London 2025 - The Last Day

The Battle of Britain Memorial - London, England
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

ALL GOOD things must at some point, come to an end. Sunday was our last day in London (for this trip). We had scheduled a tour and admission to the famous Winston Churchill War Rooms. Our tour meeting time was late morning. We decided to take a walk around the general area of Westminster, as our meeting place was right next to the Westminster Bridge, on the governmental side of the river. To our disappointment, when we met down in the lobby, Todd informed us that Heather was feeling a bit "under the weather," and would be staying in for the day. It turned out to be a good call for her, as by the time we boarded our ship at mid-day on Monday, she was feeling a bit better. Unfortunately, I picked up whatever "crud" she had and by Tuesday, I was down for the count, skipping our first excursion day to Bruges.

Near the Entrance to the Churcill War Rooms
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

WE MADE the best of it, the 3 of us taking the Tube to the Westminster stop, where we walked around the Horse Guards grounds, and then on up to Trafalgar Square, taking in some of the grandiose buildings as we went. We found a pub (of all things 😁) where we stopped for refreshment, and then headed back to the meeting point next to The Westminster Pier on the Thames.

Governmental Buildings outside of MI-6 headquarters (Horseguards entrance in the background) - London, England
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD not done the Churchill War Rooms on our week-long visit to London in 2021. I think Todd had been there years ago, but he was game to see it again. Since 2021, we have heard time after time that we missed one of the best things about the area. A "must do" excursion. So of course, we booked it. I think, sometimes, when we hype something that is indeed very good too much, it sets unrealistic expectations. This may have been one of those times. It was worth seeing, but I felt just a bit underwhelmed. The basement headquarters where the team of British leaders - military and political - did the behind the scenes work of defending Britain (and indeed Europe) from the Nazi incursion, is certainly impressive. It is one of those places that gives you a heartfelt appreciation for the mix of sacrifice, brilliance and perseverance of these men and women. Fascinating. But I will say that I think they could make some substantial improvements to the presentation. It is one of those deals where you go in, pick up one of those radio outfits with earphones, and then follow along. That basement facility is already a bit of a maze, and it is probably challenging to figure out the most logical way to lead people through. But it was very confusing, with what I think is probably a too complicated layering of the narrative, numbers and letters. That took a bit of the lustre off that part of the excursion and toward the end, we basically turned our units off and just walked through, reading the placards as we went. That needs improvement, in our opinion. In spite of those shortcomings, I think it qualifies as a "must see" in London.

The Red Lion - London, England
Close to Parliament, Almost every Prime Minister - including Churchill were at least ocassional patrons - as well as other Members of Parliament
Copyright Andy Richards 2025 - All Rights Reserved

I DON'T want to completely throw cold water on the experience, though. It was well worth it and I would still recommend it and even agree that that entire excursion that we did is a "should not miss," event. In my view, the best part of it was the first hour or so, where we took a walking tour of the immediate area, spending some time at the WWII memorial next to the Westminster Pier, and then walking past Downing Street and MI-6 headquarters. Our guide was an enthusiastic and erudite historian of the war years and it was fascinating to follow along, see some of these very historic sites, and learn a bit about the history of London during that critical time in history.

In spite of . . . shortcomings, I think it qualifies as a "must see" in London

IT WAS mid-afternoon by the time we finished up in the War Rooms, and we headed back to our hotel to freshen up. We had reservations at a well-regarded Indian Restaurant in SOHO: Tamarind Kitchen. This one did meet expectations. I have a mixed history when it comes to ethnic food. Forty years ago, during my college and law school years (and before), I had never eaten any Asian food and generally turned my nose up at even the thought. I went to one Chinese restaurant in Washington D.C., with some office mates one night. They knew my history, and steered me toward a very bland chicken dish. The closest I had gotten to anything "exotic" was Mexican (in fairness, American "Tex-Mex"), and maybe some Italian. My diet was pretty much American mid-west (meat and potatoes and a small variety of vegetables). After I got married, my wife set out to change that. We took our daughter to Disney and Cape Canaveral (then Kennedy) one year and she insisted that we go to a top-drawer Chinese restaurant and eat (more or less) family style. I became an immediate convert. I loved the food in Japan when we were there in 2015, and by that time had already acquired a liking for sushi. I had tried, and liked, the Indian "fusion" Chicken Tika Masala. But until this night, I had still never eaten true Indian food. So it was an adventure for me. As I had expected by now, I liked it. My only reservation there is that they do tend to prepare their dishes eat a little too spicy for me. Although we sadly missed Heather's company, it was a really nice finish to our eventful week in London.

