Archives for category: Travel

I spent from October 22 to 29 in the beautiful walled medieval city of Canterbury, Kent. I traveled by train, taking the slower two-hour route to see more of the countryside (London to Canterbury can be achieved in an hour on the high-speed train). I found it to be a delightful, vibrant and very walkable city.

One of the highlights for me was Canterbury Cathedral. The depth of history and the profundity of spiritual experience I found very moving. Read all about the Cathedral here.

Another gem of the city, tucked away right off the high street, is the Franciscan Gardens, which was the home to the first Franciscan settlement in England, established in 1224.

There was lots of great walking right in the city and all amenities within a few minutes walk, plus a great indoor farmer’s market called the Goods Shed. I was surprised tho by the numbers of tourists crowding the streets in late October!

Would visit again for sure, and perhaps take on part of the Old Way Pilgrim walk!

Monday October 21 was my last day in London. I decided to visit Kensington Garden, which started as an 18th century royal palace garden and became one of the public gems of London. It was a grey day, but still perfectly lovely. I started near Kensington Palace, circled around the lake, past the Albert Hall and Italian garden.

On the way back, I popped out of the tube at St Paul’s Cathedral.

I took a day off on October 19 to rest and work. Thank goodness, because the next day was wonderful and intense!

At 6:15 am I headed out take a bus to Elephant and Castle, tube to King’s Cross, train to King’s Lynn in Norfolk (because it was Sunday and there are ongoing rail improvements, the train took me to Ely where replacement busses were waiting). Hopped off the bus in King’s Lynn and was happy to see a cab, so I grabbed it and off we went for the 20-minute journey to Houghton Hall and Gardens. My drivers in both directions were so lovely and great conversations were had!

Houghon Hall was constructed in the 1720s for Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, and is still inhabited by Walpole’s descendant the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley and his family. The house and gardens are exquisite, and are also home to a large contemporary sculpture collection while hosting rotating special installations.

This year the Hall featured works by Antony Gormley and Magdalene Odundo. I was happy that part of Odundo’s exhibit had been held over. See more about both exhibits here.

Other favourite things about the day were the beautiful walled garden, the cafe, the toy soldier museum and the lovely people I conversed with!

I didn’t get back into London until almost 9 pm! A long day but oh such a wonderful one!

October 18 was another beautiful day in London. My main adventure was a visit to the Sir John Soane Museum. This is a magical place – the home of a renowned English architect which has been kept as it was at his death in 1837. I will let the museum’s website tell you more! I really wish GJ had been with me; I think he would have loved it!

I also wandered around Bloomsbury for a while and found a blue plaque for Bertrand Russell:

The afternoon ended on the south side of the Thames in Southwark. I had a lovely early supper at The George (1676), London’s only surviving galleried inn (recommended by my beloved sister). And, popped into Borough Market just before it closed.

Today is October 29, and I am on the train back to London from Canterbury. Feeling quite sad to be leaving all the wonderful things I experienced there! More on that later.

For now, I am looking back on my second day in London, October 17. It was great to head out unencumbered by my ridiculous quantity of luggage. Brockley station has an infrequent service to London Bridge (I learned later it was much quicker to take the train to Canada Water and transfer to the tube there). Not far from the station at London Bridge is a little arcade called Hays Galleria. There I found White Mulberries cafe and had an excellent breakfast and tea. The Shard is right near this station.

I took the tube to King’s Cross and spent several hours exploring all the streets and squares. I stumbled on the Royal Watercolour Society which had a wonderful show on. I became a bit lost and quite by accident found myself in Trafalgar Square! Hooray, lunch at the Crypt Cafe at St Martin in the Fields and a visit to the beautiful church.

A quick tube ride from Charing Cross to Piccadilly Circus then I walked along the Thames back to Blackfriars for the train back to Lewisham.

And such a brilliant adventure so far! Plans began to form earlier this year, and it felt like it would never begin. Through so much support and generosity, begin it has!

I am sure some of you can guess where I am. Correct, I have returned at last to Britain. I arrived in London on October 16, and headed directly to the V&A where I could check my luggage and relax for the few hours before I was able to check in to my accommodation. I admit to visiting the café twice as I was quite hungry, but I also spent some time in the Cast Courts.

Eventually I made my way via ThamesLink to Lewisham in South London and a most excellent AirBnB. My room faced the back garden and the dawn chorus from such an array of birds was both delightful and surprising!

Bells in hues of blue, purple, pink and white, along with the native camas, have created carpets of purple around the city for the last few weeks. Spring is so filled with colour! These photos were all taken in Beacon Hill Park.

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Cherry blossom season is just finishing; endless pinks replaced by the bright greens of spring foliage. The blooms were abundant and fragrant, as usual, but before long they had become a carpet of delicate petals and are then gone for another year.

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A long stand of trees on Richardson Street in Fairfield held me captive for an intoxicating 20 minutes admiring their beauty.

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Downtown Victoria has many varieties of ornamental cherry and plum trees, blooming from mid February through to late April. Those in Chinatown are especially beautiful.

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For the month I was in the UK, I was determined to fulfill all the art perks which had been promised to my Indiegogo backers – those which could be produced with pen and watercolour paint. The engravings, which had to wait until I was home, are almost ready to send to the patrons who requested them. I will post those next.

Finding inspiration for these pieces was not hard. Beautiful architecture, lovely nature, vibrant colour, and gorgeous vistas were all around; my heart was so full.

Hopefully these all made it to their recipients.

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At the very end of my UK adventure last autumn, I spent three last days in London. I didn’t expect to love London as much as I did; and I didn’t even see one tenth of the city. There is so much more to explore and I can’t wait to go back!

I left lovely Rye tearful, and began missing it even as I boarded the train. A quick ride brought me into the gorgeous St. Pancras Station.

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I checked in at Victoria and Edmund’s beautiful house in Hammersmith, where the adventure began a month earlier. I stayed in The Pink Room for these last few nights, and – just like at the beginning of the trip – enjoyed exceptional hospitality. Back onto the tube and on a mission: to find the Fortnum and Mason store. I hopped off at the Green Park station and made my way a couple of blocks to this beautiful department store, filled with delights for all the senses.

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Since I was so close, I walked through Green Park to see Buckingham Palace. Impressive and majestic, but so many people!

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The next day I walked around Chelsea in the morning, heading over the Albert Bridge, and spending a bit of time walking along the Thames in Battersea Park. Back over the bridge and a lovely snack at Gail’s.

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The afternoon was devoted to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I was completely overwhelmed by the extent of the collections. So much so, that I had a little panic attack and had to calm myself with a cream tea!

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The last day I spent exploring Camden with lovely friend I hadn’t seen in many years. Dinner with dear people was the best end to a remarkable trip.

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I will be back in the UK as soon as possible. My heart remained and I must go collect it!