My favourite walk in London. 🙂 It is also a long walk—from St. Katharine Docks to Westminster, by the South Bank, meandering over London’s many bridges and through the cathedrals, theatres and pubs that line the edge of the River Thames. The nicest part is that as you walk, the sun starts to set and the lights come on and it is like walking through one huge painting.
St. Katharine Docks were once the Port of London’s most central docks Continue reading
This is my favourite photo. I was walking across Parliament Square towards Big Ben and Winston Churchill’s statue rose in front of me …
I love the way London is segregated in its functionality. It is pure Classicism in its order. There is legal London. Royal London. Financial London. And political London, also more commonly known as Whitehall.
Whitehall is a homogeneous line of government buildings, pierced with landmarks both significant and world-famous such as No. 10 Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade, Banqueting House and the Cenotaph. Not many tourists take this road. It is populated by government officials going about the business of running a country. Yet, Trafalgar Square at one end, and Westminster Palace [housing the UK Parliament] and Westminster Abbey at the other end, constitute the most visited tourist spots of London. Continue reading
When I moved to London last year, York topped my “things to do/ see/ experience” list. And then I got busy studying and travelling to nearer places. But I never forgot York. There is something iconic about York—perhaps attributable to its historic value and the fame of its York Minster. 6 am this morning I was, thus, off to catch my train from King’s Cross station, to keep a promise to myself.
The history of York has been said to be the history of Britain. Dating back to 71 AD when it was founded by the Romans, the city first served as the capital of the Roman province “Britannia Inferior”, and thereafter that of subsequent rulers, namely, the Angles and Vikings. It was also in York, in 306 AD, that Constantine the Great was proclaimed emperor by his troops. A Roman column marks the site; the column was once part of 36 similar ones that supported a great hall in the Roman garrison.
Fitzroy Square, the home away from home for many Indian students
This post is about my walk today through three places which I often feel are the very soul of this city: Fitzrovia, Piccadilly, and the Strand. The former is home to University College London, the first university institution to be founded in London, and the first university institution in the country to admit students regardless of religion or sex.
Piccadilly is where every Londoner’s and my favourite art gallery is—the Royal Academy of Arts. The Royal Academy, founded by Sir Joshua Reynolds, enjoys a unique position in being led by renowned artists and architects to promote art through education, debate and exhibitions. Bliss for the artist! Continue reading
I bumped into these gentlemen within five minutes of my walk in the City. They were liverymen from the Guilds going about their duties. I just loved their outfits 🙂
The actual City of London is in fact just over a square mile. The rest is Greater London. Known as ‘the City’ or the ‘square mile’, it is built over the Roman ruins of Londinium and represents the country’s financial services industry. It’s a crazy mish-mash of Victorian buildings, steel and glass towering skyscrapers, poetic churches [including St. Paul’s Cathedral] by Christopher Wren and medieval traditions and customs. It has a parliament older than Westminster and its ancient freedoms are guaranteed to date under the Magna Carta. 350,000 people come to work here every day. Only 6,000 people actually live in the City.
Grey stone, grey glass, white skies, men and women in black suits, and a group of liverymen in full attire. I must admit I had a blast with my camera. And to complete my day, I climbed 311 steps up a claustrophobic spiralling staircase inside the 350-year-old Monument built by Charles II to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666, and got a certificate in the end. 🙂 Continue reading
A museum, a palace, a theatre, and a church. I would like to have come up with some exotic story linking the four—a walk, a theme, even a day! But the only claim I can honestly make is that I’ve been to all these four places time and time again and enjoyed them to the fullest. 🙂
The Natural History Museum. Ok. Stuffed animals don’t really get me all excited, but the dinosaurs and ambience of the old Victorian building and in its contrast the modernism of the Darwin Centre and Cocoon is a whopping WOW. The latter is awesome, turning anyone who walks through its corridors into a lover of the science of nature. And if you are ever in London whilst the Wildlife Photography Exhibition that the Museum hosts is on, please DON’T MISS IT. It is stunning. Next is Buckingham Palace, the home of the queen with its state rooms, royal mews, and queen’s gallery. Ever wanted to look at Tipu Sultan’s Bird of Paradise from his royal throne or the regal crown presented to the British royal family by the Tulaqdars? They are here. And then there’s Covent Garden, which was once upon a time a fruit and vegetable market. Grab a coffee, sit on the pavement and be entertained in London’s only area which is licensed for street entertainment.
And finally St. Paul’s, the actor’s church tucked behind the 17th Century square of Covent Garden, where famous British artists and actors lie interred, and a handful of Londoners light a candle, pray and have silent conversations with god. It is so beautiful in its sheer simplicity it warrants mention in this blog.
Travelling to places off the beaten path is an exhilarating experience. And yes, there are still such places in England too. Everyone clamours to go to Stonehenge. Which is understandable. It’s pretty fantastic. But there is a site even older and bigger, spread over the rolling meadows that Thomas Hardy repeatedly invoked in his timeless novels set in eastern England. It’s called Avebury. Continue reading
Hampstead Village in Inner London is the London address of the who’s who in the world of arts and showbiz. It has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area in the UK. Past residents include Keats, John Constable, Henry Moore, Robert Louis Stevenson, Agatha Christie, T.S. Eliot … Some of its current residents are Boy George, Brad Pitt, Emma Thompson and Bollywood’s very own Katrina Kaif. However, don’t expect to bump into them as you walk around, because it won’t happen. 🙂 Continue reading
I completed my research paper and submitted it this week. I’m not too sure about the logic behind it but I always seem to forget to eat and sleep. So the first thing I did after submissions was refuel, in no specific order, and then I took my camera and wandered off, this time to Winchester.
Winchester is one of those towns which resonates with English history and lots of Williams, Alfred the Great (849-99) and Saint Swithin. The most famous William is William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester (1366-1404) who remodelled much of the cathedral and founded Winchester College. Built on the banks of the river Itchen in Hampshire over the Roman town of Venta Belgarum, Winchester used to be the capital of Wessex and the Kingdom of England. Continue reading
Warwick is the story of the Old Town with its Tudor houses and medieval church, and Warwick castle, a fantasy land owned by Madame Tussauds. It is also the story of the Earls of Warwick and the Earl of Leicester who were responsible for much of the shape the town took, both architecturally and historically. Continue reading
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