Royal Ramblings

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Our last full day in London allowed for a nice sleep in - so nice that we slept past breakfast! Luckily, the owners still provided us with some cereal and toast to fuel our bodies for the day. The first attraction to see was the Horse Guards, and after a very slow train, and several lots of directions, we finally found the forecourt in which the guards change shift.

The horse guards are stationed at the far end of Buckingham Palace, and work in 2 hour shifts, until 8pm at night. They are a fabulous sight, in their full dress regalia, and I have fond memories of having a photo taken here on my last visit long ago, and having the horse chew on my hair.

The changing of the guard takes 30 minutes, and involves one shift, swapping with another. The horses are so well behaved, and beautiful to watch - also dressed to match their riders. Today, the red guards were taking over from the black, and we watched as the riders guided their horses around the forecourt, and swapped guards.

After this, it was back down from where we had walked to Westminster Abbey. This has been, by far, the most impressive Church we have seen. Many of the Kings and Queens of England have been buried here, including James the I, Elizabeth the I and Mary Queen of Scots. Their burial places are decorative tombs, many with death masks and ornate robes and sceptres.

Another interesting feature of the Church, is the coronation chair, which has been in use since the 1200’s…and every reigning King or Queen has had their coronation upon this chair. A highlight for me was definitely Poet’s Corner - a section of the abbey that contains the graves and memorials of England’s most famous writers - Shelley, Keats, Byron, Tennyson, Shakespeare, Wordsworth - the list goes on. In fact, there are over 150 writers within the Abbey.

It was definitely time for some lunch, as all this history can really tire you out, so we managed to find a small, cheap restaurant, and after a quick feed, made our way back through the horse guards quarters, and through St James Park to Buckingham Palace.

We spotted at least 5 squirrels on the way - a sight we have become quite accustomed to. We also saw lots of birdlife, including a huge pelican that had taken up residence on one of the park benches. The gardens were in full bloom, and it didn’t take us long to reach the palace gates. The gold statue in the centre of the round-a-bout sets the scene for the Royal Palace behind…which is MUCH larger Kensington Palace. We didn’t much feel like traipsing round another Royal abode though…and at 15 pounds each, our decision was made even easier.

It was time to head home, and relax for the afternoon, then do our laundry for our last leg - China!! We have split our clothes into two suitcases, as well as our other belongings, so if Izzy is lucky enough to have his suitcase go missing for a third time, we will be well prepared.

London would definitely be up there with my favourite cities. There is just so much to see and do here…we have only scratched the surface. I know that I couldn’t live here in the winter months…it was already too cold for me today, and it’s only autumn, but summer would be bliss. It’s one of the places we will be returning to…but for now, it’s time to conquer the all that China has to offer.

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Photos

Horse Guards 2
The new patrol.

Horse Guards 4
This horse licked its way through the entire change over!