Inns of Court

This is the second walk that I went on in the same day and by the time we started this one it was pouring and I had no umbrella! But, I persevered and stuck with it and was able to see a lot of the inns of court in London. I really liked the looks of the courts and I loved wandering through them---especially the one with the cloister towards the inn. They were very peaceful even though they were in a busy part of London. I was sure glad to be done with the walk by the end of it because I was soaked, but I'm glad I was able to see those things.

Top 3 Walks

My top 3 walks are:

Regent's Park
Lambeth and Southbank
Kew to Hammersmith

I loved the Regent's Park walk because of the beautiful scenery found in that park. I loved seeing families walking together with their children enjoying each other's company. I loved seeing all the dogs running around the park having a grand old time. I love that people just let their dogs roam free and that the dogs are so well behaved here. The park was so green and the flowers were just starting to bloom. We passed by a small pond and a little stream filled with ducks and swans. I hope that I have time to go back there before I leave to rent a paddle boat and have some fun. Probably what made the walk so wonderful was the beautiful sunshine that we didn't see that much. The day was gorgeous and I think that made all the difference.

Lambeth and Southbank was also on a beautiful day. What made it memorable was the fun experience that my group had while doing it. After seeing a beautiful panoramic view of Parliament and Big Ben and taking pictures we were stopped by police officers telling us that there had been an 'incident'. Emily that he said that someone had been shot and she started to freak out and almost caused mass hysteria with random passerbys. It was just a really funny moment and very memorable to me.

Kew to Hammersmith was also a great walk and I enjoyed it a lot, thus putting it in my top 3. Even though the walk was very long, and we got lost and added probably another mile or two, I still loved it. The day was beautiful (I"m beginning to sense a pattern) and it was great to just walk along the Thames. We were able to see a boat racing competition and mingle with the crowds watching that. I really enjoyed the scenery and the view and also seeing all the trees and flowers blooming. There was also another part that added to this great walk---the bathroom emergency. Emily had to go so bad, we were so lost, and there was no bathroom anywhere. We just basically laughed our pants off the entire time and we'd have to stop every once in awhile for Emily to contain herself. It was a great laugh and a great memory.

Also, I did the survey... I don't know if it tells you who did it... since I didn't put my name anywhere on the survey itself. Thanks!

Westminster to St. James

I went on this walk with Michelle, Emily, Jamie and me. I enjoyed this walk besides the rainy weather. There were a lot of great views through St. James' park and I really enjoyed seeing Buckingham palace. We just saw the tail end of the changing of the guard so that was pretty cool. I think this walk would have been way better on a sunny, beautiful day. But, that's the case with most of these walks. I enjoyed seeing the palace and spotting all the tourists since tourist season has now basically started. Overall, I'm glad to have this walk over

Soho

Jaynann and I set out for our walk to Soho not expecting much to happen. But as soon as we started walking around Soho and going through the theatre district we both could sense that something was going on, we just couldn't put our finger on it. As Jaynann said, "There is something afoot in London town today." We heard and saw multiple helicopters circling the area, and we saw the police everywhere. Something was definitely going on.  It didn't take us long to spot the first protestors and their little signs. Eventually the few stragglers turned into massive crowds (which is where Jaynann and I took our picture). The people were protesting multiple things. In fact, after asking a police officer what they were protesting, I still have no idea what they were protesting. "Anything and everything" according to that officer.

The highlight of the walk was when we were walking down the street and I glanced up and saw 3 men on the roof of this building. They weren't normal men. These men were dressed all in black, with ski masks and binoculars. If you ask me, they were definitely snipers. Something fishy was going on. I was going to have Jaynann take a picture, but I didn't want her to get shot.

Anyway, long story short... the walk was good... the protest was crazy... and we got through alive!

Kew to Hammersmith

The Kew to Hammersmith was an interesting one. I had heard from quite a few people how long this walk was, so I wasn't looking forward to that. But, when we first got off the tube stop and walked around I was struck by how pretty everything was. it was a gorgeous day--blue skies and warm sun. The trees were all in blossum and it seemed like everyone was just in a greater mood. So, the start of our walk was great. Somewhere along the way we did get lost. I'm not really sure what happened, all I know is that we weren't on the same path that the walks book said we should be on. We stayed close to the Thames and witnessed some boat races going on and also a bunch of people on the banks prepping for some races. It was cool to see a different side of England, since it was more in the countryside. About halfway through we had a bathroom emergency, and yet we didn't find a bathroom until the end of the walk. Go figure.

Overall the walk was very beautiful and I enjoyed it... even with all the crazy detours and stress of trying to find a bathroom. Haha.

St. Paul's and Fleet Street

Michelle and I in front of the statue of Dr. Johnson's cat. He must have loved that cat a lot.

Michelle and I reenacted Sweeney Todd after finding a barber shop on Fleet Street.

I enjoyed parts of this walk, but mostly I found that we were going to random places that weren't that interesting. I loved seeing St. Paul's Cathedral. Its so enormous and this walk was the first time I'd seen it. I wish we could go see that as a group and go inside. Christopher Wren was an amazing architect. All along the walk we saw all these churches and all of them were designed by him. It's amazing to see how much one man can contribute to the world.

