(mostly) Parks of London

Hamstead Heath and Highgate

The weather has gone back to being mild blue-skied autumn weather. Very nice for me. I've gone and caught a little cold - not surprising living with a varied assortment of souls in different states of repair. So, out of the museums and into the fresh air!

Hamstead Heath is the most "natural" of the parks of London; it is also a ways out. Past Camden Town. The wind was blowing through the trees, a sussurus of a sound. It was the middle of a working day, so the park was quite unpopulated; dog walkers and runners.

On the other side of Hamstead Heath is Highgate, and Highgate cemetary. Passing through Highgate on the way to the cemetary I found a charming church, St. Anne's. Like pubs, there are churches everywhere. All old, all charming.

Highgate Cemetary is, of course, where Karl Marx is buried. Also George Elliot, but her grave does not get quite so much press. I did find them both. I am settling for a picture of his grave, because I could not determine which his desk at the British Library would have been (well, it would have been the old reading room, anyway). And even if I had, there are no pictures permitted in the library.

Highgate Cemetary was nearly deserted when I visited. It was very, very quiet and peaceful. Long green-arched paths lined with doors and stones and urns and obelisks. Very peaceful indeed. And memorial benches conveniently placed at intervals so one can sit and hang out with the dead.

Buckingham Palace and Surrounds

Buckingham Palace. Right, like Trafalgar Square and the Tower of London, it must be seen. I saw it. Very impressive. Well, the Queen is not to home right now (she's at Windsor Palace), so very quiet there. Still, very impressive. I particularly liked the Lion and Unicorn statues on two plinths of the outer gates. There were a number of disappointed people milling about, because there was to be no changing of the guard today.

Never mind, I was not there to watch the guard being changed, I was there to take pictures of places and visit parks. So I was happy to take some pictures of the palace, and find - huzzah! A statue of Willingdone. WITH his marmorial tallowscoop. Picture included, of course. An extra bonus? The accompanying statue liberally dripping with bird droppings AND the pigeon...

Wellington Arch and the Cavalry

Me and things that can be climbed. I walked through the Wellington Arch. That was fine. As you pass through, however, you see a little sign that invites you (for a fee. It's London, after all...) to climb to the top and see the sights. So I did.

I saw: the Queen's tennis court, a thousand small people, the London Eye, the palace, all the statues, the Queen's Gate, Hyde Park, buses, cars, guards, many things. Then I hung out for a while, as the cavalry was due any hot second. Well, any hot minute.

Right on schedule, they paraded through. I photographed them! Just for the record, it was the night guard being changed; an hour later, they paraded back the other way, in their day uniforms. A fine sight, if somewhat anachronistic.

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is an excellent institution, as are all the green spaces in London. London is actually quite blessed with open green spaces that are in regular use. Considering how busy and crowded a lot of London appears to be, it is no harm at all. Before I visited Buckingham Palace, I passed through Green Park - so called because there are no flowers there at all. There is a story that the Queen of one of the Georges was so annoyed that he would pick the flowers from the park to give to his latest paramour, that she ordered all the flowers in the park to be uprooted. It didn't do her much good (in that her King persisted in paramours), but it did give the park its name, and a nice salacious story to go with it.

Hyde Park is the largest, most visited, and quite the loveliest park in London proper. There is a rose garden. There is a jungle. There are fountains and statues. There are vast vistas of lawn with trees peppered about. There are concessions and benches and lamps and lawn chairs. There is the Serpentine with ducks and swans. There are innumerable walks and paths. Altogether a fine thing. Incidentally, English roses are just as pretty as American roses...

Soane Museum

I did not entirely spend the time outside. I did also visit the Soane Museum; a sterling example of a private home turned museum. There is no photography there, or I would have peppered this journal with my pictures. Library, paintings, Roman relics, and some very fine architectural models (he was a renowned architect in his day). It was worth going around a couple of times, but I arrived near closing, and they can't let the next batch of people in till the previous batch are leaving.

Ah well. I got the book...