London Trip #14: April 2017, Part 2--Walks and Sights

Central London:  Area of St. Paul's (Wed.)

This was our only day spent in central London.  In addition to the walk around St. Paul's, we visited Stanford's Bookstore and the Harp Pub, two favourite places.  One could not ask for a better way to spend a day!  The City pub visits will be detailed in Part 4 of this write-up.

Today we were using Baedeker's "London and its Environs", from 1905.  I bought the book several years ago at John King Books in Detroit, and have been an avid reader of it and its incomparable maps.  We were curious as to what had changed (plenty) and what still remained (plenty).  We began at the cathedral and strolled north and then west.  To the north nearly everything had changed once we were near the Museum of London.  The only good thing that came out of that ghastly area visit was the old London Wall, which has now been properly excavated and can be walked.

The Old Bailey building was just being constructed in 1905.  Holborn Viaduct was still a modern marvel of engineering, and at least two churches had been bombed in WWII.  Christchurch by Wren still had the tower and walls standing.  Within the ruins was a tranquil garden with benches, where we ate our lunch.  City Temple had been destroyed except for its tower, and rebuilt.  Otherwise, much remained.  It was a fun couple of hours, though the weather was ornery today.  We got caught in two rain storms and a hail storm, and it was windy and cold.  It was also sunny.  One of those English days.

 St Paul's Cathedral, the center of a very interesting area of London.

 Patre Nostre Square is just north of the cathedral, and once housed small shops devoted to selling religious items, such as rosaries.  It is now completely modernized, and quite ugly.  However, this modern bust was really well done and attractive.

 Strange bird artwork located in the

Pater Nostre Pub, a Youngs establishment.

 Standing at the entrance to the bombed Wren Christchurch, which 

is now an attractive garden and seating area inviting contemplation.

I think most churches should be open to the sky anyway (I call them 

woodlands, and try to visit as often as possible).

We had to pay a pound to visit St. Bartolph's Without Aldgate.  I think it was a pound well spent.  The church lies within Postman's Park, where a tribute wall celebrates many individuals who gave their lives rescuing others from danger.

 Part of the neighbourhood surrounding Postman's Park.  London is a rather eclectic mix of architecture.  A White Horse Pub used to occupy the building behind the tree.

Roman and medieval London are on display along the London Wall.

 A keep, or guard tower (think of a rook in chess), along the London Wall.

 More London wall, and also a view of St. Giles Cripplegate, final resting place of John Milton.  The area around the church is an architectural disaster zone (Barbican center), and we could not find our way to the church.  New fencing is an insult.

 The Old Bailey (criminal court).  This building was under construction when the 1905 Baedeker Guide was written.

 A great pub sign, and a great pub!  See Part 4 for inside photos.

 Holborn Viaduct bridge over Farringdon Road.  Instead of a nice red bus, I managed to catch a bin lorry crossing the bridge.  It was raining by now, and we had to press on.  The viaduct was built in 1869, and still works as well as ever!

We took shelter from the cold and the rain in St. Andrew's (1686, erected by Wren).  It is a magnificent church, and we are glad we popped in (thank you rain!).

From here it was on to Stanford's (through rain and hail), to meet up with a former music student.  I last saw Rachael when she graduated Gr. 8 from our school, after which she moved away.  We maintained a loose contact over the years via e-mail and Facebook.  As a music teacher I am privileged to have known some very talented and very nice people, and Rachael is certainly one of the more memorable ones.  She joined every music activity I ever offered at our school, excelling at them of course, and was also my main assistant with the school website for two years.  

Anyway, we got caught up over coffee at Stanford's, where I introduced her to the Capital Ring and the London Loop.  She purchased the Ring guidebook and hopefully will soon embark on a wonderful journey.  She currently works at a pub in Windsor, UK.  She was just back from a two-week holiday that took her to Prague, Vienna, Berlin, and Naples.

Deb and I finished up our London day at the Harp, my favourite London pub.  More details in the pub section!

Capital Ring Segment 5 (Thurs.)