I also enjoyed walking along Fleet street, mainly because of Sweeney Todd. It was awesome seeing that, although I can't imagine how whoever wrote that musical got the idea of having him live on Fleet Street. Especially when I look at how it's laid out now--lots of businesses, no houses/places to live.

Today, the day after I went on this walk, Jaynann and I went to the London museum and went to the more modern section. This section was full of lots of information and artifacts from the Blitz. We sat down and watched this movie clip. It was a bunch of pictures with voice over interviews of people that were there when it happened. It was really neat to hear the experiences and see the pictures. There was a part where they talked about St. Paul's and how everything around it was destroyed, but somehow that cathedral stayed up. I thought that was a really neat story.

Central Parks

I had heard from a few people that they did not like this walk very much. But, I was very surprised after going on the walk to hear that. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It wasn't the most exciting, but it was fun to just relax and enjoy 3 beautiful parks that London has to offer us. It did seem long at times, but the views were wonderful. 

When we passed Buckingham Palace time was definitely on our side, because they were just doing the changing of the guard. It was neat to see that, and it definitely wasn't as busy since we were there on a Tuesday afternoon.  I had missed the changing of the guard when we went with our class, so it was neat to see. I think I might try to go back and get closer for all the festivities. 

One of my favorite parts of the walk was walking through Hyde park along the Serpentine. It was beautiful and I loved all the birds as long as they didn't try to fly over me! Haha. I did not want a repeat of the traumatic experience that happened to me last Sunday. I want to go back to the Serpentine and try renting one of those boats to ride around on the lake. We also made sure we went past the Peter Pan statue. There was a wreath that someone had made with a poem for their little girl that had died. It was heartbreaking to read it, but neat to make the memory of seeing that statue more prominent in my mind.

I enjoyed learning about how St. James' park was once a Zoo and they had Elephants. That seems like a crazy animal to have here in cloudy London.

By the end of the walk I was ready to be home, even though I enjoyed the walk quite a bit.

Nottinghill

I really enjoyed the walk around Nottinghill. It was nice to explore more of the area where we are living and get acquainted with our surroundings a bit more.

I thought it was really interesting to see the stark contrast of where we started the walk and where we ended it. The starting point of the walk is in a bit rougher part of town, and where we ended is probably one of the more affluent parts of London. This huge difference happened in just a couple miles. It was interesting to see that.

I've been on Portobello road a few times, and going today was a lot different. Since it wasn't a Saturday, the market wasn't happening. But, there was still a lot of neat stores to look around in. I really like having Portobello road close by for us to explore in, and I think that was probably the highlight of this walk.

It was interesting to read in the book that one of the higher end neighbor hoods used to be a place where the people kept pigs in Victorian England! People used to refer to the area as the 'slums', because it was just a bunch of pig manure. I would have never guessed that, just because it's so beautiful now.

Jaynann and I took a picture in front of St. John's church. It had a really pretty garden area and a beautiful clock tower.

It was a really nice, relaxing walk--that's for sure. :)

Regent's Park

This walk was gorgeous! I loved walking through this vast green park on a very sunny and warm day. Our groups excitement didn't really start until we got to the top of the hill in Primrose park and saw the city skyline laid out below our feet. It was so pretty! It was nice to just walk through the park and enjoy the views around us. Dogs ran everywhere and parents walked around with their kids. It was really just a beautiful day and I think that made a huge difference.

My favorite part of the walk was walking by the boat lake and seeing all the birds. The small lake was super pretty. I wouldn't mind going back there on a warmer day when the boats are available to rent. That would be a lot of fun. We also saw the roof of the London Mosque which looked pretty neat. I'm excited to visit there soon. I think it's fascinating that London is dotted with parks like these for us to enjoy. It's truly something that I need to take more advantage of, I think. It was a very good walk and I'm glad I went.

Bankside and Southwark

I went on the Bankside and Southwark walk the day after I completely the South bank walk. It was neat to see the continuation of the river and some more sites. It was another beautiful, sunny day and quite chilly. I really enjoyed seeing many of the sites along the way. It was neat to see the reconstruction of the globe theatre. Although it was not the original it was still neat to see what it may have looked like. It was interesting to hear about the history of that area and how often the theatres were around the sketchy red light districts because the city authorities didn't like having those activities around (why they were located on the south bank of the Thames). I also really enjoyed seeing the millenium bridge from the 6th Harry Potter movie. Emily and Katie had fun reenacting a wizard duel in front of it. I also enjoyed going by the Borough market where we bought some really good fresh baked breads. We passed the HMS Belfast, a huge cruiser ship of the Royal Navy. It was used I believe during WWII, since it was built in 1938 but is now a museum. I really love WWII history and studying it, so it was fascinating to pass this enormous ship and make some connections with what I love learning about in history. However, I think my favorite part of the walk was crossing over the Tower Bridge just because it's such an iconic part of London. The picture below is of our group doing a jumping picture in front of the bridge. We got a lot of strange looks, but I thought the finished product was worth it. I really enjoyed the walk and had a lot of fun exploring more of London.

