Tower Bridge – A Traveling Fool

In 1983, my first real vacation trip to anywhere, inside or outside of the US, was to London with my mom. We had both wanted to go there all of our lives. We were finally there and were overwhelmingly thrilled.

After finally getting a good night’s sleep, we headed out to the Museum of London. One of the things that I love about this museum is that its exhibits are in chronological order, beginning with what has been unearthed in London from prehistory. The building itself straddles part of what remains of the Roman wall that used to surround Londinium and was enlarged to surround Medieval London up until the time of the Great Fire of 1666. Many of the exhibits take you back to a specific time in London’s history, such as Victorian London or during the Great Fire of 1666.

From the Museum of London, we walked a few blocks to St Paul’s Cathedral. I was especially interested in the crypts with the tombs of Admiral Horatio Nelson, Sir Christopher Wren, and the Duke of Wellington. This version of the cathedral had been built by Wren after the Great Fire destroyed the previous version. There had been a cathedral on the site since 604 AD.

From St Paul’s, after lunch, we set off for the Tower of London. On the way, we stopped at the former Roman Forum where the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange and the Lord Mayor’s Residence could be seen. Then we headed towards the river so we could take a look at the Monument to the Great Fire at the head of Pudding Lane, where the fire began at a baker’s shop. I have a real interest in history and love to visit places where historic events took place and picture what happened there.

We should have backtracked up to Eastcheap instead of making our way along Lower Thames Street. Rookie mistake. I did not realize that the area was not the best until I saw that we were totally alone and then noticed that we were being followed by a couple of men. That was when I steered Mom north towards Eastcheap. Fortunately we made it safely to the Tower. It is always important to be aware of your surroundings and try to walk along in more populated areas.

In 1983, not as much of the Tower of London complex was open as there is now. Many, many changes have be made over the years to make it a truly remarkable experience. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the wonderful Yeoman Warder (other than that there are now females as well as males). These folks are very, very knowledgeable and very personable. Talking to one or more of them during a visit can give you a lot more knowledge as well as some cool ghost stories (and often a lot of legends). They live there at the Tower and experience some amazing things after all of the visitors are gone. Starting your tour of the complex by joining one of their tours is well worth it.

The Victorian Tower Bridge is another structure that I find fascinating. On this particular trip, we did not cross the bridge, but did so in 1991 so we could also explore the part of London over on the other side of the Thames.

Instead of taking the underground back from the Tower, we started a tradition of taking the boat back to Westminster Pier and walking back to our hotel from there. Since that trip, every time I have been in London with or without Mom, I have always taken the boat to Westminster Pier, no matter how I got to the Tower in the first place.

The following day, we started out at the British Museum. I was really impressed by the Babylonian and Assyrian monuments as well as the Greek statues and Elgin Marbles. The Rosetta Stone was wonderful to see. We were amazed that we could get so close to it. Then there were all of the Egyptian statues and mummies. I had seen one mummy in a small museum when I had been a child. Here there were rooms full of them. It wasn’t until I went to Egypt and visited the Cairo Museum that I saw an even larger display of mummies and other Egyptian artifacts.

We also visited the British Library and looked at some original works by Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare, as well as a copy of the Magna Carta.

After lunch, we visited Dickens’ London home on Doughty Street. This was where he completed The Pickwick Papers, wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, and began Barnaby Rudge. Mom and I were the only visitors at the time and had a costumed guide all to ourselves. We enjoyed having a private tour with a fellow who knew all about Dickens and the house and looked like he had just stepped out of one of Dickens’ novels.

Before heading back to the hotel, we took the tube to Marble Arch. This monumental arch used to stand in front of Buckingham Palace until Queen Victoria had it banished to its current location at a roundabout. We walked along Oxford Street towards Piccadilly to do a little bit of shopping. I ended up getting one of those bulky, cable knit, highly British sweaters for 14 GBP.

Next time – My First Real Trip to Anywhere Part 3 – where Mom and I experienced the Trooping the Colour (and saw the entire Royal Family, including Princess Diana), visited the Royal Tombs in Westminster Abbey, and took the boat to Greenwich.

The Virgin Trains East Coast train from Edinburgh’s Waverly Station to London’s Kings Cross Station was leaving at 10:00am. After having breakfast and checking out of the hotel, I asked the Doorman on duty about the best way to get from the hotel to the train station. Although it was next door, there was a shopping mall in between. Should I go through the mall? Should I go past the mall and around the corner? He started telling me the way to get there (neither of those two) and then decided he would just take me there himself.

He told the other Doorman on duty inside, took hold of my bags, and escorted me to just past the mall entrance next to the hotel to some steps to the roof of the mall. That was a surprise. When we got to the end of the mall roof near the station, there was an elevator. This took us down into the train station. My new friend (he was actually from Romania – a combination Romanian and Scottish accent is quite delightful) led us to the Departures board, found the train I would be riding, and then took me and my bags to another elevator.

That elevator took us to where the trains themselves were waiting. He continued to escort me all the way to the train. There he made sure I got my larger bag checked. I was traveling First Class (I had gotten a great deal there too). In Standard you keep your bags and try to find a place to put them, which may or may not be near you. Once the bag was checked, he turned me over to the First Class Conductor. Needless to say, I gave the Doorman a good tip.

I had booked a single seat that was at a table. I placed my coat in the rack above me, the small bag on the floor under the table, and settled in. The trip took four hours, stopping at various towns and cities along the way. Lunch was served, so I wasn’t hungry when I arrived at my destination.

Once in London, I checked into my hotel. It was a hotel I used to stay in with Mom on many trips. But it had recently undergone a total refurbishment, gained another star, and decided that their focus would be on the business traveler. I realized on this trip that it was no longer the hotel for me.