Thursday was an uncomplicated day.  Train from East Croydon to Streatham Common.  Ring Segment 5 to Wimbledon Park.  This was the final Ring segment needed to complete our south half, from Woolwich foot tunnel to Richmond (we had done the Richmond Park segment many years ago as our first foray into the Ring).  However, today's 5-mile walk turned out to be more of a pub crawl, with no less than seven good pubs available on this segment.  So, you will learn more about this walk by reading the pub section!

 Leaving Streatham Common Station, this unique waterworks facility gives the impression of being in a much more exotic location than suburban London!

We have come 23 miles from our starting point, according to this sign.  Highgate Wood here we come!

 Refreshment stop at The Hope, one of many fine pubs along the walk.  Deb has some delicious type of water.  I was forced to drink ale!

 There were some natural areas on this hike, but after so many pub stops it all becomes a bit blurry in my mind.  I remember the pubs, though.

Upminster Windmill Search, and Leigh-On-Sea (Fri.)

Our travel cards allow us unlimited travel on London trains, tubes, buses, and trams for one week.   If we are going outside of London, we try to get to the furthest station on our travel card before purchasing tickets to our final destination.  Caroline, our London bestie, was curious about a windmill in Upminster, which was the farthest we could travel east towards the sea on our travel cards.  So we journeyed in the morning to Upminster (Zone 6) and went searching for a windmill.  Here is the Upminster village sign, clearly showing a windmill.

 

Upminster town sign.  We saw the windmill,

 the church, and the new interpretive center,

with not a thatched roof, but an even better living one.

 The historic windmill is in ghastly condition.  Thankfully, a full

restoration is underway.  Someday the London Loop will take us

back here, when we hope to report that things are as they should be.

 St Lawrence Church, Upminster (also displayed on the village sign!)

Caroline was not travelling with us to Leigh-On-Sea, so we parted at the Upminster Station (after a tea and coffee stop near the station).  It was only 6 stops and about 20 minutes to our destination, but it seemed a world removed from busy London.  We travelled on C2C electric service in comfort, and had a good glimpse of the ruined Hadleigh Castle as we approached the Leigh-On-Sea station.  The town is not really on the sea, but near the very end of the Thames estuary.  The sea can be viewed, however, and is only a short hop away.

From the station it is a pleasant 30 minute countryside walk to the hilltop castle ruins.  We spent about 45 minutes at the castle before walking back to visit the town.  We visited three riverfront pubs, a cafe, and a shop selling all manner of touristy things (Deb bought a small wooden ship model which will appear in one of her upcoming short films).  Then we climbed Church Hill Lane to reach a bus stop which took us to the Oak Tree Veg restaurant, where we enjoyed a fabulous vegan meal and dessert before taking the bus back to the station.  It took two hours to get back to our hotel in East Croydon from the restaurant, involving the bus, the C2C train, the Jubilee tube line, London Overground, and the Croydon tram service (right to the door of the hotel!).

 C2C lines at Upminster station, also the final stop on the eastern end of the District Line tube.  Upminster is a hilltop town, as can be easily seen from the steep drop the tracks take after leaving.

 Some of the ruins can be seen from the train approaching Leigh-On-Sea station.

 Deb contemplates the good old days at the southeast tower.

 Artist's impression of the castle in full bloom.  In the photo above the drawing, Deb is standing in the tower at left, top in the drawing (the smaller tower).

 The sign indicates the many historic phases of the buildings.

 Even just after it was built and still fairly new, there were problems with settling earth affecting the angle of things.  View is towards the town and the Thames estuary.

 The C2C service looks like a tiny model train.  The line passes just beneath the castle and hill.  View is east towards the sea, at the very end of the Thames River.

There was some impressive stonework at Hadleigh Castle.

 

 Sailboats in harbour at Leigh-On-Sea.

 Sara's Cafe and Tearoom, where we enjoyed coffee and a pleasant stop.

 The old waterfront street is narrow and twists and turns past four 

pubs, 2 cafes, and a few shops.

 View east towards the sea from a footbridge over the tracks, at the east end of the waterfront area.

 A handsome denizen of Church Hill Lane, Leigh-On-Sea.

 Church Hill Lane, with a 2nd kitty on the prowl.  River Thames in background.

At the top of Church Hill is...a church!  This handsome tower

belongs to St. Clement's.

... to be continued in Part 3.

