The Euro Star terminal, part of the Paris Nord station, was
very busy. Getting there with nearly 2 hours to spare before departure we
thought we had heaps of time but by the time we queued through immigration
(French and UK) and security check we didn’t have much time to spare in the
‘holding pen’. Facilities certainly not big enough for the numbers going
through.. let alone once/if Brexit occurs. Channel tunnel here we come… the tunnel was being built in 1989 so
didn’t exist when we were here last, so just had to travel through it!!
Arrived into London St Pancreas Station around 5:30 pm and
got a tube to South Kensington. Throngs of people in the station, easy if going
with the flow but if wanting to go against and across… um! Waited for a bus
from South Kensington but none came, there had been a huge charity bike ride on
so many routes affected. Made the decision to walk the 1.5 km to our
accommodation, thankful for our wheeled cases and lovely mild summer weather.
Our room is huge, we are in an older row of town houses, and
guessing it has 4 rental rooms… anyway it is big enough for a 4 poster bed.
Then to a pub around the corner (in London, so of course!) for dinner… an award winning pie and mash and naturally the obligatory pint of ale and cider!
Quite amazing how familiar and comfortable London feels, we suppose after living in and around the area for 18 months in our younger days that will always be the case.
First day in the fair city
First mission of the day is haircuts, 2 months without is long
enough! Noel’s was easy, Caro’s took a little longer. Then we took public
transport to Charing Cross to get a train to Sevenoaks, Kent, to check out our
old stamping ground/rental home. However we were initially met with the announcement “The train is cancelled, a line fault between…
“…. Goodness, nothing has changed with still random delay’s after 30 years!!!
Anyway, still managed to get redirected to Waterloo Station
and after a 30 minute ride it was welcome to Sevenoaks. Caro was out of the
station and up the hill… wrong way.. then along the correct road and turn
right…. Wrong turn… with Google Maps to the fore we found 26 Prospect Road. You would think after the number of times we used to walk home from the station it would have been possible with our eyes shut! This was our home for 10 months in 1987/88, it was still there although the garage had been turned into a room. When we lived there the house was quite new, on a small lane of terrace houses dating from the 1800's, and looked fresh and young however now with aging it blended in with all the old ones.... a bit like us!
Can't recall this car sales, the tone of the neighbourhood has obviously lifted...
Then a walk to “The Knole”, a huge castle type residence and
deer park surrounds where we used to go walking, who could miss it…. um, after a
while with the assistance of Google Maps again we managed to find it!! Looking a
bit tidier and certainly busier than 32 years ago. The property is managed by the National Trust organisation, which is the case with many historic properties in the UK. After a drink at a main
street pub, strictly for old times sake, we caught a train back to London.
Village church in Sevenoaks
That evening we met up with nephew Evan and partner Becky, who are living
and working in London, for a meal in a nearby pub. Great to see them again.
A fun day exploring...
This morning we met up with Rachael Walter (2nd cousin) under the
clock at Waterloo Station and Rach guided us around for the day. Rach has lived
here for 11 years so is well qualified as a guide! Past Trafalgar Square,
Buckingham Palace, NZ War memorial and into Hyde Park for lunch. Back past the palace and then through St James
Park to the War Meeting Rooms museum which includes a very interesting
museum/exhibit on Winston Churchill. A very informative stop.
Admiralty Arch
Memorial to the NZ forces, simple but very effective
Wellington (1st duke of) Arch at Hyde Park Corner
One of the many war memorials in Wellington Plaza
No sign of Liz or Phil.... outside Buckingham Palace
After all that activity a drink was required, a pub balcony
at Covent Garden which overlooked street entertainers was a brilliant spot. A
lovely/lively meal at a Chinese restaurant near Waterloo where Rach got tube
home and we got a bus… a fantastic day. Beautiful weather, and the whole city seems cleaner than it used to be making it really good just to explore in general on what is our 're-acquaintance visit' rather than any specific tourist stops.
And again...
Firstly got on bus to Victoria Station to book our onward
tickets to Brighton, with that done we bused to Waterloo Station again.
Busing through the middle of the city is a slow process but a great
sightseeing option particularly if you score a front row seat on the upper deck.
Off at Waterloo and we strolled south along the riverbank. Stopping at the
National Gallery for lunch, lots of people also wandering. The tide on the
Thames was out so many people down on the waters (murky brown) edge.
Went through Barrow Market, for the first time although it
was obviously there 30 years ago, very busy. With rain threatening we sped up a
little and walked past a live outdoor theatre show of Pirates of Penzance, with not many
watching, then to the finishing act of a trapeze group which had gathered a huge
crowd.
The Shakespeare Globe Theatre was also walked past, which is a reconstruction of the original theatre in nearly the same spot. First built in 1599 and after a fire again in 1614. The current version was built and opened to the public in 1997.
Quickly across Tower Bridge with a lot of others, as it was just starting to rain and no jackets/umbrella… yikes!
Caught a bus from beside the Tower of London to St Paul’s cathedral and walked around the perimeter, with a 20 pound entry fee we gave it a miss (unless you are going into pray, and we weren’t sure we would be convincing as our heathen qualities are likely to emerge). Took another bus to Trafalgar Square along Fleet Street. Trafalgar Square was very busy, lots of street performers, buskers, photo prop people and artists. Walked through Hayward Market under NZ house… 32 years ago it used to be busy with back packer Kiwis checking the job/flat board. Very quiet in today’s internet age, with the notice board non existent !
Regent Street
As we left there it started pouring with rain, something we are not used to, so we walked quickly to the nearby tube station and caught a tube train to High Street station outside Kensington Park. Met up with Rachael at a rather lovely cake shop and fortified with cake and coffee, and with the rain over, we walked to Kensington Palace safe in the knowledge we had our personal guide back. A fairly ordinary building as far as palaces go, but lovely gardens.
Then wandered through to the Albert monument, which is over the road from the Albert Hall. Prince Albert was Queen Victoria’s husband and died of typhoid at the age of 42. We then made our way past the music chambers and university buildings to reach South Kensington station.
Cuzzies catching up
Caught a bus
back to our accommodation, a quick change of clothes and caught a bus to Putney
and walked across the Putney bridge over the Thames River to a bar where we met up with Evan and Becky
again. Both Rachael and Evan and Bec’s live close to Putney. A lovely meal and
a chance for Evan and Racheal, who had never met, to work out the connection (same
great grandfather), before we said our goodbyes.
It has been a fantastic few days in London which we have enjoyed immensely.
It has been a fantastic few days in London which we have enjoyed immensely.
Outside # 10... yeah, alright, its not even the right street (or town) but we figured it matched the current PM's hair colour....
