Walking with family: Westminster to Lambeth... and beyond

Tuesday December 10, 2024.

With a week off from work, and my girls being in school, I decided on a trip to London, inviting my mum and my uncle Martin along. Unfortunately my um couldn't make it, so it was just Martina and I that made the trip.

Martin drove us to Croxley station, where we caught a Metropolitan line train to Finchley Road, where we changed to a Jubilee line train to complete our journey to Westminster station.

On exiting the station we headed across Westminster Bridge, dodging the hordes of tourists that often congregate here as they jostle to get their perfect photo of the Elizabeth Tower that houses Big Ben. Crossing to the east side of the bridge we headed down the steps, beside St Thomas' Hospital and the Covid Memorial Wall, heading along the Albert Embankment to our first stop of the day... the Garden Museum.

The Garden Museum is situated at the western end of Lambeth Road, next to Lambeth Palace, and is housed within the old St Mary-at-Lambeth church. The church closed in 1972 and was due foe demolition, but was saved, reopening in 1977 as the world's first Gardening Museum.

After a brief look around the small garden, we entered the church and began looking at the building and its exhibits. After a quick look around we purchased tickets and made our way up the 131 steps of the tower, to check out the view.

And what a view it was. Being beside the River Thames the view allowed for views along the river towards Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station. The Palace of Westminster and Lambeth Palace were great from this vantage point, which then allowed you to gaze across to the City of London, The Shard and Canary Wharf.

Suitably impressed with the view we made our way back down the tower and went off to the Garden Museum cafe to grab a coffee. Once we were refreshed, and suitably warmed up from being outside in the wind, we continued our tour of the museum. 

William Bligh's tomb and the Tradescant family tomb were situated in a small garden area, with its plant nursery and other graves. We visited the Ark gallery and the other various rooms and galleries. The shop had everything horticultural, but there were no books or leaflets on the history of the church itself. Fortunately, one of the volunteers at the shop informed us about a 'magic pink folder', held at the main reception, which contained lots of information. 

So, making our way to the main reception, we asked to view this 'magic pink folder'. It was stuffed with pages about the building, its history, various graves, snippets of information all gleaned from various sources. The lady at reception was more than happy for us to take photos of various pages, which we did. After reading what we wanted we returned the 'magic pink folder' to reception, thanked the lady and made our way outside, ready to continue our walk.

We headed down Lambeth Road, passing the Novotel Hotel, which was once Norfolk House, home of the Howard family. This hotel is next to the Bell Building, which stands on the site of the Bell Inn, which was built in 1560.

Ministry of Defence: Statues and Memorials

The Ministry of Defence building, Whitehall, is home to two great stone statues, 'Earth' and 'Water', as well as a number of memorials to various campaigns, armed forces and personnel. 

'Earth' and 'Water' can be found above the northern entrance, on Horse Guards Avenue, and were designed by Sir Charles Wheeler. Each weighs 40 tonnes. If you are wondering where 'Air' and 'Fire' are... the money dried up during construction of the building, so they were never sculpted.

If you head into the Victoria Embankment Gardens, in the grounds of the Ministry of Defence, you will find a number of memorials dedicated to various campaigns, armed forces and personnel.

Each one is unique and tells its own story.

Myddelton Passage Etchings: A unique historical record

On first turning on to Myddelton Passage it looks like a typical London road. Houses along one side stand opposite a brick wall, that, although old, looks rather plain.

It is not until you begin to walk along the path that you will notice etchings in the bricks. Random numbers, initials and letters can soon be seen. Although sporadic, at first, they begin to fill entire areas of the wall.

Could they be some form of code or something else, entirely?

Fireplace and Alcoves, Vincent Street

Standing alone in the heart of Westminster, surrounded by ivy, a fireplace can be seen on the street. This is a relic from one of many houses that once lined this end of Vincent Street, but were destroyed during World War II.

The building that now stands next to this site is Dean Abbott House, which is a sheltered accommodation and retirement housing complex, with security gates and fencing that stop you from seeing more of the relics of the area.

However, during my visit to the fireplace, I got talking to tone of the residents, Tom, who was returning from the shops. He explained about the fireplace and the houses that had once stood here, before mentioning that there was more to see, if I was interested.

A moment later Tom led me through the security gate and showed me the other alcoves, still in situ. Although not as impressive as the fireplace, it was still interesting to see these remnants from the past.

Walking with Erin and Keilyn: Euston to Canopy Market... and beyond

Sunday December 1, 2024.

It was an overcast morning as Erin, Keilyn and I prepared for our trip to London. Our plan was to visit St Pancras International, as my girls wanted to see the giant Emerald City Christmas tree, from the movie 'Wicked', which they went to see last week.

As we were about to leave rain, which had been threatening, decided to pour from the sky, so a taxi was ordered.

We decided that, for a change, we would take the Lioness line to Euston, as Keilyn and I had been waiting for the new signage to be unveiled.

Once aboard we sat down and watched as the rain began to diminish the closer we got to our destination. And, sure enough, as we exited Euston station the rain had all but stopped, making our short walk to St Pancras International a drier affair.

Once inside we headed through the crowds towards the giant Emerald City tree, taking lots of photos, before we took the escalator up to the next level, so that we could get a different view of it. 

We then went for a wander to see the statue of Sir John Betjeman and the Meeting Place statue, which towers over the upper concourse.

We then used the lift and went for a proper look at the tree, which has a model of Oz inside it. 

More photos were taken before we headed towards the eastern exit, where we discovered life-size models of Glinda and Elphaba, which were made of Lego.

On leaving St Pancras International we crossed Regent's Canal and reached Granary Square, heading off towards Canopy Market, in search of some lunch. After a brief look at what was on offer, Erin decided on a Cheese Burger, made with dry age beef, with cheddar cheese and ketchup. Erin decided against having the pickles and mustard. 

With Erin waiting in line for her food to be prepared, Keilyn and I went and ordered a coffee and hot chocolate.

When Erin had received her food, we found a table, where Erin and Keilyn sat, while I went to get food for Keilyn and myself. Keilyn decided to have Duck Fat Chips (freshly cut potatoes, double fried with a drizzle of duck fat), while I had the Petit Prince Burger (Brioche bun, butter infused grilled duck, stilton, gherkins, fried onion and burger sauce).