Day Four and we had another trek across London to master – this time in the opposite direction.
We took the tube to Embankment Station and walked along the Thames to The Palace of Westminster, passing the London Eye on the opposite side of the water.
It is quite awe-inspiring when you first spot the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament). It is an iconic view that tells you that you really are in London! Big Ben is actually the bell that is in the clock tower but unfortunately for us, it was being repaired when we were visiting so was covered up. The Houses of Parliament date back to 1837 although the original building on the site was said to date back to the 11th Century when it was built for Edward the Confessor.
westminster abbey
We didn’t go inside the Houses of Parliament but instead headed to one of my favourite places in the whole of England – Westminster Abbey. I am so fascinated by the history of this building and all the famous people who are buried within it. When Nick and Alex were 2 and 4, we dragged them around the Abbey for hours and they were so fed up that they sat down and refused to move. This time it was (fortunately!) very different. They shared our awe with this place and went searching for names of people they recognised. I sought out the Kings, Queens and other royalty (including Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Edward the Confessor, Edward I and the Black Prince) while they were excited to spot scientists like Isaac Newton. After suffering Chaucer in Year 11 English, Sam wasn’t too impressed to see his burial spot but couldn’t deny the amazing number of famous people there – artists, poets, writers, musicians, politicians and much more.
Even without the famous burials, Westminster Abbey is incredible. This stunning Gothic building was started in 1245 although the Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066. Every about the Abbey exudes centuries of history with excavations still locating the remains of previous buildings on the site.
churchill’s war rooms
After our brilliant trip to the Abbey, we took a short walk and changed the era to World War II with a visit to Churchill’s War Rooms. I truly did not realise how interesting this museum would be. Nick studied World War II in Modern History HSC and so had a special interest but without exception, every one of us enjoyed this visit. We literally spent hours there listening to the recordings and reading the exhibits. The favourites were the Map Room which is still as it was on the day the lights were switched off in 1945 and Churchill’s famous red velvet one-piece boiler suit or onesie! The website recommends allowing 90 minutes to tour the War Rooms but we were actually there longer and there was still more to see. When we left, we had to start picking the pace up as we were a little behind our schedule.
After leaving the War Rooms, we headed through the beautiful St James Park towards Buckingham Palace. That park is truly enchanting with the lake, waterfall, pretty trees and delightful creatures like squirrels and swans. It is the oldest park in London and is simply spectacular.
buckingham palace
When you reach the other end of James Park, the noise and busyness hits you as you walk towards Buckingham Palace. However, I was amazed to see no traffic at all on the multi-lane road in front of the palace and around the statue of Queen Victoria – the last time I went, many years ago, it was a death trap trying to get across that road with all the traffic! This time, it was so easy to stand in front of the Palace to take pics of the iconic, very expensive royal residence with its 775 rooms. Queen Victoria was apparently the first monarch to take up residence in the Palace. Unfortunately, it didn’t have a nursery though so when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert started a family, they had to move Marble Arch to its current position to make way for a fourth wing. Some people need an awful lot of space!
We had a quick lunch in a traditional British pub with leaded windows called the Buckingham Arms, just down the road from Buckingham Palace. It has a lovely old bar and famous sayings about London and life on the walls. Quite a pleasant place for a stop while the rain started to lightly come down.
harrods
Our next stop was Harrods. The nearest tube station was St James Park so we made our way back and took the tube to South Kensington where we changed lines for Knightsbridge. Harrods is just a 2 minute walk from the underground. As you walk along Brompton Road and see the iconic Harrods sign appear on the old Victorian building, it is quite an impressive sight. We were much more impressed with Harrods than Selfridges, particularly in the stairwells. There is a stunning Egyptian foyer which Karl enthusiastically photographed while I stood by, trying not to look like an Aussie tourist. I was a little embarrassed but definitely pleased that he got the shots!
It is interesting to note that this historic quintessentially English retail experience is currently owned by the state of Qatar. It was founded by an Englishman Charles Henry Harrod in 1824 as a small draper and haberdasher before his son Charles Digby Harrod took over and built the business into a thriving operation. By 1880, it employed over 1000 people and listed amongst its customers famous and influential people such as Oscar Wilde, Charlie Chaplin, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Sigmund Freud and many members of the British Royal Family.
Harrods was also famous for debuting the first escalator or ‘moving staircase’ in 1898. Apparently nervous customers using this contraption were offered a brandy at the top to revive them after their ‘ordeal’!
If you’re going to Harrods, you should be aware that it does have dress rules – no “ripped jeans, high cut Bermuda or beach shorts, swim wear, athletic singlets, cycling shorts, flip flops or thong sandals, dirty or unkempt clothing”. And remember to wear shoes and don’t expose your midriff or you will be in danger of being turned away at the door! In the tea rooms, you won’t even be permitted to wear sports shoes or trainers. Given I lived in my white and gold trainers while in Europe, I would probably have been turned away. Fortunately I don’t like tea so it wasn’t something that concerned me…
At one time, you could buy pretty much anything at Harrods including an elephant, tiger, lion cub or even a camel. Thankfully, the exotic pet department closed in 2014. Instead we bought books and some delicious food products. The chilli relish was particularly lovely.
At this point, the day was getting late and we wanted to take a boat trip along the Thames. We headed back to Westminster but realised our timings were wrong and there was a long wait until the next ferry departure so we called it a day and headed back to our apartment.
We decided that with all of our walking, we had earned a pizza so we took a short walk from our apartment to Giotto in Bloomsbury. It was a fairly standard restaurant with decent pizzas – nothing spectacular though from memory the waitress was genuinely Italian from Milan and was quite lovely to chat with. We were quite happy to get some tasty comfort food before heading back to our apartment exhausted and in need of sleep before our big day trip out of London.
Things we missed out on during day three:
10 Downing Street – You can’t actually go onto Downing Street but we had intended to have a peak at the end of the street but spent too long in Churchill’s War Rooms.
Royal Mews – The royal carriages, coaches, cars and horses are housed here and I thought it would be interesting to see them in all their golden glory but the boys were way less interested than me. Ultimately it didn’t figure high enough on our list to warrant a visit.
Wellington Arch – We were running too late to take the walk through Hyde Park to see the victory arch which celebrated Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon.
The Thames Cruise from Westminster to Waterloo or Tower Bridge – As mentioned, we were too late for a convenient cruise but our trip the two previous days had taken us up and down much of the Thames so we weren’t too concerned about missing out on this one.