New feet please.
Yesterday was my day-to-myself trip to London. I got up stupidly early to be in town to get the 8:20 coach I was booked on and managed to make it to the coach station at 8:00… and promptly end up on the 8:05 coach which had a few spare seats and most other people (who had been there longer than me) had funfares which mean you can only get the coach you’re booked on. I hadn’t bothered with the funfare cos by the time I booked it would have saved me literally 20p so I booked the amendable/refundable one instead. The journey was uneventful but it should be noted that instead of the usual bus weirdo I actually ended up next to a nice Italian girl who shared her cookies with me!
I arrived at Victoria at 10:35 and headed off towards Westminster. I had decided to see if I could go all day without getting the tube or bus so I had a route semi-planned in my head for the things I wanted to see and in which order. I do think I need a new London map though - mine is 11 years old so missing things like the London Eye and Millennium Bridge. I know where they are, but that’s not the point.
I’m quite proud of the fact I made it all day (from 10:35 to about 18:00) without taking the tube or bus. I barely stopped all day - I’d say the sum total of all my sitting down was about 30 minutes. I wasn’t even really hungry but I forced myself to eat because I needed the energy. I have a tendency to walk fast too - there wasn’t a great deal of slow meandering except when I was looking at various sights. My day went (in order as far as possible)…
Westminster Abbey
Houses of Parliament - somehow they never cease to impress me.
Whitehall (Cenotaph, Horse Guards, Downing Street) - lots to see here as the cenotaph was still poppified from remembrance day.
Trafalgar Square
…along Strand and via Cybercandy to…
Covent Garden - where I browsed the market but didn’t buy anything
Waterloo Bridge (I think Waterloo) - here I saw either a Dominic Cooper-alike or the man himself
Somerset House - Wasn’t in the plans but I ended up there and checked the out the rink and tree - really lovely. I think it would be my London rink of choice.
Temple
St Paul’s Cathedral - pretty, but never quite as impressive from ground level as from the sky or a distance
…along the river to…
London Bridge - which didn’t fall on me as I walked under it
Tower Bridge - which I love because it looks like history
The Tower of London - Where I saw the second rink of the day, grabbed some lunch and spent a chunk of time. It was a long walk but worth it. My one regret from the day is that I didn’t skate there - it was really quiet. I had no plans to skate (and I doubt my legs could have taken it) but thought I might at Hyde Park - which was sold out as I realistically knew it would be. There was also a sign pointing to beheading!
Gherkin/Swiss Re building - shiny
Bank - lots of posh bank buildings!
Guildhall - which wasn’t on the plan and I found accidentally. Also where I saw a police public phone post - not quite the TARDIS!
Central Criminal Court
Royal Courts of Justice
…through Aldwych to…
Covent Garden
Leicester Square
…along Piccadilly to…
Hyde Park - the winter wonderland is VERY Christmassy. Lots of lights, fairground rides, a huge slide, big wheel (a la the London or Jersey eye) and my third rink of the day. Also the only one actually in the original plan. I then ended up with time to spare and it had got dark so I doubled back to…
Buckingham Palace
Westminster
…and back to Victoria. My bus was booked for 19:30 but by 18:00 it was too dark to be walking alone really and my body couldn’t take much more. I found food at the train station then went to sit in the freezing coach station and wait for my bus. I didn’t bother trying to get an earlier one and am glad - they looked almost full and on my coach I managed to get a whole seat to myself to spread out and snooze. I made it back to Bristol at 22:00.
Despite the fact I now ache and my legs keep seizing up if I stay still, it was a good day and I took over 100 photos. It was also perfect weather - lovely and sunny most of the time but chilly which meant it was not so warm it made walking unpleasant.
photos can be found here
Today I would have loved to do nothing but the day of walking was the last straw for my already dying trainers so I bribed myself that if I went to town to buy new trainers I could also have KFC for lunch and go to see HSM3 again. Coach’s speech made me tear up and I noticed little things like Ryan’s wallpaper has a bowler hat/cane/gloves motif. I also got my secret santa present, new socks and zip earrings.