The next morning after I arrived, I walked down The Strand to take the boat from Westminster Pier to Greenwich. En route I took a photo of the Admiralty Arch with the UK flags lining The Mall beyond the arch. As I reached Westminster Pier, I took a photo of the statue of Boudica.

Boudica was queen of the Iceni tribe of Celtic Briton who led a revolt against the Romans in about 61 AD. Her husband, the king had died, leaving his kingdom split between his two daughters and the Roman Empire. His will was ignored. His daughters were raped. His widow publicly flogged.

Boudica raised an army and went after the Romans in three cities – Verulamium (now St Albans), Camulodunum (now Colchester), and Londinium (now London). It is said that roughly 70,000 to 80,000 Romans and British were killed. All three cities were burned. London was where the Ninth Legion met Boudica’s troops and lost. But, there were way more Romans and they ultimately defeated the Britons.

Once on the boat, I took a photo of the London Eye before going inside. It was starting to look like it was going to rain. All along the boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich, I took as many photos as I could on the side of the boat where I sat. Humorous commentary was given onboard as various landmarks on either side of the boat were pointed out. I planned to sit on the other side on the way back.

As we glided beneath the Tower Bridge, I shot several photos as that bridge is a favorite of mine. I have included a photo with the modern building The Shard framed between the towers of the bridge.

Beyond both the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge and on the same side of the Thames as the Tower of London was the Prospect of Whitby. This was the oldest pub on the river, dating to about 1520. The current building is not original as it had a fire and was rebuilt in the early 19^th century. The only part that is original is the stone floor.

A little further along, in the area known as Limehouse, is the Grapes, where Charles Dickens lived for a time in about 1820. The building dates from the 1720s. Another pub dating from 1583 was on the same site before it. The pub is currently owned by a trio of people including actor Ian McKellen. He lives a little further along the river near Canary Wharf.

When we reached Greenwich Pier, I immediately headed for the Royal Observatory. Mom and I had been to Greenwich on our first visit to London back in 1983, but had not made it up to the Observatory. We had spent most of our time there at the Queen’s House (built 1616-1635), which houses part of the National Maritime Museum.

The climb to the Observatory is a steep one and I knew it would take time. I often will explore whatever is the farthest or the most difficult to get to first when I am operating on my own agenda instead of someone else’s. There was a less steep, but longer walk that sort of wound around the hill. I decided to take that route up and the super steep route down.

The Royal Observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II and built by Sir Christopher Wren (the same guy who built St Paul’s Cathedral). The Royal Observatory is home to Greenwich Mean Time (from which all time around the world originates) and the Prime Meridian (zero meridian from which will all distances around the world are measured).

People like to get the cheesy photo with one foot on each side of the meridian line. I took an equally cheesy photo of my feet straddling the line – one in the eastern hemisphere and one in the western.

Once I had explored the building and the exhibits inside, took my feet photo, and spent as much time as I wanted up there, I headed back down, walking through the park that surrounds the space, and found a pub in which to have lunch. The Greenwich Tavern had the usual traditional pub fare, such as fish and chips, which was what I ordered, plus a half pint of cider.

Next came the Royal Naval College, created in the 19^th century in a building built in the 17^th century by Sir Christopher Wren as Greenwich Hospital, a home for retired sailors.

There are several connections between Greenwich and Admiral Horatio Nelson. He lied in state in the Painted Hall at what became the Royal Naval College before his funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral. Several items belonging to him, including the uniform he was wearing at the Battle of Trafalgar, are housed in the National Maritime Museum in the Queen’s House.

The Chapel in the Royal Naval College has, near the entrance, a memorial to Thomas Hardy, Captain of the HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar (not the novelist). He was also a close friend of Nelson’s, and was with him when he died on the Victory after being shot by a French Sharpshooter. Hardy was a Governor of Greenwich Hospital near the end of his career.

The Cutty Sark was built in Scotland in 1869 as a tea clipper to China. It was later involved in the wool trade to Australia. The whiskey was named after the ship, which went into dry dock at Greenwich in 1954. Mom and I had toured the ship back in 1983. It suffered a pretty nasty fire in 2007 and was restored in 2012.

The name Cutty Sark comes from the nickname of the witch who chased Tam O’Shanter in Robert Burn’s 1791 poem. The ship was an extremely fast one back in its day. The restoration allows for visitors to seen beneath the ship as well and inside and on deck. I love ships, especially old ones, and I enjoyed getting to explore this one a second time.

On the way back to Westminster Pier, the rain came down really hard, making it impossible for me to take any photos beyond shortly after leaving Greenwich. My last photo shared here is of the Mayflower Pub in Rotherhithe.

In July of 1620, the Mayflower sailed from Rotherhithe to pick up more passengers in Southhampton and Plymouth, England, before sailing to what became Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Mayflower Pub claims to be at the site in Rotherhithe from which the Mayflower sailed. Whether or not that is true is up to discussion.

Back at Westminster Pier, the rain had stopped. As I walked up Whitehall towards The Strand, I took a photo near Banqueting House. Right after that, I saw that a ceremony was taking place at Horseguards Parade and crossed over to that side of the street to take a look. A photo is included here.

My last shot before heading up The Strand to my hotel was of Trafalgar Square, with the statue of Admiral Nelson on top of Nelson’s Column. The statue in front of the column is of King Charles I. The building seen behind the column with a dome is the National Gallery.

Next time – a day at Windsor Castle & Hampton Court Palace

Tag: Tower Bridge

My First Real Trip to Anywhere – Part 2

Train from Edinburgh to London & Boat Ride to Greenwich