London in a Day

The London Bridge from the Clipper

We teamed up with Steve and Nancy for the final day of our four-month journey... for the Viking scheduled walking tour of Greenwich in the morning, and then to explore London on our own. Noting a few painfully slow walkers in our group, and knowing how much there was to see in London, we ditched the tour and hopped on the Clipper up the Thames. Quite unexpectedly, while cruising, the sun peaked out and patches of blue sky appeared. We were happy about our decision and excited about the day.

With the waters almost at low tide, the Thames had a strong seaward current, reminding us of the York River flow back in Maine that changes back and forth. Architecture along its banks varied from ancient to ultra-modern.

We hopped off at the Westminster Stop… by the Shard, the London Eye, Big Ben under scaffolding, and Parliament also half under scaffolding.

Parliament

We began our Rick Steve’s walking tour at the bridge and soon were at Westminster Abbey, where in British style, we queued.

Westminster Abbey

It was then that we realized that Mark had forgotten his wallet. Fortunately for us, Steve and Nancy came through with a quick loan and we were in. Westminster was not only an amazing example of the Perpendicular Gothic style, but was literally packed with monuments, mostly the tombstone type, going all the way through England’s history starting with Edward I.

Construction began in 970 AD and the first phase finished just in time for William the Conqueror in 1066. Here he was crowned King of England along with every other English Monarch from then on. So, beginning with the grave of his predecessor, Edward the Confessor, whose death allowed the confusion and skirmishes between the two Harolds and William for the throne…In Westminister were Kings, Queens including Elizabeth and her sister Mary laying side by side, Lords, Earls, Knights, scientists (Isaac Newton), writers (Dickens), and whoever Great Britain felt was worthy, over 3,300! It also was fun to picture the royal weddings and to see the simple wooden chair used when Monarchs are crowned as we exited the building.

Churchill with no
Poop on His Head

Across the street was a small park with statues of Gandhi, Peel, Mandela, and Churchill who had insisted his statue be electrified so he wouldn’t have bird poop on his head. Any bird that dares desecrate his head gets an immediate shock!

Bird Keeper's Cottage in St James's Park

In James's Park with its charming Birdkeeper’s Cottage, we felt the first glimpse and smell of spring in its glory making us wonder what we will find blooming in our yard at home.

Then it was up Strand Ave, past Theresa May’s house on 10 Downing Street, which because of new security is viewed from 100 yards away.

Brexit Protest

Nearby was a small parade protesting Brexit. The Royal Guards had had just finished the guard changing ceremony on the vast parade grounds and two guards were mounted by the arched gates... the official entrance to Buckingham Palace. 

Queen's Life Guard

Parade Grounds for the Queen's Guard

Churchill's War Room

  The rest of the afternoon we gawked, talked, and walked around this beautiful historic city seeing…   the entrance to Churchill's War Room, where he directed the British military during the Bombing of Britain,

…the pub called Ye Old Cheshire Cheese where many of England’ great writers used to loiter as they worked on their masterpieces. The area had originally been made famous by Dr. Sam Johnson, a reported who would come to these narrow alleys to see the common “real” folk of London to write about their lives. A statue of his cat guards over one tiny square in the middle of these alleys and here we also saw several homeless people, one who had made his tiny home with all the modern conveniences including stereo and TV.

Trafalgar Square

…Trafalgar Square, named after the famous battle where Admiral Nelson cunningly defeated a combined force of the French and Spanish making England the ruler of the seas.

Supreme Court of Great Britain

...the Supreme Court of Great Britain with its little alleys and greenspace covering almost a city block, and another highlight for lawyers Steve and Nancy, the Criminal Court building, which they called the Vatican of the Legal World.

Covent Garden

…In Covent Garden and Market Place, a pedestrian friendly area of several blocks of shops and restaurants, we rested our weary feet and had one of the best chicken curry pies we have ever tasted, a Singapore tradition. 

Original Twinings Tea Shop

Headquarter's for Knights Templar 

…MANY historic churches including St Martin-in-the Fields, the Templer Church which was the headquarters of the Knights Templar, and the iconic St. Paul’s which was free for those who wanted to pray, but $20 for tourists, so with little time we walked on. Besides, what could top Westminster Abbey? At one we watched its clock strike three, as two men with clubs hit the enormous bell.

 

St Paul's

By almost 5PM, we were back at the Thames River with a view of the Bridge of London, the world’s first river draw bridge. We walked along the river walk to the Tower of London, an impressive double-moated castle, complete with its central Keep Tower where for centuries the Kings and Queens lived in relative protection.

Tower of London

Aerial View of Tower of London from Google

From the river that morning we had seen its “Traitor’s Gate”, a door where many of the Royals’ enemies rode into the tower’s belly, never to be seen again. Queen Elizabeth I took such a boat ride, but was later released and became the Virgin Queen, and leader of Protestant England. Tours of the castle which now houses the Crown Jewels had stopped for the day so we rode the Clipper back to Greenwich.

Goodbye London

Cutty Sark and Royal Observatory

Greenwich is an incredibly charming town that needs several days to explore, but we did what we could in the 90 minutes of sunlight we had. Its town center reminded us of Portsmouth NH with lots of brick pubs and shops on curved streets. We passed the Cutty Sark, Greenwich Market, the Queen’s House, the Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College, through a huge park up the hill to the Royal Observatory, where the 0 degree Meridian is marked by a bronze rail on the ground during the day and a laser at night for a great view of the city. 
 

Greenwich Time

Royal Observatory Greenwich

View of Queen's House
 and College from Observatory

London and its surrounding towns have so much fascinating history and so many things to do and see. We've been inspired to watch shows about the Monarchs again, and maybe by the time we return, hopefully for a whole lot longer than a day, we will have all the Henrys and Edwards figured out.

After a quick dinner, final show, and many sweet goodbyes...we set our last wake-up call for 4AM. It's hard to believe we have come to the end of our journey and almost the end of our blog.