Very blue skies and a boat trip to Maritime Greenwich

Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and as giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

A bit of history (thanks to Wikipedia): The town became the site of a Royal palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century, and was the birthplace of many in the House of Tudor, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
The palace was the principal residence of Henry VII, and his sons, Henry (later the in-famous Henry VIII ) and Edmund Tudor were born here. Both daughters Mary (February 18, 1516) and Elizabeth (September 7, 1533) were born at Greenwich, before Henry VIII moved to Hampton Court.

On the way to Tower Pier: All Hallows by the Tower

leaving Tower Bridge towards the East

old riverside pubs and...

...Canary Wharf

CW Pier + Westferry Circus

Greenwich, a World Heritage Site since 1997. The dominant sight on the south bank of the Thames is the Old Naval College, originally a royal palace, then rebuilt as the Royal Naval Hospital for Sailors by Sir Christopher Wren before becoming a centre of maritime education

Old Naval College (1873 - 1998) from river at very low tide. Queens House + Observatory in back

another domed masterpiece by Christopher Wren

the former college dining room, the Painted Hall -not my style, but impressive none-the-less

Queen Anne of Denmark had this house built by Inigo Jones in 1617 on both sides of a public road - the same where Sir Walter Raleigh (left) had laid down his coat for another queen

Observatory just after the 1pm ball drop. The Prime Meridian passes through the building

Greenwich Nautic Shop

Grand arcade between Queens house and Maritime Museum

inside the Maritime Museum

one more look back at Canary Wharf

Millenium Dome thru palace gates

Several of the buildings are now let to the University of Greenwich and one, the King Charles block, to Trinity College of Music.

a glimpse of Greenwich market and pub...

Around St.James Park

war time lighting

The weather was unexpectedly beautiful all of last week, so I went on a number of London Walks. This here starts from St. James Park Tube station, through Queen Anne’s Gate (a rather pretty street) and ends on the Mall on the other side of the park.

Royal Household Cavalry

Horseguards clock tower

Queen's Life Guard

St. James’s Park is a 23 hectare park in Westminster, the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. Despite being in a very central location between Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and Horse Guards, I had never been in the park before.

view of Royal Horseguards, etc. from bridge over St. James' Park lake

Buckingham Palace in background

Changing of the Guards - marching band

Horseman’s Sunday

A little know event that I came across recently: at noon on the penultimate Sunday in September, the vicar of St John’s Church in Hyde Park climbs on a horse for a special blessing of all horses in the heart of London. The well established annual tradition known as Horseman’s Sunday  began in 1968 to highlight the need to maintain stables along the north of Hyde Park. Horses come from all over London to gather on the forecourt of the church for a blessing, followed by a ride-past and a presentation of rosettes.

clergy and their guards ready for the parade

kids enjoying themselves with horse puppets

St. John's Church at Hyde Park Crescent

Horse statue at nearby Marble Arch

Camden – Market & more

Camden Market is the 4th most popular visitor attraction in London, visited by app. 100,000 people each weekend – and so did I one sunny Saturday.

Camden Lock

The markets are relatively new: Camden Lock market proper started in a former timber-yard in 1973, and is now surrounded by smaller markets. The Stables Market is the largest section of Camden Market, built in the former Midland Railway stables and horse hospital which served the horses pulling barges along the canal. Originally the stalls and shops were set into huge arches in railway viaducts, but in the 2006 re-development large steel and glass extensions were added.

Horse Hospital entrance

the arches

lots of horse statues everywhere

Upstairs stables in Horse Hospital

open air food and craft stalls

lots of tempting smells

Camden High Street

The World's End (formerly the Red Cap) - pub since 1778

The Camden Eye

a London Walk would not be complete without some mention of Dickens

The Roundhouse was constructed in 1847 for the London + Birmingham Railway. In the 1960s it was converted in a music venue

Barfly

KOKO (dance + rock venue), formerly The Camden Palace (The Goon Show)

Carreras Building (Greater London House) built in 1926 for Tobacco Company

Egyptian cat goddess?

A boat trip to Hampton Court

Another Monday, another London Walks excursion: this time a short train ride from Waterloo to Richmond and then by boat upstream the River Thames to Hampton Court.

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London.
It was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, but in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to King Henry VIII, who enlarged it, in Gothic-inspired Tudor style.
The following century William III and Mary II started a massive expansion project in Baroque style. Work stopped in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles.
After the reign of George II (around 1730), no monarch ever resided at Hampton Court.
In 1796, the Great Hall was restored and in 1838, Queen Victoria completed the restoration and opened the palace to the public.

First a few views of Richmond, before boarding the Yarmouth Belle for a one hour tour upriver – a good time for lunch.

Richmond theatre + first free library

2 firemarks (double insurance) on house in Maids of Honours Row

Two, the Wardrobe (remaining houses of Richmond Palace (around 1500)

Yarmouth Belle - River boat tour from Richmond

view of the Petersham from river

Old Lock

first view of Hampton palace (the Mary & William part)

Fence of the Privy Garden

view of Tudor palace from the Rose Garden

Greyhound of Richmond (I think it looks a bit like Scooby Doo) + Dragon of Wales on the right

Post-Copernican astronomical clock (1540) on gatehouse to inner court. Still functioning, the clock shows the time of day, the phases of the moon, the month, the quarter of the year, the date, the sun and star sign, and high water at London Bridge - import because at low water London Bridge created dangerous rapids.