Lambeth and the South Bank

This walk was very pretty and had a lot of spectacular views. As the group leader I led Paige, Emily and Jaynann from Waterloo tube station toward the south bank of the Thames. Before we did get to the river we were able to see the Museum of Garden History at The St Mary-at-Lambeth Churchyard. When we were there I saw the gardener pulling weeds in some of the flower beds. Right not there weren't many flowers, but the book shows a gorgeous picture of the garden in spring/summer time. It would've been neat to see the garden then. After passing through that garden we crossed the street and found ourselves at the south bank of the Thames. The view was wonderful. We saw the side view of Parliament and Big Ben. Since the sky was so blue today the view was great! We took a lot of pictures and continued along the bank.

 Unfortunately about 1/2 way down the river 2 police officers stopped us saying that the way we were going was closed because there was a 'suspect' lose. Emily thought he said someone had been shot down, and freaked out a bit and then some guy asked us if someone really got shot. It was kinda funny. So we went and asked the police what the best way was to get to where we needed to go to the walk. They told us to go the way we had come. But, we didn't want to back track so we started heading another way. By the time we got to where the 'incident' had happened (by the London eye and Westminster bridge) the police were taking down the tape and packing up. So, we were able to get back onto the south bank walk and continue our way toward the eye and the temple hill tube station. That was a fun adventure. Here's the proof of the police officers:

here's the police. They were just getting ready to leave. I don't know if they ever caught the suspect...

We passed under the London eye and read in the book that it had been made for the millennial celebration and was supposed to be only temporary. But it was so popular that they decided to keep it there permanently. Pretty cool. We also passed by the National Theatre and a part underneath it had been turned into this massive graffiti zone with a lot of cool graffiti 'art'. Emily took a pretty gangster picture here.

After that we crossed the Waterloo bridge and went into the Sommerset house and read about the history for that. It was super pretty to walk through the courtyard where there is a temporary ice skating rink put up. We made it to the temple tube stop and came home after that.

One thing that would be nice for those thinking about taking this walk is to go on a clear day, since the views one sees are gorgeous.

Bloomsbury Walk

I found this walk very enjoyable. We started out from the tube station and walked to the British Museum. Our group stopped there for a few hours to look at some of the exhibits. I really enjoyed seeing the old bronze weapons and armor in some of the exhibits. One of the coolest exhibits was that of a bog body. It was crazy to see how the chemicals in the bog preserved the body so well that it was still very easy to tell it was a body. Jaynann and I also went to the part of the museum that had some of the Egyptian exhibits with the mummies. We were able to see how the bodies were preserved through the dryness of the desert. It was neat to see the different ways that preserved both bodies.

After leaving the museum we continued on our walk through Russell Square Gardens. The garden was very open and green with a beautiful fountain in the middle. It also had this cute cafe that we stopped at to get some Paninis for lunch. Right across from Russell Square Gardens we saw Hotel Russell. It was this really neat looking building with these pretty vivid turquoise parapets. We saw Brunswick Square where many famous writers used to share a house. Virginia Woolf was among one of those writers. I thought that was neat because I was able to learn a lot about Virginia Woolf last semester in one of my English classes and I did a presentation on her. 

One of the things that I really enjoyed about the walk was going through St. George's park. It was neat seeing all the old tombstones from when it was a cemetery. I really enjoyed how green and beautiful the park was. We saw a group of people doing laps around the park. When we asked them what they were running for they said for, "healthy living". That made me smile. Our group got a picture taken here and we met a new friend named Piper. He was this really cute white puppy. 

I also really enjoyed walking past all of the hospitals and the children's hospital. We passed many children that were going to that hospital and even a leukemia clinic The hospital reminded me of Primary Children's or Shriners in Salt Lake that I often visited while growing up. So, it made my feel for those kids that were going into the hospital. In the book it mentions that in 1852 since there was no hospital places for children about 20,000 kids were dying under the age of 10 each year. That made me so sad and grateful for the hospitals, doctors and medicine that we have today.

I almost forgot Charles Dickens' house. That was pretty neat to see too.

I really enjoyed this walk and the places we got to see that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

The City (East) Walk

For this walk my group and I walked through one of the older parts of London. It also took us through the center of financial London. We were able to see Lloyd's, the stock exchange and the Royal exchange. The walk had many turns, left and right, through small alleys and big main streets. One of my favorite parts of the walk was going through the small alley ways because they reminded me of Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter books. I especially liked going into St. Michael's Alley and seeing the old church yard there, then going through through the maze of small passages in order to get back to the main road. Another part I enjoyed was going to Guildhall yard. It was so open and the stone work used made the yard very light and open. This is where my picture will come from. The book says that the yard was destroyed by the Great London Fire and also by the Blitz. I would not have even realized that by just looking at it, but it's neat to learn the history of the areas from the book. Overall the walk was super fun and enjoyable. We never really got lost, maybe confused for a second, but not lost. Jaynann was a great leader. Anyway, here's a picture of Jaynann and I in front of Guildhall yard:

It was great seeing that old part of London and exploring the old parts of town.