End to an interesting ten months.
As the Old English saying goes, all good things must come to an end: But at the laste, as every thing hath ende (English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, in a poem from the 130os). Today concluded our year living in London.
Wherein I complete a royal quest.
While walking through a rural area outside London, early in my year-long stay in England, I came across a bright-red postbox embedded in a very old stone wall in the tiny village of Shalford, outside Guildford. Although self-standing pillar-shaped postboxes are ubiquitous, this one sparked my curiosity. Why is this postbox – owned and maintained by the Royal Mail as a public service – embedded in a stone wall? and what does the insignia, embossed on the surface, mean? I later did some research online and found myself embarking on a months-long quest for more postboxes. Read on!
My final hike in England.
Final for my final hike in England (this year), I selected a section of the Capital Ring trail that runs from Grove Park to Crystal City, southeast of the London city center. Although it much of it follows suburban streets and nearly all of it is on paved tracks, it passes through several pretty parks. This morning was beautiful – sunny, breezy, and (finally!) cool after a week of brutal record-breaking heat across the UK and Europe.
A daily ritual at Buckingham Palace.
One of the benefits of living where we live, in London, is that we often walk by Buckingham Palace. It is only 15-20 minutes from our flat, so I sometimes walk by just to see what’s happening. Of course, the ceremonial guards are there, standing rigidly in front of their guard houses. And the crowds are there, peering through the gates. In the winter, when the guards wear their heavy grey uniforms, the crowds were sparse.
A midweek ramble through forest and art.
The weather is summery and I had some free time today, so I decided to take a walk in Hampstead Heath – a large, forested park in northwestern London – and stop for lunch in Kenwood House, a historic mansion that now serves as a public art museum. It was reputed to have a lovely café, so I stashed my laptop in my backpack and took the #24 bus to its endpoint near Hampstead Heath.
The most significant ceremonial event of the year, including Trooping the Colours.
One can certainly say one thing about the British: they know pageantry! Today, on a beautiful early summer’s day, was the annual King’s Birthday Parade, the most important of the three occasions for the Trooping of the Colour. Indeed, this is the most important ceremonial occasion of the year for the Royal Family. I live only a few blocks from Buckingham Palace… so I could not resist the opportunity to watch. Wow! what a scene.
Up close and personal.
This week we had the opportunity to climb Elizabeth Tower, better known by the nickname of its largest, most famous bell: Big Ben.
Elizabeth Tower, which is part of the Palace of Westminster (home to the British Parliament), is a clock tower completed in 1859 and named in 2012 after Queen Elizabeth II for her Diamond Jubilee. It is perhaps one of the most iconic landmarks in London. We were lucky to nab tickets for a tour – which are very limited and I tried several months before succeeding.
Continue reading “Big Ben”The world’s most famous flower show.
One of London’s most incredible annual events is the Chelsea Flower Show, which is hosted within walking distance of our flat. Several hundred thousand people visit this incredible, indoor-outdoor show over five days. Outdoors, elite gardeners install elaborate bespoke gardens with flowers, greenery, water features, stone walls, furniture, and more… that showcase remarkable skill and creativity. Indoors, under a massive tent, gardeners and florists show off their most exquisite flowers and designs. Competition is fierce for the top awards.
34th consecutive weekend hike
Although the weather has been beautiful this weekend, I had little time for hiking. So, today I chose to walk a portion of the Thames Path. This long-distance path begins at the source of the Thames, in the Cotswolds, and follows the river downstream for 185 miles to Woolwich, London. (Regular readers may recall my brief visit to that downstream endpoint, at the famous Thames River Barrier, two months ago.) Today I began my walk in Chelsea, walked along the embankment until I reached the Parliament building, then turned back inland toward home.
33rd consecutive weekend hiking!
Another weekend in London – another opportunity for hiking! Today was a lovely day – warm and sunny, with flowers blooming in the parks and dooryards. I was a bit short for time so I selected a hike on the northeast edge of London, from Hackney to Walthamstow at the end of the Tube’s Victoria line. Although most of the walk was along streets or paved bike trails, the scenery varied from residential areas, to pedestrian streets on market day, to the vast Victoria Park, to the locks and canal boats along a series of three canals, to the meadows and forests of Hackney Marsh and Walthamstow Marsh.
David Kotz 