London on a Sunday, the last day of an English Summer

The guest blogger from yesterday has handed the reins back to me.  This snap from yesterday shows he has been around a while.  At this establishment anyway.  (Pawn brokers!)

Of course London is famous for many things, the old red telephone boxes being one of them.

There are still heaps of them about, (have not seen one being used though), but modern times have caught up.  There are now plenty of black ones about which are WiFi hotspots.

Our night out last night to see the Lion King was great.  A short walk to our station, then virtually out the door of Covent Garden Station, around the corner and our Theatre was there.  

A predinner drink at The Coach and Horse, then off to the show.  The Lyceum Theatre holds 2100 people and it was full.

The show was great, even though we were up in nosebleed territory.

Our station wasn't open to take us home, (due to works), so around another corner to Leicster Square with thousands of others.  All the Theatres around here and it was a Saturday night.  Crowds everywhere.  Good train trip back.

This morning, we decided we would rock up for the 11.00 Fat Tyre Bike Tour around London.  It was meeting just near our station. As we were the only ones who rocked up, they asked if we would join the 3.30 tour as they had quite a few already booked.  Yep, no worries.

So we tootled off for a walk around Kensington Park (just at the end of our street.  This really is a fantastic location.  Thanks Tabi.)

We also took in Kensington Palace.  

This has been the home to many a Royal dating back to the 1670s (William). His wife, Queen Caroline, had 17 pregnancies but only 1 lived past infancy, and he died at age 11.  Their being no heir (who wasn't Catholic) a distant cousin (George 1) was invited to come over from Hanover (Germany) to be King.  This began a long line of George's to live at Kensington Palace (including the current little one, belonging to Wills and Kate).  

Some impressive rooms and gardens to be seen here.

Russell on the King's Grand Staircase.

The King's Gallery below

Below, after a big night out in the Palace!

The Queen's Bedroom (not the current one, though.) the current Royal apartments are. OT open for public viewing.  These are from the oldies.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria outfits.  She was a shortie.  About 4ft 10

Of course, This was the home of Princess Dianna.  Some of her dresses are on display.  Dianna lived her until her untimely death, 17 years ago today!

Because it is the anniversary of her death, there were plenty of people at the Royal Gates commemorating the occasion.

Stunning Garden, titled the Sunken Garden.  Gardners do a great job here.

Selfie.

So later in the day, we joined our bike tour around London.  Much of it was through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park (which is next door), but it took in the Royal roads right into the middle of London.

Now Kensington Gardens covers quite a massive area.  When King William had Kensington Palace built, he chose the location because it was away from the city.  He had asthma/respiratory issues and wanted the fresh air away from the city. This stretch right into Buckingham palace is the garden.  

It is used by everybody for recreational purposes.  Being a Sunday and a fine day, there were thousands upon thousands of people enjoying this vast area.

The Duke of Wellington is well respected for his defeat of Napoleon Bonepatre in the Battle of Waterloo.  After leaving the gardens, his memorials greet you as you enter the traditional centre of London.  He used to live at number 1.

On with our ride to Buckingham Palace.  The benefit of doing our ride today (on a Sunday)

is that the Royal roads are closed (every Sunday and special occasions).  Our bonus.  Not having to deal with too much traffic is great.

Looking backwards from the bike at BP

Selfie!

These guys weren't guarding Buckingham Palace.  This was only Clarence House.  (Home of Charles and Camilla).

Pretty boring photo below really, but just to the right is the rear of #10 Downing Street.  Underneath is the Cabinet war rooms (which is now a fascinating museum which we will visit tomorrow). It is also the site where they held the Beach Volleyball during the Olympic Games!

We rode around the corner and then we were in Trafalgar Square.  A little further on and we got different views of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

Our guide Rhys, who is Australian, explained the attempt to blow up Parliament by Guy Faux way back.  His explanation of how he was executed (hung, drawn and quartered) was pretty graphic!

The majestic Westminster Abbey.

We headed back to the Royal roads, where we stopped for a short break.  A local cold beer (London Pride) and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (£10.50!!!). Expensive city!  Should have had the cup of tea.  That is usually under £2.

Through a quiet inner city street.

Into St James Park.

Some of the local wildlife.  Squirrels everywhere.  Just like those damn possums Janet!

Back past  Buckingham Palace with impressive Royal gates.

Beautiful gardens everywhere.

Along back through Hyde Park, Serpentine Road and the lake used for the Trialthlon leg during the Olympic Games.  A very pretty location.