TOMORROW, WE would head on to Southampton and new adventures - in the Norwegian Fjords.

Our London Pub Crawl

The Old Bell - London, England
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EARLY ON in our pre-planning for this vacation, I floated the idea of a "pub crawl." We agreed we would set aside a day for just that. I don't remember how many pubs we eventually stopped in, but there were a few. There was history for all them which made it fun and interesting, also. Their interiors remained mostly unchanged from the days when they first opened. At one of them, we shared a traditional British Pub Food Plate (including a Scotch Egg, Pork Pie, and some wonderful artisan cheeses). Knowing this was going to be a long day (I am pretty sure we started sometime late morning), culminating with reservations in one of those somewhat famous London Pubs, Todd wisely set our pace by starting with a 1/2 pint. I followed his lead, and that worked well for us all day. He and I stuck to beer. The girls had a variety of other cocktails. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

St. Paul's Cathedral - London, England
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

STUDENTS OF history know that the city of London was originally built by the Romans (Londinium) beginning shortly after the birth of Christ. The Roman settlement grew into a city over the years and survived through the "Dark Ages," and into the Renaissance. Those students also know that in the late 17th Century, the ancient walled portion of the city was nearly completely destroyed by "The Great Fire of London." While there are undoubtely a lot of people who figured into the rebuilding of the great city, one stands out in history: Christopher Wren. Widely credited with a "plan" for rebuilding the city, Wren was involved in a great number of the building projects in London at that time. As is the case for most historical great cities, the central architectural focus was generally the church. In London, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of London it the magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral. Shortly before the great fire, Wren was commissioned to re-build the church. The original St. Paul's church was built there around 600 A.D. The fire swept the city just as Wren brought his first plans to the powers that be, destroying much of the church, but leaving its steeple and some building around it intact. Wren remained and became the principal architect of the Cathedral (as well as being involved in the design and construction of over 50 other churches, and a few other notable projects involving castles and other municipal buildings). The new cathedral got its own Baroque style dome, but the original steeple was left intact as part of the grounds.

Remnants of the original (pre-fire) St. Paul's Church - London, England
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WHAT IN the world, you may wonder, does any of this have to do with a "pub crawl?" These massive construction projects require artisans and workers. Wren realized that in order for them to be in the city and working on the churches, there would have to be infrastructure to feed and house them. So even before they could begin construction of the church, they built a handful of pubs (short for "Public House"). All of them are within close walking distance from the cathedral. Which makes for a pretty easy, and (weather permitting) enjoyable walking/pub crawl tour of the city. And that is what we did. The weather cooperated splendidly for us. We rode the Tube from Paddington to one of the stops near St. Paul's, and began our great adventure.

"The Wedding Church" - St. Bride's - London, England
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I AM going by memory, here, so I likely won't get the exact order correct (trust me, after a few pints, it doesn't matter 😁) but we hit most of our pre-planned goals. We started with The Old Bell, which has entrances on Fleet Street and around the back. The Bell was built on the site of a previous tavern (The Swan) which was destroyed along with most of the rest of the city by the fire. Wren re-built it shortly after the fire. My notes indicate that at the time it was actually built to accomodate artisans working on a different church just up the street from St. Paul's (St. Bride's church, which has served as the inspiration for the design of many wedding cakes over the years - hence, its nickname: "The Wedding Church").

The Old Bell Tavern - London, England
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THE OLD Bell had what was a more or less typical old British Pub vibe, we were to find, as we hopped from one to another. We liked it. The dark wood interior is certainly "period" (Wren was known for his "Baroque" style architecture), and played (sometimes) dramatically with the sunlight (when present). It does make casual photography in these places problematic, though. I basically only made "smart phone" photos inside these places. The exteriors were a different story. Almost always adorned with colorful flowers, the "old school" facades create picturesque looks. But this was a pub crawl day, and I didn't even carry the camera with me. I figured I could rely on my phone for any photos I wanted to take, especially knowing I would only be able to use that on interiors.

The Old Bell - London, England
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OUR NEXT destination was Ye Olde Watling, just up the street. Equally "clubby" and dark, it certainly met our expectations. We tried, whenever we could, to sample the local brews and ales.