 

London Trip #14: April 2017, Part 1--Walks and Sights

LONDON 2017

We last visited London in November 2015.  Our main goals for this visit were a continuation of the Capital Ring and London Loop walks (begun in 2008; 15 segments each), a first visit to the inside of Hampton Court Palace, an exploration of the area around St. Paul's, using a 1905 Baedecker's Guide to London, and a trip outside the city to see the ruins of Hadleigh Castle.  I also hoped to encounter some of the world's best drinking establishments, and Deb was counting on some fabulous coffee and cafes.

We flew direct from Toronto this time, on Air Transat.  Due to the horrible exchange rate with our money against US dollars, we could not fly from Detroit.  That meant a four hour drive to Toronto, and a four hour drive home after the journey.  More about this later.

Arrival Day:  Walk #1

We arrived at Gatwick on a Sunday morning .  We had no trouble clearing customs or getting our luggage.  Our train to East Croydon was non-stop and very fast (14 minutes).  We were soon at our favourite London hotel (Jurys Inn, Croydon).  Our room was ready.  We cleaned up and headed out for some lunch.  Afterwards we briefly napped, then went in search of Morden Hall Park.

 Sign board at Morden Hall Park.

We took the Croydon Tramlink service to Phipps Bridge stop, immediately entering the welcoming park land.  We saw much of the park on our 2-mile wander, enjoying a cafe stop, the wetlands, a walk along the banks of the River Wandle, the remains of a snuff mill (tobacco was ground here into snuff), woodlands, gardens, and serene paths.  After spending overnight on a plane from Toronto, it felt good to stretch our legs and loosen up a bit.  We seemed to hit a perfect week to visit.  Except for one day (Wed.) the weather was agreeable for walkers.  Spring blossoms were voluminous and exquisite.

 

Phipps Bridge tramlink stop.  The park 

entrance is to the left.

 Part of the weir and snuff mill at Morden Hall Park.

 The gardens were beautiful at Morden Hall Park.

 Ditto.

London Loop Segment 6 (Mon./Tues.)

East Croydon Station, on the platform.  This station is our main gateway to the galaxy of adventures that await in London.

 

Segment 6 of the London Loop completed a half-circle of the path, beginning along the Thames at Erith and ending at the Thames at Kingston.  We did the newest segment over two days, completing 10.2 miles of it the first day, and the remaining 2.3 miles the next day.  This is a very fun segment, well worth walking once the initial golf course is passed, as well as a sizable chunk of quiet suburbia.

The walk begins at Banstead Station.  A word about this lonely Zone 6 station.  One train per hour (about as primitive as things get within London).  Nothing at all around or near it, as in cafe, pub, High Street.  It's on a single track line from Sutton.  Train leaves Sutton, goes up the track three stations (we're #2!), then comes back.  It's a very lonely line.  Anyway, we missed our connection by one minute, giving us a 59 minute wait till the next train.  We tramped around Sutton, enjoying our short visit to this hilltop borough of London.  The High Street is for pedestrians only, and drops steeply downhill as it goes.

 

 A gigantic wall mural on the side of a building in Sutton.  I'm guessing 

it has something to do with the town's history.

Most small rail stations in and around London can be described as utilitarian at best.  Not someplace you want to spend loads of time.  However, Sutton Station is well-cared for, and has real flowers and a pleasant cafe/tea room on the platform.  We went into town anyway, as our travel cards allowed for unlimited travel.

The Loop recommences soon after leaving Banstead Station (6 passengers got off here), as we first had to cross a golf course (last crossed in Nov. 2015), then pass through an interminable patch of suburbia.  The streets were so quiet on our morning walk-through that we encountered nothing but learn-to-drive school cars with their intent pupils.  However, the outer bits of London cannot be walked forever without encountering vast areas of linked green spaces (which is the entire purpose of the Ring and the Loop). 

 

 Even the golf courses on the Loop have some redeeming qualities!

 A different type of arch is passed, as rail lines are encountered and dealt with.

 Nonsuch Mansion, built in the Gothic style in 1804.

 Nonsuch Park; remains of Henry VIII's banqueting hall and palace are here.

