very full day!

Because Sunday is supposed to be wet, we've decided to bring forward to tomorrow our wander through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, visiting on the way Aspley House and probably Harrods.

17 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

First task for the morning — get our passport photos (which Warren took last night in the room) printed up on the high street. Cost us £16, but we got 4 of each. Took all of 15 minutes!

Warren at breakfast

Suzie in the courtyard

Decided to start the morning at Covent Garden. Tip to young players — nothing in London really gets started until after about 10am, so the markets had not really hit their speed when we got there. Wandered around, had a cuppa and toast for breakfast, watched a street juggler, then started wandering the streets towards the Strand. There are some really tranquil little hideaways in London. Went into the courtyard of St Pauls Church, Covent Garden — a lovely little garden with benches along the footpath where you can just sit and relax.

We made our way down to Charing Cross Station, where we organised our Two-for-one card and booked our tickets to Preston on Tuesday. Another tip for young players — book any Britrail tickets early, as you might find the choices dwindle dramatically towards the date of travel. There were only first-class tickets remaining for our trip (not that we're complaining), but the ⅓ off with the Two-for-one deal, meant they were still quite reasonable.

Dragon on Thames Embankment

Tasks done for the day, we then went for a long walk along the Victoria Embankment to the Millennium Bridge, where we crossed over to the Tate Modern. On the way, we walked through the Victoria Embankment Gardens, where Suzie was entranced by the displays of tulips. Suzie, on this walk, commented that London is a Cardiac Nurse's paradise, in that the overweight person is an absolute rarity. Unfortunately, the same positive comments cannot be made about smoking.

Panorama of Millennium Bridge (The Shard at the centre, Tate Modern to the right)

St Pauls and Millennium Bridge from Tate Modern

Suzie on escalator
in Tate Modern

The Borough Market

After dropping in to the Tate Modern — didn't stay long, mainly because of rapidly decreasing blood sugars — we walked just past Shakespeare's Globe to Pizza Express on New Globe Walk, where we had a delicious Fiorentina Pizza that really hit the spot. Then continued our walk towards the Golden Hinde replica and Southwark Cathedral. Were surprised at the number of people sitting in he grounds eating delicious lunches. Got the answer when we walked a little further and found ourselves in the Borough Market. Not nearly as well known as Covent Garden, but absolutely fascinating. It nestles beneath the London Bridge railway network, and is a hive of activity.

Starting to get weary. Wandered down to HMS Belfast, and a little further. Took photos of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, but decided to leave these for another day — at least we visited these properly last time, in 2008! Walked back to the London Bridge tube station, and made our way back home to the hostel. Settled down to start watching the current (2005 and onwards) series of Doctor Who and, lo and behold, in the first episode, the Doctor and Rose were on the Thames Embankment beside the very police call phone I photographed this morning.

16 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

Today decided to start off at Trafalgar Square and work our way via St James Park to Wellington Arch (another English Heritage site). A beautiful spring day, staring off coolish but warming up nicely.

At Trafalgar Square we pottered around marvelling at the number of tourists. Went across the road to a coffee shop to wait for the National Gallery to open at 10am, when we went in for about an hour — nowhere near enough time to do it justice. We spent our time dipping superficially into the later collections, 18th century and onwards, with some time spent with our favourite impressionists (Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne). There's not enough time to do it anything near justice, but we will be returning to London later on, and definitely will be giving the National Gallery a lot more time!

We then walked down to Victoria Station (finding a little shop with Cornish pasties on the way). Checked what we need for our journey to Preston. We were going to get Seniors Railcards, £30 each, which would give us 1/3 off any Brit-Rail journeys. Found however that there's a new card, a Two Together card, wherein you can get two rail tickets for the same 1/3 discount — not age restricted, and only one card required to get the two of us the benefit. Seeing we'll always be travelling together, this is better value for us than the Seniors Card! Little problem — it needs a passport photo of each participant, which I didn't have at the time. [Solved this by taking a couple of passport shots for ourselves in the room, which we will get printed by a photofinisher tomorrow, after which we can arrange our tickets!]

Wellington Arch

From the station, we walked about half a mile to Wellington Arch. Spectacular, and there's a little museum inside which had a display relating how the automobile has changed the British landscape. Fascinating! Marvellous views from the top — got a wonderful shot of the cars waiting at the traffic lights at the western end of Constitution Hill — because of the effects of the Congestion Tax (£8 per day for private vehicles), it was a cohort of taxis!

Went back to the Hostel, to find two workmen installing mirrors in our room. Looks like you only have to make a comment, and action is taken! We're also having trouble with the WiFi connectivity in our room — looks like an antenna is out of action — and the hostel has contacted the supplier for action. Hope it will be functional tomorrow!

Tonight's meal, courtesy of Marks and Spencer (and Susie's little trip down to the high street), was Chicken in red wine sauce for Warren and Lancashire hotpot for Susie. Non-frozen reheatable meals, tasty! (We have a microwave just outside our room — very convenient.) And to follow this, fresh fruit.

15 Apr 2014. <GB-ENG> London —

Today we set off to walk from Earls Court to Shepherds Bush, to the huge Westfield shopping mall that was under construction when we were here last in 2008. It's huge, and we believe the largest Westfield complex anywhere. All of the big fashion houses are there, and lots more. Found an O2 store where we bought SIM cards for our phones. We now have the UK mobile numbers 07548 320429 or Warren and 07548 323048 for Sue. Wandered the shops, then settled in for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Didn't really need to to this to get free WiFi, as the entire complex has it. Sent off a few emails and updated our Blog while sitting there.

Waterhouse Square

Then we had a mission — we had decided to join English Heritage while we were here, so went to the head office in Waterhouse Square, just near the Chancery Lane tube station. It just happens to be in an English Heritage building, where Charles Dickens once had rooms! Met this lovely person, Joan, who welcomed us warmly, but had to let us know that she didn't handle memberships from there — but she did point us to James at the Jewel Tower, the nearest English Heritage site where we could sign up. James said he would wait for us with a welcoming cup of coffee — an offer too good to refuse. So, taking our leave from Joan, we wended our way by tube to Westminster Station, and then walked the short distance to the Jewel Tower, where James made us feel no less welcome. After filling out the forms, over a lovely cup of coffee, we went to wander about the Jewel Tower while James finished off the paperwork. When we finally came down, all was ready, and we got our membership paraphernalia and took out leave. All in all, a very congenial time. The Jewel Tower (dating from about 1365), by the way, is one of the few remaining parts of the original Palace of Westminster, as most of the Palace was destroyed by fire in 1834. It's not such a well-known attraction — the whole of the Westminster area was crowded with tourists, but we had time and space to wander the Jewel Tower in peace.

The Jewel Tower

Susie in Jewel Tower

Warren's a bit footsore. Checked out his sneakers and found that the heel padding in the left shoe has given up the ghost. Went into a chemist and bought a pair of heel inserts which should make the shoes a little more comfortable. When you plan on walking for two years, you had better take care of those feet!