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Monday 10 March 2014

A walk in the park

Thank you so much for all your good wishes and kind comments on my last post - I had written it earlier and scheduled it for the end of the month as we were going away for a few days.  I did wonder if I would be able to summon up the energy for our little holiday which had been planned way back at the end of last year, when we got a very good deal on both hotel and train fares being so far in advance, but I am pleased to say that having had some good nights' sleep by the time Wednesday 26th arrived I was feeling a bit better and up for a change of scene - we went to London where we stayed in a hotel just off Kensington High Street. The following are some photos taken on our last day when we took the bus to Green Park and walked from there through to St James' Park.  How can I have reached my advanced age and never been there I wonder?  It was beautiful as you will see.


Fluttering and dancing in the sunshine were thousands of daffodils - you could quite forget you were in the middle of London.

 Across the lake we looked back towards Buckingham Palace which we had walked past from Green Park before reaching St James' Park.

 And in the other direction to what looked like fairyland but what was in fact Government offices!  Do click on any of my photos for a better view - this one in particular looks better enlarged.

Not only daffodils but plenty of crocuses too.

 At the end of the lake we came across this delightful little cottage - what a contrast to Buckingham Palace but I bet you can guess which I liked most and which one I'd rather live in?!  It was apparently built in 1841 as the home of the bird keeper for the park.  The design was intended to be a contrast to the architecture of the government buildings nearby - it certainly is!  It has been altered  several times and its use has also changed.  It was once a store for bicycles confiscated in the park but is now used as offices.

 What a lovely garden it had and I could just imagine it in the summer months - I want Mr M to make ours look like this - right now!!


We strolled on towards Horse Guards Parade past beds filled with polyanthus in all sorts of colours.

Eventually we ended up on Whitehall and Downing Street before making our way to Covent Garden where we had lunch in a little greasy spoon cafe since being a fine Saturday all the cafes and restaurants seemed very busy - the jacket potato I chose was good and Mr M wanted a full English breakfast also good and both washed down with a cup of builders' tea!  From there we retraced our steps back through St James Park and Green Park and got the bus back to the hotel to collect our cases and then made our way to Waterloo for the 6.20 train home.


I never tire of this view taken on our way to the station.  If you are interested in seeing other places we went and more of my photos I have put those on a separate page - see "London 2014" on the section headed Pages on my side bar.  Didn't want to bore you to death but wanted somewhere to put them for my own benefit to remind me of what we did and where we went!

I had really enjoyed our few days away in the city but I was happy to be going home as I always am after a holiday.  I am not a natural born traveler and even whilst enjoying being somewhere new I am usually counting the days till I will be home again!  Since my return I seem to have been fully occupied with this and that - why do the days all seem so much shorter now I am getting older? - and I haven't been round Blogland much so forgive me if I haven't visited you lately.  I hope to remedy that soon.

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for this delightful tour of a part of London I've never seen photos of. The back of Buckingham Palace and the government buildings take a back seat to the lake and gardens.
    Glad you enjoyed your little trip away and I hope you continue to feel better.

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  2. You always capture such beautiful skies Jane. Nothing like a cup or preferably mug of builders tea! :)
    V x

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  3. Thoroughly enjoyed this Jane. I'm off to the other page for a little more.

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  4. Hello Jane, thank you for sharing these photos from London. So glad you were able to have a little holiday and that it was enjoyable. I am not a natural born traveler either, though I once aspired to be, until I tried it a few times so far from home on another continent! And now I shall continue reading your past posts, I've got some catching up to do.

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  5. So glad to hear you are feeling better. Your photos are beautiful, I love the daffodils and crocuses. Sounds like you had a really lovely trip and it looks as though the weather treated you kindly.

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  6. Beautiful photos, you found some lovely corners of London to visit. So glad you're feeling a bit better and that you had a good time. Hope you have a good week.

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  7. Did you meet the pelicans?
    Glad you're feeling better and were able to enjoy the break. London is endlessly interesting.

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  8. So glad you enjoyed your trip. The London parks are always a wonderful escape from the city ... we rediscovered Regents Park last time.

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  9. Glad you were feeling up to the trip Jane. Hope it recharged the batteries and set you up for a few Spring walks at home. That bird keepers cottage garden is delightful and all that burgeoning growth is a good sign although I suspect they get it milder in London than we do in the sticks. We had a frost this morning which is a rarity these days but it's already bright and clear. Lots of sunshine forecast this week. That should suit us both nicely!

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  10. I am so glad that you are well Jane and benefitted from a few days away from home. I thinkg the 'farty' castle looks wonderful! x

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  11. How lovely to celebrate a return to good health with a few days away. And how wonderful the London parks look in the spring sunshine. We are enjoying a little holiday at home at the moment - the mister has a week off work and between DIY and gardening days we're squeezing in a few visits to National Trust properties - but as I mentioned on my blog I'm in the middle of an RA flare up and now I've managed to put my back into spasm. Talk about bad timing on my part!

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  12. We're only 30 minutes away from London by train, but it's really only in the last year or so that we've been - before then, the girls thought it was always raining there, because we only ever went if it was too wet or cold to go anywhere else! Now though we're enjoying pottering about - like you, we seem drawn to the quirkier places. Really enjoyed this post and the page - thank you.

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  13. I live in US. My daughter and I have been to England 3 times (but first 2 trips 20 years apart.) We were there the first week in December 2013, not the best time to go. The last 2 times we stayed at a hotel near St. James Park and walked through Green Park every day. Went to Covent Gardens twice, once with our English cousins. We wanted to take the Jack the Ripper tour but my daughter was feeling sick for a couple of days, so mostly walked around and went to Selfridge's, etc. We did take the train to the Cotswolds for a day. Lovely place. I could live in England!
    Maggie from US

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  14. I haven't been to London for ages - I used to go often with my previous job so it was nice to have a stroll around and your photos capture the places I know just as I remember them. I don't remember seeing that little cottage though it is so sweet.

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  15. Do you know Jane I've been to St James's Park and Green Park many times but I cannot recall ever seeing that sweet little bird-keeper's cottage and garden so I must remedy that the next time I'm in that part of London!

    Off now to look at your London 2014 page.

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  16. Hope you are feeling better and enjoying your spring as much as I enjoy your photographs

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  17. Oh what lovely pictures, our daffs are only just beginning and it's Palm Sunday tomorrow! Yes, that picture IS even better enlarged!

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  18. Breathtakingly beautiful! The daffodil is my favorite flower, and seeing them in droves is just dreamy. And the architecture is magical too! It's like you've been transported to a fairy-land. And it's good everything was rounded off with good accommodations and food. I hope I can go there someday!

    Malinda @ Ship Inn Stone Haven

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  19. Is there ANYWHERE more beautiful than St James's? You've really caught it at its best too.

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