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Published: March 17th 2024
British Library I
One of the entrances into the courtyard.In August and November 2022 and in April 2023, I had planned retreats and volunteering assignments in two retreat centres in the UK. Since I had a bit of time, I wanted to travel by train. In order not to sit on the train for 13 hours, I decided to have stopovers in Brussels on my outbound journeys and in London on my journeys back home. There are blog posts on my stopovers in Brussels (
https://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Herefordshire/Ledbury/blog-1083302.html) and on my stays in the UK (
https://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-1082001.html), so here is what I did during my three stopovers in London.
First stopover, September 2022 My first stopover in London was on the 18
th of September. I arrived at Euston Station in the early afternoon, together with three other women who had been on a retreat at Taraloka Retreat Centre in Wales with me. It was a sunny day, and we sat down between the stalls in front of the station to have coffee and a piece of cake together. Then we parted ways.
I checked into my hotel, just a ten-minute walk from St Pancras Station from where my Eurostar train would depart the next morning, and then I was ready for
British Library II
The personal library of King George III. an afternoon of sightseeing. I was going to take it slowly because I had just been on a retreat, in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.
The Queen had passed away a few days earlier, and I was expecting the city to be crowded, with lots of mourning people, flowers, photos of the Queen. However, I hardly realised a difference, except for the fact that there were photos of the Queen in various places. I guess it would have been different had I been closer to Buckingham Palace. But in Camden where I was staying, this was all that I came across.
The British Library is located along the way from St Pancras to Euston Station. I had passed the building twice, and since I love books, I decided to have a look inside. The entrance hall was huge, with a bookshelf behind glass spanning several floors in the centre of the hall. This bookshelf holds the personal library of King George III, books on all kinds of topics, with leather covers and golden letters on them. And the library has more treasures. For example, there are original copies of the Magna Charta, the document that many historians see
British Library III
The Heart Sutra, in Chinese, from the 9th or 10th century. as the first step towards a constitutional monarchy for England. However, what excited me most was that there was a copy of the Heart Sutra written in Chinese from the 9
th or 10
th century. I know the sutra by heart, and I had only just read a book about it, so seeing this copy gave me goosebumps. I roamed around the library for quite some time, simply enjoyed being around so many books, so much collected knowledge and wisdom.
Just behind St Pancras Station, there is another little gem. In the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church, there is Thomas Hardy Tree, a tree surrounded by tombstones, and named after the poet Thomas Hardy. What I had not known was that the writer had had a career as an architect before becoming a full-time writer. During the 1860s, the Midland Railway Line was built over part of St Pancras Churchyard. So, the dead bodies had to be exhumed and the tombstones needed to be removed. This is what Thomas Hardy had to oversee, and some of the tombstones were put around the Ash tree in the yard. It looks a little like a painting from a fantasy picture book.
British Library IV
Sutra for the illiterate, telling the story of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara's ten vows. I sat down for a bit just to look at it.
Then I moved on to Coal Drops Yard. In the 19
th century, this had been a hub where coal coming from South Yorkshire by train was transhipped onto narrowboats or horse-drawn carts. Consequently, there were railway lines and canals. The whole area had been refurbished in 2018 and turned into a shopping and dining area, office spaces, and flats. It was nice to walk the area and admire the architecture. I love it when there is a combination of old structures and modern design. There were also all kinds of different house boats on the canal.
A retreatant had recommended a Sri Lankan restaurant to me, Hopper’s, just across the canal from Coal Drops Yard. I had a nice dinner there. Before returning to my hotel, I walked the streets of Coal Drops Yard some more, just to get an impression of the area by night.
After a good night’s sleep, I caught the early morning Eurostar train to Brussels and from there a train to Cologne and back home to Dortmund.
