The UK & Ireland experience

Wet and cold day. Wore thermals under clothes, down jacket and gortex rain jacket. Tower of London after breakfast. Queued to get to in, Interesting mint and historical coin making display in the Royal Mint (1279-1812). Beefeater historical talk in the chapel as it was too wet for tours. Queued in the rain again to see the Royal Jewels. Next visited the White Tower (original home of the Crown Jewels, now housing historical armour displays. Then St Martins Tower with old royal crowns from which the jewels had been removed. After the Tower walked to Tower Bridge for the glass footway experience, followed by the steam driven Victorian engines for lifting the road to allow shipping through. Walked to the Shard stopping for lattes on the way, and took the lift to the 68th floor and walked to 69th floor where Yvonne had a cocktail, walked up to open 72nd floor and took more photos. Steak at Southwark Hotel.Read more

District line to Westminster, then Horse Guards museum. Not much of interest here. Decided not to watch the ceremonial changing of the Mounted Horse Guard here at 11am, so we walked to Buckingham Palace through St James’s Park and waited for the ceremonial changing of the Guard there which did not happen. Thousands of us were there. The Mounted Horse Guard rode a through and there was a informal changing of a Pill Box guard. Nearby a military band was playing at a military barracks on the other side of the street called Birdcage Walk.We then visited the Royal Mews, with its excellent carriage display, followed by the Queen’s Gallery portraying Charles II, the king invited back following Cromwell’s Commonwealth. We then visited the Wellington Arch. The Arch was built as an entrance to Buckingham Palace but was moved to its present location 100 metres away becoming a victory Arch. On the way to the Churchill War rooms and museum, had soup at Victoria Station. Stayed at Churchill’s War rooms excellent displays till 6pm. Walked to the Morpeth Arms at Pimlico next to the drink stop of last weeks’s run across the river from the MI6 building. 7km run through much of the area we walked through earlier in the day. Back to Acton Town after 10pm for chicken pieces and chips from a local shop.Read more