Lords Cricket Ground

Tuesday 31 July and we were off to London to visit Lords. The ideal excursion for an Australian cricket tour in England.

As we were a little early for our tour we went for a walk in the nearby streets.

The Lords Tavern is a pub near the Grace Gates entrance to Lords.

Alan and Robin outside the W G Grace Memorial Gates.

Our tour at Lords began with a visit to the museum.

We were told about the history of Lords and then shown the exhibit we all wanted to see - The Ashes.

There was also a special display commemorating the first tour of England by an Aboriginal team.

We then had a tour of the Long Room and the players rooms.

The Visitors' Room was a popular location with our players.

The players almost fitted on the Visitors' balcony.

Views of the ground.

We then visited the Press Gallery.

After visiting the Lords Shop we explored the local area and had lunch before returning to the coach.

Tim and Robin looking at the mural outside the cricket ground.

John and Robin at the Beatles Crosswalk in Abbey Road, St John's Wood - a popular tourist location.

The gardens opposite the cricket ground. We returned to Waltham Abbey after a very interesting day.

London

Saturday 9 August

In the morning we visited the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We enjoyed having the opportunity to look at a selection of the works of artists, particulalry those from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, that we have seen in books and in the media but could now actually view in the gallery.

This was the weekend of RideLondon. The main race is on the Sunday but on the Saturday members of the public were able to ride through the streets of London which have been blocked off to traffic. This also created challenges when pedestrians needed to cross the road but there were designated points where the riders had to stop occasionally to allow pedestrians to cross the road.

Trafalgar Square was also very busy and sections of the crow were being entertained watching street entertainers and living statues. We walked out of the art gallery to meet a friendly Batman who adopted a suitable pose for a photo.

Nelson's Column, is of course the most famous statue in Trafalgar Square but the lions at the base of the statue are also interesting. The four bronze lion sculptures, by Edwin Landseer (1802-1873), are often covered with people sitting on them.

This lion appears to be not too impressed with another 'piece of wildlife' in the square - a large blue chicken. Apparently the blue cock is to be on display for eighteen months from July 2013.

The remainder of the day was spent exploring the shops including visiting the Liberty department store.

I made sure that we went upstairs to the fabric section to look at the liberty prints.

Back to the hotel for dinner and then it was time to repack the suitcases for the trip to Scotland the next day.

London

Friday 8 August
In the morning we walked down Lambeth Road to the Imperial War Museum.

Several weeks earlier the new World War I galleries had opened for the centenary of the First World War and this was the focus of the visit though we also explored other exhibits at the museum. Details about the visit can be found in a post in the Exploring Military History blog.

We then walked back to the river and crossed to the north bank to explore some of the monuments on that side of the river.

In the Victoria Tower Gardens, next to Parliament House we found a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) who was one of the key players in the fight for women to be able to vote in Britain.

We walked past Parliament House and it is hard not to be impressed by this beautiful building.

Keeping to the military theme of the morning we then walked down Whitehall where the Cenotaph,

the monument to the Women of World War II

and statues of British military figures are to be found.

Summer in London and colourful baskets and pots of flowers are to be found decorating buildings everywhere.

London

Thursday 7 August
After our final breakfast on the ship we were taken to the Lyon Airport to fly to London (British Airways). At Heathrow we were met by our driver who took us to the Novotel Hotel in Lambeth Road, Waterloo.

The view from the hotel window was of the buildings and gardens of Lambeth Palace and the Museum of Garden History. In the distance we could see the Victoria Tower, part of Parliament House.

On our last visit to London we stayed in a hotel on the north side of the Thames River and our explorations were concentrated in that part of the city. This time we had the opportunity to explore the South Bank. The area was crowded and as it was school holidays there were many family based attractions on offer as well as the Aquarium and the London Eye. We wove our way through the throng and along the river bank until we reached Tower Bridge.

As the tide was low there were a number of performers, including this band, busking near the water. They had laid out a rug on the sand where people could throw coins in appreciation.

Another busker was creating sand sculptures by the river.

The river itself was busy with barges and tourist boats going about their business.

Along the South Bank there are many buildings old and new and recreated such as the Globe Theatre.

Wherever you go in central London you can come across reminders of the past with explorations of sites in the city. This archaeological dig was near Southwark Cathedral.

Another reminder of the past is a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hinde.

Once we reached Tower Bridge we crossed the river to view the Tower of London Remembers project - a display of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London commemorating lives lost by British soldiers and soldiers from the British Empire during the First World War. Additional information about this project can be found in the post in my Exploring Military History blog. This is an ongoing project until Armistice Day.

We continued back to the hotel along the North Bank of the river.

As river levels were low due to the low tide it was possible to see the remains of structures that had once been part of this river landscape.

We crossed a bridge back to the South Bank and continued, once again, through the throng of families enjoying their day by the river. On the way we purchased a crab roll and a lobster roll from one of the many food stalls along the promenade. We enjoyed the experience of exploring this vibrant part of London.

London

Friday 29 July
We visited the British Museum  in the morning – a great collection of items from ancient times especially from Egypt, Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia and Crete. The first item viewed was the Rosetta Stone. The Elgin Marbles are another major attraction.
There was also special collection of Australian art since the 1940s as well as an exhibition of Aboriginal woven bags and in the forecourt there was an exhit on Australian flora.

We then set out to explore the east end of London - St Paul's Cathedral,

Tower Bridge,

Old Bailey

and Petticoat Lane (now Middlesex Street) in Whitechapel (the latter three sites mentioned in the trial of Uriah Moses).

We also passed the building knicknamed 'The Gherkin' at 30 St Mary Axe.

London

Thursday 28 July
We visited Westminster Abbey  in the morning for several hours - really interesting building with memorials to prime ministers, kings and queens, musicians, and of course Poet's Corner.

We then continued exploring the sites of London including Trafalgar Square commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). Nelson's column with a base of lions is a central feature.

Trafalgar Square is at the junction of a number of major London roads including The Mall, Whitehall and The Strand.

 

The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. As in many parts of London there is much rebuilding being undertaken to be ready for the Olympic Games next July.

Marble Arch at the entrance to Hyde Park and Hyde Park - a restful place in a busy city.