Second stopover, December 2022 I arrived in London in the early afternoon
St Pancras Old Church
... just behind St Pancras Station. of the 6
th of December. I checked into my hotel (again just behind St Pancras Station, but another place this time) and went for a walk behind St Pancras Station. I did not have much time because I needed to attend a Zoom call in the afternoon, but I could take a bit of time to explore Camley Street Natural Park. This is an urban nature reserve on the banks of Regent's Canal, just opposite Coal Drops Yard. Although the reserve is very small, it has different habitats, including a meadow, wetlands, and woodland. Thus, it invites insects and birds in the middle of the city. And although it is just behind a busy train station and across the canal from a buzzing part of the city, it is remarkably quiet.
I returned to my hotel room for my Zoom call and then headed off to the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green in East London, where there is an open evening every Tuesday. I had heard a lot of this centre and was curious to see it. On an open evening, there is usually a period of meditation, followed by a break, and then a talk. When I
Thomas Hardy Tree
... in the cemetery of St Pancras Old Church, surrounded by tombstones. got there, I met a few people there that I knew and had a chat, and I sat for a meditation with everyone before catching the tube back to Camden and back to my hotel to have an early night.
The next morning, I caught the early morning Eurostar to Brussels, and from there, I headed back to Dortmund via Cologne.
Third stopover, April 2023 I arrived in London at around 3 pm on the 23
rd of April and checked into my hotel, once more just behind St Pancras International, and once more another hotel than previously. It was a splendid day, so I decided to get a ride on the London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, the famous Ferris wheel on the banks of River Thames. It is 135 metres tall and has passenger capsules that offer a 360-degree view of the city. It opened to the public in the year 2000 and at the time it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world.
When arriving at the tube station just across the river from the London Eye, I was surprised by the huge crowds and soon found out why it was so busy: There
Coal Drops Yard I
View across the canal. was a running event going on. Some roads were blocked and could not be crossed. There were runners everywhere, and people watching the event. Fortunately, the pedestrian bridge to the other side of the river was open, so I could get to the London Eye. I bought a (pretty expensive) ticket for the attraction and decided not to go for the (even more expensive) fast lane option because the queue did not seem to be too long. The staff at the entrance were extremely efficient, so the crowd moved quickly. I refused to take the standard picture before a green screen that afterwards would depict me somewhere on the London Eye and that would cost a fortune again.
Finally, I was in one of the passenger capsules and got higher and higher up. Through the windows I had a 360-degree view of some of the famous sites of London on the other side of the river: St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. The wheel runs slow enough to be able to take it all in. I remembered a trip to London that I had been on many years ago, when we visited
Coal Drops Yard II
Square in the middle of the area. most of the sites mentioned here (
https://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-962277.html).
After my ride on the London Eye, I decided to leave this busy part of London as quickly as possible. It was too crowded, noisy, and hectic. I had just returned from an almost two-week retreat which had been in perfect peace and silence, so the buzzing city was a bit overwhelming for me. The feeling continued when I was on the tube. Not only was it extremely crowded and busy there as well, but there were also ads in every possible place, telling the reader to do this, call that number, buy this, go to that website. It was complete overwhelm and I was more than glad when I got off the tube again in Camden. I ended up at Hopper’s once more, the Sri Lankan restaurant just across the canal from Coal Drops Yard where I had been before. It was nice and quiet there, and I had a tasty meal.
When I emerged form the restaurant, it was getting dark already. I took a nice little walk around Coal Drops Yard, stopped at the illuminated fountains on one of the squares, did a bit of window shopping, went
Camley Street Natural Park I
Nature reseve just behind St Pancras Station. for a stroll along the canal, and then returned to my hotel for an early night.
The next morning, I caught the Eurostar back to Brussels and from there a train to Cologne and back home to Dortmund.
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alex waring
Alexander Waring
London
Great! I feel all caught up on these trips now - your journeys there, time on retreats, and journeys back again. I often pass through St Pancras and King's Cross Stations on my way to and from Sheffield, but I have rarely been behind them. Your blog has given me inspiration to explore a bit more there! The Coal Drops Yard area looks lovely, and a good haven for you as you bridged the gap between quiet retreat and busy London. Great photos from the London Eye!