Parks and Palaces

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Oh dear! I remembered to take my camera with me on Friday and took loads of good photos. BUt when I got home I couldn't find a way to transfer them to the computer. The photos all showed up on the screen of my camera but when I connnected it to the computer it couldn't see them - and the same thing happened when I tried using the card reader. It seems to be a problem with the card because when I put other similar cards into the reader they worked ok. If anyone can suggest a solution, please let me know. Otherwise I'll just use a different card next time and see what happens.

Anyway, the walk itself was very pleasant even though it was a cold and blowy day. It was called Parks and Palaces and it took in St James's Park (starting where the previous walk officially finished). The parks included St James's Park itself and then Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and ended with Holland Park, which I had not previously visited. The Palaces were St James's Palace, Buckingham Palace, Apsely House and Kensington Palace. The total length according to the book was 6 1/4 miles, but again I made a lot of detours.

St James's Park was quite near the start point. I walked along up to Horse Guards Parade and walked across the Parade Ground to see the mounted guards on duty. The Household Cavalry Museum was nearby and I popped in. It's a nice little museum - you can see the stables through a big glass window and watch as the soldiers get their horses ready. But I don't think it was worth the £6 admission fee. There were quite a few interesting things to see, though. They had the artificial leg that Lord Uxbridge used after his was blown off at Waterloo. He is the chap who is supposed to have said to Wellington "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" — to which Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have. It couldn't have been very easy to use as only the knee was hinged, the ankle being fixed. There were lots of displays explaining regimental customs and also a reproduction of a French eagle taken during the Napoleonic wars. After leaving the museum I recrossed Horse Guards and returned to St James's Park near the War Memorial.

A little farther on I detoured again just to look up close at St James's Palace and then came back to the park.

The main attraction of this park for me is the various waterfowl that live there. I took lots of pictures of the ducks, geese, coots and swans. Several squirrels were also running about, half burying themselves under dead leaves, looking for their lost nuts and nibbling from tourists' hands. The birds weren't the least bit scared of the squirrels and would come right up to them. I had almost got to the end of the lake before I saw the famous pelicans that live there. I thought they'd gone of somewhere to hibernate or ahd even decided to migrate - it really was a cold day - but there four of them were all huddling on the bankside together and not moving. As I watched, one of them suddenly moved his head 180 degrees round and scratched its back! I really thought its head was going to fall right off! Two of them were pinkish in colour and the other two pure white.

After the pelicans I walked out of the Park and onto the Mall. Just as I did so I heard marching music and a troop of guards came marching down towards the palace with the band playing. Presumably they were coming to relieve the current guards. I watched them for a bit and then walked over in front of the Palace to get to my second park of the day, Green Park.

It was mostly green but there was no denying that it was very brown too in areas where leaves had fallen. There were lots of squirrels here too and he odd pigeon but nothing resembling the wealth of wild life in St James's Park. There was nothing much to see here and I walked through, coming out near Hyde Park corner, near where I used to go for Italian lessons at the Istituto Culturale. I walked around, looking at the various War Memorials which proliferate here - I remember I was at the Istituto for a weekend lesson when the Australian one was dedicagted. I admired the great Wellington Arch with its massive doors as I walked through and resisted the temptation to go in, or even get a joint ticket for it and Apsley House.

I did decide to invest in a visit at Apsley House itself - it's just over the way - though. This was the the house of the famous Iron Duke and his descendants still live there, though a part of the house is open to the public. An audio guide is included in the admission price and was very helpful. The house is filled with treasures, most of which were bestowed on the first Duke by grateful monarchs. in the entrance hall by the great spiral staircase there is a gigantic marble statue of Napolean, the Duke's arch-enemy, by Canova On the audio guide the current Duke explains how when he was a child he used to slide down the staircase and had to take specail care not to hit the gilded Victory held by the statue.

The house has been restored to what it is supposed to have looked like in the time of the first Duke. There were paintings by Velazquez, Murillo and Goya on the walls but my impression was that the Duke had not been much of a connossieuer. Most of the Spanish paintings had been looted by his army from the abandoned baggage of Joseph, Napolean's brother. He did offer to return then to the reinstated Spanish King but was allowed to keep them. Most of the other paintings have military themes or are picture of Napolean, who seems to have fascinated the Duke. In one display case there were what were said to be original French eagles - probably including the original of the one I'd seen earlier.

Then it was into Hyde Park through the gate in the arch next to the house. I detoured slightly to look at another Wellington memorial - the statue of Achilles which was cast out of metal made from melting down captured French cannon. Their was a Christmas Fayre nearby and I listened to a remarkably articulate moose singing carols. I thought it was a reindeer but it said it was a Canadian moose and I suppose it should know.

I walked through Hyde Park following the left hand side of the Serpentine. Diana's water fountain was deserted apart frm one small boy. I still can't decide what to make of it. On the one hand it doesn't seem to have any inherent beauty or even unity, but OTOH children seem to love it, and I suppose that may be what she would have wanted.

Further down I looked at the Peter Pan statue which I always like and then took a detour to see the statue of Physical Energy which reminded me of Mumbai's Shivaji statue.

From there it was a short walk to the Round Pond (which was more ovaloid if you ask me) and on to Kensington Palace. This was closed, but I took a photo of a staue of King William III just in front. Then it was down Kensington High Street and up Kensngton Church Street until I arrived at Holland Street, which led into Holland Park. There are supposed to be peafowl here but I didn'd see any. I'm sure the park would be a lot nicer on a warm spring or summer day. One part that I did enjoy was the Japanese garden. This was beautiful and very peaceful.

Once out of Holland Park itself there was a short walk past a statue of St Volodymere, who introduced Christianity to Ukraine to the tube station.

The next walk is Westminster to Clerkenwell which is 8 1/2 miles in three stages. However, I may decide to do just the first stage and also include visiting the Florence Nightingale museum and Westminster Abbey, which I missed out on my first walk. And, hopefully, I'l get som usable pics!

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