Once again, we have had a great day.  Doing a cycle tour is such a great way to see a city.  The commentary from our guide was fantastic, they know the best ways to go to avoid most traffic and a pretty good at adding some humour.  Well done Fat Tyre Bike Tours.  We look forward to doing another in Barcelona next week.

Bye for now.  

Saturday 30 August

Today's guest blogger is Robbo. I know some of you will be disappointed and I could not be informative as Leanne, but I will try my best.

The trip could be subtitled "Tours of the smallest bathrooms of the world". They are so small that you have to open the door to burp. Well it is not the burping that you have to worry about though. Me only, of course.

Today we walked everywhere! We started through Kensington Gardens which then lead into Hyde Park.

There were heaps of people running, walking and riding. It was very pleasant indeed.

Leanne is standing outside Marble Arch which is at the north east corner of Hyde Park.

Then it was off to do some shopping along Oxford Street and the rest of the Monopoly board. Below is Regent Street.

We decided to try and get tickets to The Lion King tonight and we were in luck, but looking at the seating plan I think we are seated somewhere between Manchester and Edinburgh. No wonder they were cheap. I will need my hearing aid working well tonight!

We bought a few things but Selfridges was too dear for us. There were people everywhere throughout the day. We are having a short rest now (5pm our time) before we take a ride on the Tube to Coventry Garden Station which leaves a very short walk to the Lyceum Theatre. It is only a 5-10 minute stroll to Bayswater Station. This is a great location and handy to everything.

Above is Picadilly Circus which is right next to the West End where all the theatres are located. I counted about 20 musicals to choose from. Leanne will provide the review of the show tomorrow.

Not too many photos today as they would have mainly been of cash registers in shops.

A day in London

The day started with a journey from Bayswater Station to Westminster Station, 8 stops away on the Circle line.  Getting to know your way around the Underground is an important step in seeing the sights of London.  It is a huge city with a huge population.  Have to say that the Underground system is fantastic (although not all stations are disability friendly as some only have stairs).

We walk out of the station at Westminster and our view was this below.

Big Ben (or as it is called now "The Queen Elizabeth 11 Tower).  Better photos to come, but this was literally the first sight outside the station.

It was less than 100m to the entrance of Westminster Abbey.  We did have to wait a little while to get in and it was before 10am.  Photography is not permitted in the Abbey, so the only photos are the outside.

Now we have seen one or two impressive churches already, but this one is pretty special.  The present building began in 1245, although the site was used by Benedictine Monks in 960.  In 1066, the first recorded Coronation took place in the Abbey, that of William the Conqueror.  Since then, it has become the home of British coronations, the last being QE 11 in 1953.  Through the centuries, it has been the burial site for Kings and Queens, and any body who was anybody.  There are monuments, crypts, dedications to a huge number of other "important" people,  like Charles Darwin, Sir  Isaac Newton, Lord William Wilberforce, even writers, like Jane Austen, C S Lewis, Poets like Keats, and composers like Handel.

It was the location for Princess Dianna's funeral, as well as the Queen Mother, and recently, the wedding of Will and Kate.

While it is home to an incredible line of England's history, it is still a living Church.  That is, it is a place of daily worship and prayer, every hour, there is a minute of silence and all visitors are asked to respect this by pausing.

It is a fascinating history, and made interesting by the individual audio commentary to guide you through.  

Next stop was to cross the Thames, past the Houses of Parliament and to the London Eye

The area around the London Eye was very busy.  It is still school holidays here. Kids go back on Monday after 2 months break.  People everywhere, but lots of other things happening like buskers, entertainers and these statuettes ( they stand incredibly still and move unpredictably or do robotic movements.)  Pretty amazing.

It was then onto the London Eye for incredible views over London.  

Looking toward Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament below.

Buckingham Palace in the distance in amongst the trees.

On top of London!

Now I am not great with heights, but this was fantastic.  A very smooth ride.  Very popular tourist attraction even after 14 years.  With view like these, it's not hard to see why.

After our sky high view, we walked back to the other side of the Thames, past Downing Street, lots of Police about.  

Past the Household Cavalry, (Russell says every household should have one)

On to Trafalgar Square

Then back across the Thames for a river cruise. This was a good way to get another view of the city sights.  Below is the Tower Bridge.

And the Tower of London (where the other Crown Jewels are kept!).

A Police helicopter hovered over us for quite some time.  When we got home, the lead story on the news was the new terror alert for the UK and the city has been put on the second highest security alert.  Wonderful!

A good day concluded with a train back to Bayswater.  Pretty weary by this stage so a quick visit to the local supermarket to grab something for dinner.  Bread, tuna and chicken salads and Spanish red.

Cheers and goodnight.