| Holiday Ratings | |
| Recommended days | 3 |
| Budget | £ |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Due to the the cheapness of air travel and the horror of driving there, we don’t go to London as much as we should. There are other options though and train and coach travel to the great city is now a realistic option, both bookable through Trainline. It is a magnificent city with superb museums and historical sights and on this London city break we were lucky enough to have a personal tour of the Churchill War Rooms, courtesy of Zeynep and my 50th.
Churchill War Rooms
The War rooms were fascinating. It was quite incredible to walk around the rooms and look at the documents and technology they relied upon to fight the war. The conditions they worked in were amazing too – a bedroom/office for a general was probably smaller than a modern prison cell! Even typing everything individually seems amazing today!
We’d taken the Thames Clipper down to Westminster and then braved the crowds to meander (with commendable tolerance in not murdering anyone!) up to Tower Bridge before getting the Clipper back to the Hilton Docklands. The weather was pretty dull but we saw some areas we hadn’t been to before. The Thames Clippers are a great way to see the city and don’t get caught up in London traffic or crowds!
Tower Bridge
Debbie was still ill the next day so I decided to go to back Tower Bridge and do some photos while she stayed in bed. Sadly, the shuttle boat wasn’t working as it was grounded so I decided to walk …… After about an hour I could finally see the damned bridge and the mist had started to lift.
I wandered around that area of the river and had a very pleasant time, it wasn’t too crowded today and was actually rather warm. It was quite interesting walking the Jubilee Greenway, along the river through Rotherhithe which was one of the most run down areas of London in the 19th century. Being a masochist I walked back too so I could enjoy a beer tonight, guilt free!
Deb felt a little better by the evening so we went out for another Clipper trip and walked along the river bank doing some night photography. Although we don’t visit that often (a couple of times a year) there is a familiarity with the centre of London now which is pleasant when you’re out walking. Even though it started to rain just as I set the tripod up ….
Hyde Park
The next day was a bit dull but we headed to Hyde Park in a very chilly wind. I’d never seen the Italian Garden or Albert Memorial so that was nice. I didn’t even know the Italianate Garden existed until Zeynep told us about it (lack of research again ….). The parks in London seem to be very well used and clean too, nice to see them being looked after.
Natural History Museum
We rounded the day off with a trip to the Natural History Museum. London museums are great – because they are free you can pop in for an hour or two, see one section and leave the rest for another time. This is far better than paying nearly £20 (Vienna – take note!) and getting brain overload when you try and absorb everything in one visit.
We really ought to visit our capital more often, it’s silly that it is often cheaper and quicker to fly to a different European capital than visit our own. I remember visiting decades ago and the place was dirty and unkempt, it is certainly a lot better now and a lot more geared up for tourism. I guess I should make the effort too.
2016