Base Court

Re-enactment of one of Henri VIII's many weddings

Henry VIII's court consisted of over 1,000 people and one of the first of the King's building works in order to transform Hampton Court to a principal residence was to build the vast kitchens - this being only a very small part of it

In 1689 England had two new joint monarchs, William of Orange and his wife, the daughter of James II, Queen Mary II. They embarked on a massive rebuilding project at Hampton Court. The intention was to demolish the Tudor palace a section at a time, while replacing it with a huge modern palace in the Baroque style

The country's most eminent architect, Sir Christopher Wren, drew up the plans. Half the Tudor palace was replaced and Henry VIII's state rooms were lost; the new wings around the Fountain Court contained new state apartments and private rooms, one set for the King + one for the Queen

Carriage in Fountain Garden

Lion Gate (near the Maze)

last look back before...

...the train back to Waterloo

A rainy day in Winchester

Winchester is England’s ancient capital, former seat of King Alfred the Great and if Camelot existed, it could well have been here…and of course there is the cathedral (from the 1966 song)

…but most of all, it’s a nice little town for an excursion into olde England, even if it rains a bit.

starting off at Waterloo Station

sun still shining

entering Winchester through the Westgate

The Great Hall (13th century) with a round table (no, not quite old enough the be the one)

Winchester Castle was originally built by William the Conquerer in 1067, in the south-west corner of walls of the Roman town Venta. Henri III built the Great Hall, the only part left when Cromwell destroyed the Castle in 1651.

and there it is - the Cathedral. Construction started in 1079 near the site of the Old Minster, founded in 642. Not very impressive from the outside, but lots of treasures inside

the longest nave of any Gothic cathedral in Europe + high altar

St. Swinthun's shrine, patron saint of the cathedral

close-up of one of the 20th century icons

Jeanne d'Arc

Original Norman structure that I like better than the Gothic style, but most of the cathedral has been remodelled by William of Wykeham

Sound II statue in Crypt - not flooded right now. A deep-sea diver had to work underwater in the crypt between 1906 and 1911 to prevent it from sinking

Jane Austen memorial window

Shutters protecting the original paintings in the Retrochoir

Green Man - medieval carving in Quire

Mortuary chest with mixed bones of Saxon kings, queens + bishops

Chantry chapel of one of the bishops of Winchester

and then there was this exhibition of bugs in the cathedral - but I had lunch instead

self portrait in front of museum

another piece of public art

God Begot house - 16th century building on site of Queen Emma's manor

Royal Oak Passage: half-timbered God Begot building on left, oldest pub in England on the right

Kingsgate with Pilgring's Hall in back

Cheyney Court - former bishop's court house

Winchester College founded 1382, oldest continuously running school in England: inner courtyard

The perfect servant

17th Century Schoolroom

Cloisters, part of Winchester College

Blue-eyed boy on ceiling of outer gate - smiling when you come in, sad when you leave Winchester College

River Itchen with City Mill behind bridge

Victorian Guildhall

Old chemist store in museum

King Alfred's statue

and a last bit of advice: "drink strong beer or none at all"

Mayfair (Spy Stories Walk)

Who says there is no Summer in London? Another sunny weekend in August’09 – walking from Piccadilly to Berkley Square, listening to Spy stories from WWII/Cold War (which the photos do  not reflect at all)

view of National Gallery from Charing Cross

Fortnam & Masons Clock

Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House

Reflection - Burlington House courtyard (Chemisty or Art?)

Always love to browse through the Fortnam & Masons store when I get to Piccadilly.

On the other side of the street I then discovered the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts.  It was much too nice weather to go inside, but enjoyed the fountains and objects in the courtyard.

Karl Marx watching Blow Up (the movie) in front of Economist building (any guess why?)

what every gentleman spy would wear...?

Berkely Square House in the late afternoon sun

Royal Opera Arcade - Britain's original covered shopping arcade, desingned 1818 by John Nash, behind Haymarket Opera house

Highgate Villages

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, walking through a quiet part of North London

One of many pubs in Highgate

nice flowers & a rather desparate blue plaque - Dickens was here

Pond Square - without a pond

Highgate School - founded 1565

former house of J.B. Priestly in The Grove - one of the expensive streets in Highgate

Highgate Cemetary West (closed)

Karl Marx' tomb, Highgate Cemetery East

Fox at Highgate Cemetery West, not worried about the vampire stories

St. Joseph's Church, Highgate Hill

pretty houses on Waterlow Road, leading to Archway where the busy London traffic starts again

Punting on the River Cam

A perfect end to my day in Cambridge

Punting boats near Silver street

The Mathematical Bridge, Queens' College

King's College back lawn view from river

Bridge of Sighs, St. John's College

Cambridge Colleges

Not much left of the old Norman Castle, but a good place to get a first overview of the city

Henri VIII with the 'famous chair leg' at Trinity College Gate

Senate House: facade covering up original medival building

King's College Front Court + Gatehouse

King's College Chapel: Organ + fan vaulted ceiling

House of Tudor: Roses, dragons + greyhounds everywhere

Carvings on portal (oak screen with organ)

Choir - King's College Chapel

Ruben's painting (1634) under Great East Window

Christ's College (Darwin)

Emmanuel: oldest protestant college

John Harvard

Pub where discovery of DNA was announced

Grasshopper Clock

Memorial Wall, American Cemetary (Glenn Miller)

American Cemetary