I left My Beloved Brit happily sailing on the Crouch River in Eastern England, and took the train in to London.
Ready to start the day. The River Crouch. Photo by me.
Obviously many others had the same idea. It was the Bank Holiday Monday at the end of summer, the last day off many families will have until Christmas! Remember, in the UK there is no Thanksgiving holiday.
Many others had the same idea of going down to The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
It was the perfect day to head to The Mall, the main street in front of the palace.
The Victoria Fountain in front of the palace. Photo by me.
Heading down The Mall, I stopped in front of Clarence House, the current residence of Prince Charles and Camilla, and former residence of the Queen Mother. It was only open for one more week, so I took the opportunity to ask if there were any open times left. As luck would have it, I got one of the last openings on the spot.
The blue morning room at Clarence House, from the official royal website.
No photos allowed, and it was very warm with no air-conditioning (now we know why they all head to Balmoral for August). But it was still fascinating. It’s a beautiful home.
The changing of the guard in front of Clarence House. Photo by me.
It was time to cut across St. James’s Park and pick up a bottle of ice-cold water, and head towards Westminster Abbey.
Buckingham Palace from St. James’s Park. Photo by me.
A waterfowl staying cool in St. James’s Park. Photo by me.
The park in summer. Photo by me
And of course this is England, so there are fabulous flowers. Photo by me.
I got to Westminster Abbey and headed for the ticket entrance. The Abbey has been on my list for some time, and I have never managed to get there in time to get admitted. But this time I had luck.
Westminster Abbey in August. Photo by me.
Again, no photos were allowed inside, and it is a church with many, many tombs and chapels, so it is understandable. It gave me such a sense of history as I gazed on the tombs of kings from the 12th century, Queen Elizabeth the First, Mary Queen of Scotts, Darwin…it just goes on and on.
The Abbey from the Cloister. Photo by me.
And of course the whole thing looks so absolutely familiar from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey. Mirror.co.uk/Pic:PA
And then there was that very famous coronation 60 years ago. In the Chapter house there is an exhibition on the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which took place at the abbey, and the original painting by Australian artist Heimans, which is spectacular, was still on exhibition.
The painting by Ralph Heimans. Photo by me.
I had read that this painting had been damaged by a vandal in June who sprayed paint on it. It was good to see that the artist was able to bring it back to its original glory.
Detail. The Queen is standing in the Abbey on the spot where she was crowned in 1953. Photo by me.
I must say, my time in Westminster gave me pause. The sense of history, tradition and mortality was palatable.
With that, I came back to my room, watched the sun set, and planned on heading back to Burnham-on-Crouch the next day.
Goodnight, London. Photo by me.