April 4th (Day 5)
Sunday, April 4th, 2004
Cloudy, chilly (50º), and intermittent rain
Later partly cloudy, windy, and 60º
I decided against going to York because I woke up too late. Instead I thought
of visiting Hampstead. This small town is north of London and on the border of
Zones 2 and 3. My travelcard was only good for Zones 1 and 2 so that was
lucky. While on the Tube ride I ask a kind old lady about walking the
Heath. She suggested against being out of sight of other people.
Hampstead is a quaint little village with plenty of small roads to confuse.
Signage is not a good as in London. It seemed like a reasonably upscale suburb
of London.
St. John's was letting out from a service as I approached it. The old stone
church is hidden by old trees. It is how you may visualize an medieval chapel.
Since there were people around, I felt a little uncomfortable going into the
churchyard. Though I figured that I would be told if I broke some rule, so in I
went. I walked along the muddy trail. Lots of large trees shaded the graves and
benches.
I stopped and took a picture of John Constable's grave. It is nestled in the
back of the churchyard.
Constable
was a fine British landscape artist who painted during the early 1800s.
I stopped at the location of Bram Stoker's undead character Lucy Westenra,
which is located underneath a large tree. The sun was shining and this spot was
still sinister. Here Arthur Holmwood destroyed the vampire accompanied by Van
Helsing and Dr. Seward!
I left the churchyard and followed the map through Hampstead. The hilly, oddly
laid out streets were fun to walk. I walked by the Admiral's House on Admiral
Way with a recreation of the deck of a sailing ship on the roof. I was not very
impressed. Then I broke from the map path and headed to the Heath. This was a
bad decision because I got lost in the Heath.
The Heath is an interesting park. It is mix of old craggy trees, wetlands, and
hills. A lot of dogs and people walk the park. I walked by the
Kenwood House
as the old lady on the Tube suggested. Quite a few of tourists. The Kitchen
Garden provided a wonderful view of London.
This photograph has been brighten
to make the ground visible. The light was very poor when I took this shot. In
the left the tower is the British Telecom Tower. The right is the skyline of
London City, I think.
I left the Heath and started walking in the direction of Hampstead. I think I
was on Spaniard Way but I was beyond the map in my book so I was unsure. I used
maps at the bus stops to find my way back to the Tube stop in Hampstead. While
walking I saw two Ferraris and lots of other expensive cars. It looked
seriously like rain now. As I was within sight of the Tube station big drops
began to fall. I happily got on the train back to London.
I got off the Tube at Westminister. I was surprised to see that London was dry
and somewhat sunny! I walked along Victoria Embankment following the
Westminster to Piccadilly walk. I photographed the old Scotland Yard gates. This
is the Metropolitan Police Headquarters that Sherlock Holmes would have known.
I turned down Horseguards Avenue and noticed a building of Palladian
architecture. Distinctive and unique it fits with the government district
surrounding the Horse Guards and 10 Downing Street.
As I continued north on Whitehall, I was stopped by another very attractive
woman. This foreign woman did not speak English very well and was looking for
Whitehall SW1. She was quite perturbed by the fact that there were two
Whitehalls: Whitehall and Whitehall Place. The wind gusting between the tall
buildings really whipped her long dark hair around. Sigh. Snapping back to
reality, I showed her where she was on her map and suggested that she continue
towards Horse Guards. Why doesn't this happen back in the States. Oh yes, I
forget that American women can never be wrong so why should they ask for
directions!
I stopped at the Clarence pub on the corner of Whitehall and Great Scotland
Yard. I purchased a pint of a suggested bitter. The girl bartender was not
terribly friendly, which is understandable because I was still in a major
tourist area. The bitter was very good. Not at all bitter and was almost sweet.
I drank it outside. It was warm probably around 60º in the sun but with
significant gusts (30-40 mph). As I drank I reflected on the variety of
tourists I saw. German, French, British, America, but there were some natives
around, too.
After finishing my pint I walked towards Trafalgar Square and picked up the
Strand. This is the road that Holmes and Watson frequently strode whether to
catch a play at the Garden or pursuing a lead. At the corner of the Strand,
Wellington, and Aldwich I could ignore my stomach no longer and I stopped for a
sandwich. Actually it was a ciabatta made by the Brazilian Crown Cafe Bar
across from the Wellington.
A view down the Strand.
Then I went to the Covent Garden tube station to go back to the hotel. My
evening consisted of a healthy supper of chips and dip. I watched several
movies and a TV program.
Steel
BBC program about bodyguards. What an amazingly difficult job!
Good Will Hunting
I walked about 5 miles today.
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