I have decided to put the Thames Path on hold until I am back in London next month and we have more Spring like weather...I will be going into a more rural area that is prone to flooding as well. I am staying at about five miles maximum a day as well...my knees and feet have been giving me major grief so I am not pushing myself.
However that doesn't mean I don't want to walk. One of my favourite
British Walking Federation walks is one that starts at Westminster tube station and covers 10km to St Katherines Docks just east of the Tower of London. Yesterday I walked as far as St Paul's and will do the rest of the walk in the next couple of days. Normally I do this entire 10 km walk my first day in London but not this time...
So here are some of the highlights along the way....what a gorgeous day it was.
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A different view of Big Ben |
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Can you believe this was my first time on Parliament Square |
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Another hero on Parliament Square |
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Classic view from the bridge in St James park |
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First of the daffodils! |
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St James park has all kinds of water fowl - and cheeky squirrels |
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Taken by telephoto - two carriages with footmen headed for the palace. One of the many reasons I love London, you never know what you will see next! |
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Four pelicans took over the main path - this guy tried and tried to get a selfie with the biggest most aggressive one. He finally succeeded. In the meantime we all had a good laugh as he dodged this characters huge beak. |
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These gardens in the park are a riot of colour in the Spring and Summer and not too bad right now either. |
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Walking along the Strand |
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Dr Samuel Johnson - famous writer who coined the phrase "When a man is tired of London he is tired of life for there is in London all that life can afford". He wrote the Dictionary of the English Language |
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Royal Courts of Justice |
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Twinings tea shop and museum - yes I bought some tea... |
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Sculpture of Hodge the cat - owned by Samuel Johnson who was his owner. Hodge is sitting on a dictionary. Dr Johnson's house is in this square |
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Cream tea at a pub built in 1667. For 9 pounds I could not resist... |
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Made it to St Paul's |
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The view as I walked the North Thames Path on the way to the train station |
I really enjoyed this walk as usual. I especially enjoyed St James Park of course and The City. In central London there is the City of Westminster and the City of London. When you hear anyone refer to the city in reference to London they mean the 1.12 square miles within London that was originally settled by the Romans in the 1st century AD. This is where St Paul's Cathedral is as well as the law courts and is considered the financial heart of London. Approximately 7,000 people live here while over 300,000 people work in this area. It's very quiet on the weekend but bustling during the week. I love all the little alley ways and can't resist wandering down them (when I have the time) which is how I discovered Samuel Johnson's cat. A first for me! A fascinating part of London.
I can't wait to carry on with the walk on Saturday - stay tuned!!!
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