The first really huge park encountered is Nonsuch.  We were able to visit the cafe at Nonsuch Mansion, a gothic house built in 1804.  Then we passed the ruins of Nonsuch Palace, one of dozens built by Henry 8th.  Excavated in 1959, the floor plan layout can be walked.  The only remaining feature above ground is a low wall, once part of the banqueting house.

The next part of the walk brought us into Ewell, and especially into Bourne Hall Park.  The Hall no longer exists (a modernistic library is in its spot), but the grand gate, surmounted by a statue of an historic and altruistic dog, survives and the grounds are now a public park.  When we began the Loop south of Erith about ten years ago, we wandered up the Cray River from its end into the Darent, then followed the river/creek a long distance, nearly to its source.  This time, we followed the River Hogsmill from Ewell all the way down into Kingston and the Thames River.  The sources of the spring-fed river are the ponds in Bourne Hall Park.

 Mill Pond, Ewell, one of the sources of the River Hogsmill (used to be the property of a Mr. Hoggs, who had a mill near here).  The river flows downhill from here all the way to the Thames.  Gunpowder and flour mills once dotted the landscape.  One historic mill remains.  Many of the gunpowder mills frequently exploded.  Fun times.

 A cute little bridge across the Hogsmill.

Deb follows the River Hogsmill; destination Thames River at Kingston.  In Canada we would call this a creek.

The first of 32 pub stops for the week was in Ewell (the Wheatsheaf).  All will be revealed in Part 4 of this entry, appropriately called "The Pubs".  The 2nd pub stop was also along the banks of the Hogsmill.  Toby Carvery is a restaurant/pub chain that we might normally use for their restrooms.  However, upon checking into their menu, we found no less than 6 vegan main dishes!!!  That's more than some veg restaurants!  And they had cask ale!  Anyway, we took a long break, enjoyed a fabulous meal, drank coffee, beer, and bubbly water.  A good time was had by all!

 

 Deb's vegan meal, a mushroom tart, from Tobey Carvery.  And inexpensive.

 St. John the Baptist Church basement

stairs.  Behind me is the cemetery.

We finished up Monday's walk at Berrylands Station, which conveniently had a welcoming pub right next door.  On Tuesday we resumed our walk from Berrylands, continuing on to the Thames in one go.  It was only a couple of miles, and mostly urban walking. However, even in the heart of Kingston we managed to stay close to the Hogsmill.

 Wysteria Hysteria is how one London paper described the Spring appearance of this fragrant and beautiful plant.  It was everywhere on our walks.

 The Coronation Stone now lies in central Kingston, first used in the 900s to crown Saxon kings.

13th C. bridge still stands, with the Hogsmill nearly at its final destination.

 The final huzzah of the Hogsmill, as it empties into the Thames

(behind me). 

 Kingston Bridge over the Thames marks the end of Loop Segment 6.

Once at Kingston Bridge, Segment 6 of the London Loop was over.  We relaxed at a Sam Smith's pub.  They had a really decent 2.8% beer, which tempted Deb into having her first half pint in years!  I had their cider and some of their extra stout!  It was a great way to finish up the south half of the Loop!!

Hampton Court Palace (Tues.)

Back in 2006 we visited the exterior portion of the palace, namely the gardens.  This time around we were going to finally get inside!  After a long walk through Home Park (no access to the palace, as we found out the hard way), we made it there around 2 pm.  School groups were just leaving (yay!).  We stopped first at the cafe for some badly needed coffee, then began exploring the complex.  The history of the palace is too convoluted to give here, but suffice it to say that there are several historical layers of architecture at work here, and though Henry VIII began it all, things continued well after his demise.

 Our unorthodox approach to the palace took us to the far end of Long Water.  This huge pond once held royal regattas.

 We came across the Royal deer herd in Home Park, and had to cross through them to reach our exit gate to the Thames path and on to the palace proper.

 A view back down Long Water from upstairs at the palace.  We saw things from both ends!

Tudor palace tower gate, showing the clock. 

 Clock detail.

 Courtyard in the Georgian part of the palace.

The baroque section of the palace was meant to rival Versailles.  This later section was never completed, and thus much of Henry's Tudor palace still stands.

 Deb checks out the apartment-size fireplace in the Georgian palace, along with the well-hatted guardians.

Hampton Court Palace exterior, from the bridge over the Thames.

...to be continued.