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.
We then cut through Archbishop's Park, heading north, with its lawns, gardens and community orchards. The path was peppered with plaques explaining the history of the area, which were fascinating to read.
Finding ourselves on Lambeth Palace Road we made our way towards Belvedere Road, where I pointed out the pieces of London's original wooden paving blocks, which are still in situ in a number of places along the road, before we stopped at Neds Noodle Bar for some lunch.
Suitably full we made along Belvedere Road and turned left, heading towards The Queen's Walk and the River Thames. The Winter Market was in full swing, with stalls selling trinkets, gifts, food, drinks, clothing, jewellery and much more.
We continued on, passing Gabriel's Wharf and the OXO Tower, surprised at how far out the River Thames was. Approaching the Founder's Arms the light was beginning to fade, which prompted the various Christmas Lights to be switched on.
Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe were soon behind us as we made our way ever eastward. Passing the Clink Museum we reached The Golden Hinde and continued along Montague Close, passing beneath London Bridge, and joined Tooley Street, which we followed until we reached Hay's Galleria.
On entering Hay's Galleria we were confronted by a massive Christmas Tree, of which we took some photos, before checking out the various stalls that were set up.
Passing through we rejoined The Queen's Walk and continued along the river. More Winter Market stalls flanked one side of the walk, leading us to the plaza outside the old City Hall building, which looked out of place with its sealed doors and lack of lighting. The Christmas Tree, on the plaza, was a welcome sight, though.
With The Shard now lit up, Tower Bridge shining bright and the City of London in full glow, we took our time, soaking up the atmosphere.
Soon, though, we were moving again, crossing Tower Bridge, towards the north bank. Tower Bridge offered a great vantage point from which to watch the changing colours of The Shard, while also offering uninterrupted views along the river.
With the temperature dropping we headed north, up Minories, towards Aldgate station, where we caught a train to Baker Street and, from there, a train towards home.
Yet another great day out, discovering new places and walking some different streets.
Distance travelled:
- Bus - 0.0 miles
- Cable Car - 0.0 miles
- Car - 2.2 miles
- DLR - 0.0 miles
- Ferry - 0.0 miles
- Overground - 0.0 miles
- River Boat - 0.0 miles
- Taxi - 0.0 miles
- Train - 0.0 miles
- Underground - 36 miles
- Walking - 6.7 miles
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