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Odds n' Ends..! |
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There is an underground station at St James Park (closest to Buckingham Palace) or Green Park, which gives a
pretty walk to the Palace, but for our walk we'll get off at Westminster and basically do a circle. Timing is
important if you want to catch the Changing of the Guard at the Palace at 11:30am.
As you leave the Tube train, a booming voice will announce through a loudspeaker: "Mind the gap, mind the gap,
mind the gap�" This message mystifies many visitors - especially those with limited English. It refers to a
yawning gap between the station platform and the doors of your Tube carriage, caused because the platform at
Westminster is curved and the carriages are straight. London Transport doesn't want anyone falling into the
gap - it creates an awful fuss and delays the train. The gap is really only about eight inches wide, but could
pose a hazard to small dogs or leprechauns.
On exiting the station you'll be confronted with Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, but
we'll save those for after lunch.
If you want to leap down to any of the headings, please feel free to click on them, otherwise we will walk you
through them:
Click on the headings to find out more:
Turn right for now and head down Parliament Street to:
The Cabinet War Rooms in King Charles Street (open 9:30 to 6:00, 10:00am from October to March).
You'll be going underground again, to where the British Government took refuge during World War Two. It's 3
metres below the basement and is like entering a time capsule. Some of the rooms are exactly as they were
left in 1945 with the telephones, maps and furniture of the time. Churchill's chair is still in the Cabinet
Room, there's the Map Room, the trans-Atlantic telephone room where Churchill was in contact with Roosevelt
and the Prime Minister's Room where Winston would retire for the occasional nap during the raids. A fascinating
look at something you usually only see in movies.
The next street along is Downing Street, named after Sir George Downing who was the second man to graduate
from Harvard in the then American colonies. He built four houses in the street, two of them are office
buildings, No 11 is the home of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the country's chief finance minister)
and No 10 is traditionally the Prime Minister's residence. Prime Minister Tony Blair swapped with the
Chancellor, as No 11 is slightly bigger and more suited to a family.
From here you may like to head a bit further down Parliament Street to Whitehall and Banqueting House
, the only remaining part of Whitehall Palace which stretched most of the way along Whitehall before
a fire ripped through it in 1698. The building is sometimes closed to the public because of state banquets or
other events but the outside is of interest. Charles I was beheaded here in 1649 on a scaffold that was erected
outside one of the first floor windows. There is a bust of Charles at the northern end of the building to
indicate the window through which he bravely stepped to his death. It happened on the 30th January and,
because of the bitter cold, the king wore two shirts in case his shivering was misinterpreted by the
masses as (in his words) "a sign of fear".
The Horse Guard sentries stand opposite and the mounted troopers have their changing of the
guard at 11:00am, Monday to Saturday - a less crowded and worthwhile substitution to the Changing of the
Guard at the Palace.
King Charles Street takes you to St James Park and a stroll along the side of the park on
Birdcage Walk will take you to Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews. It's a well-groomed Royal Park with a
lake full of water birds including pelicans that have been there since the reign of Charles II
(well, descendents of anyway!)
Buckingham Palace is the magnet here. It is a very impressive building with 16 hectares of
gardens at the back. It's only been home to British royalty since Queen Victoria took up residence in 1837.
It's pretty impressive inside too with some stunning paintings and furnishings, but still far more a palace
than a home. It's open from 9:30 to 4:30 in summer and you can buy tickets from a booth in nearby Green
Park, the other side of the roundabout.
The Changing of the Guard is worth seeing at least to say that you've seen it - a bit of pomp
and ceremony as the old guard knocks off and the new one clocks on. Some precision marching, bright red
uniforms, sparkling brass and bearskin hats. In the warmer months this happens daily but from August
to April it's a bit like a Yorkshire coal miner's attitude to underwear - the change only happens every
second day (apologies to any Yorkshire coalminers reading for this gratuitous aside).
Just behind the Palace is the Royal Mews which houses all the royal ceremonial vehicles,
including the royal wedding Glass Coach and the Gold State Coach.
Back down Birdcage Walk (or via Buckingham Gate) to Westminster Abbey. No visitor should leave
London without a visit to the Abbey. It's a place where you can actually 'feel' history. With the exception of
Edwards V and VIII, every sovereign has been crowned there since 1066 and most kings and queens since Henry
III have been buried there. There's the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, surrounded by poppies in memory of those
who died in World War I, a stone commemorating Prime Minister Winston Churchill and many visit just to see
where the funeral service for Princess Diana was held in 1997. You'll find memorials to politicians, poets,
musicians, scientists and martyrs. There's so much to see it is worth taking a guided tour (also good value
because it includes admission price).
Burial within the Abbey has always been seen as a seal of recognition and those interred there include Edward
the Confessor, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Richard II, Henry V (and around 70 other members of the
royal family), Charles Dickens, Chaucer, Hardy, Isaac Newton and Rudyard Kipling just to name a few.
Click here for some more Gravestyles of the Dead and Famous. In the Abbey's Undercroft there's a small but
fascinating collection of relics like the 600-year-old death mask of Edward III, which shows his mouth
rooping because of a stroke and the oldest stuffed bird in Britain, a parrot which shuffled off the
perch back in 1702. The Coronation Chair has not only played host to royal posteriors - keen trivia
seekers will find graffiti carved there by schoolboys over the centuries including (at the back of the chair)
"Peter Abbott slept in this chair July 5 1800".
Behind the Abbey, on the Thames, are the Houses of Parliament - the House of Lords and the
House of Commons. It's a striking building inside and out. When parliament is sitting, visitors can watch the
proceedings from the Stranger's Gallery. Admission is free and there's bound to be a long queue but it's worth
it to watch the rituals of British debating (topics for discussion are published in the Daily Telegraph
each morning when parliament is sitting as well as on the wall outside the Gallery). You will enter
through Westminster Hall (worth a visit in its own right) which is nearly a thousand years old and
where the trials took place for William Wallace, Sir Thomas More, Guy Fawkes and King Charles I.
The most recognisable feature from the outside is what most people call Big Ben. The tower is actually St
Stephen's Tower (or the Clock Tower) - 'Ben' is the bell that hangs inside, named after Benjamin
Hall who was the Commissioner of Works when the tower was completed in 1858.
The Houses and Westminster Bridge is worth a re-visit at night for the lights and personal reflection, if
you'll pardon the pun.
A walk along the Thames down Millbank (or a tube ride to Pimlico) will take you to the Tate Britain
(formerly Tate Gallery). Admission is free and there is a fine collection of modern and historical art
(special temporary exhibitions charge a fee).
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