Ye Olde Watling - London, England
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I FIRST spotted this pub in 2021, from a distance, while standing in front of the certainly overshadowing St. Paul's Cathedral entrance. But it stuck in my mind and planted the first germ of a possible "pub crawl." The name and the look drew my attention, however briefly, and I told myself I would be back there one day. Today was the day. 😊

Ye Olde Watling - London, England
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SEVERAL OF the pubs we visited had spaces where people would often gather just outside on the sidewalk for a drink. It was oddly random, but some of the pubs were very crowded, while others (like The Old Bell, for instance) were essentially empty. Unlike the gentlemen here, we were somehow able to find a seat in this one.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - London, England
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YE OLDE Cheshire Cheese, was again just up Fleet Street (less than a block from The Old Bell). We had passed it during our 2021 walking tour, and - taken by the unique name - I photographed the sign on the alleyway entrance, just beyond Williamson's Tavern which would be our next stop after this one. On this trip, I really noted the front entrance for the first time, but I wanted to show the others the alleyway entrance so we walked around the corner and went in that way.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - London, England
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ONE ONLINE description I found said this one is "probably the most famous pub in the world." Not sure I buy that, but it certainly does have a certain cache'. The same writeup describes it as one of London's few reamining 17th Century Chophouses. Again, rebuilt after the fire, it was known to have been frequented by the likes of Charles Dickens, W.B Yeats, and Mark Twain, and was even feature in Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities." There are actually several rooms in the Cheese. We found the cellar room and it was appropriately atmospheric. Having sampled several drinks so far this morning, we decided this was the place to get some food. We ordered a kind of "variety plate," that I would guess is popular among us tourists. Touristy or not, it was very tasty! 😋We didn't leave anything on the plate. Pidtured are Pork Pie (we cut it in quarters, as we did later with the Scotch Egg, also), Scotch Egg, artisan cheeses and bread, and a couple "chutney" type spreads.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub - London, England
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WE WALKED down the alley which has entrances to both Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and Williamson's Tavern in 2021, and they both "notched" on my subconscious "pub crawl" list. I think it was Williamsons, though, that solidified in my mind that there would be pub crawl on our next visit to London.

Williamson's Tavern - London, England
Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

IT PROBABLY goes without saying that you should take much of what you read online with a proverbial "grain of salt." As wonderful a resource as it is, there is much misinformation and also opinion (disguised as fact) there. Again, one resource describes Williamson's Tavern thusly: "From the outside, the building does not seek attention from the visitor, but its interior is well worth the visit." Hmnn. It is true that it does not have a "Fleet Street presence," and is somewhat tucked away back in the alleyway. But from our perspective, we found the exterior attractive and very much inviting.

Williamson's Tavern - London, England
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THE INTERIOR was - more than any of the others so far - brighter and more "airy," with a more "modern-traditional" sweeping bar design. The decor and the personnel in the pub were cordial and welcoming. Personally, from an aesthetics point of view, I found this one to among my favorites. Indeed when we walked past it in 2021, I knew I would be back to sit and have a beer one day. And I did.

Williamson's Tavern - London, England
(that's Todd buying us drinks. Nice and generous guy 😀)
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WE STILL had a couple others on our "list" for the day. The Blackfriar has a more distinctive exterior look, and color scheme. It was next. One of those buildings built at the peak of an angled intersection, it is impossible to miss as you walk by. Which may explain why (though my photo doesn't really show it) this one was completely packed! Standing room only inside and in most of the relatively large outside area with tables. We didn't let that stop us from partaking, however.

The Blackfriar Pub - London, England
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AROUND THAT corner and up the street to the right, under the overpass, was our next stop, The Cockpit. Unsurprisingly, this part of the city is known as "Blackfriars." The street we sought was another left turn onto St. Andrews Hill. From the photograph, it feels quite ritzy, with the St. Andrews Hill name feeling appropriately posh.

St. Andrews Hill - London, England
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THE COCKPIT's, exterior is, likewise, pretty ritzy looking. There is a saying: "looks can be deceiving." 😏 The Cockpit's interior is what could only be described in America as a "dive bar." It is a bit of a shock walking in off that street. Don't get me wrong. I don't have any problem at all with "dive bars." They certainly have their own atmosphere and can often be a lot of fun. This one is. In spite of the "decor," it has a family feel to it and we - of course - enjoyed yet another 1/2 pint while we took it all in. Not shockingly, the pub - formerly a gatehouse to the Blackfriars Monastery - was later a spot that hosted cockfighting. Hence its namesake.

The Cockpit Pub - London, England
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WHEW. THAT was a long pub crawl and a long day. We were pretty much "pubbed out." But it turns out we were not yet finished. 😊 Some good prior research by Todd and Heather had turned up a couple great restaurant suggestions. Tonight, we had reservations at one of them; yet another Pub/Tavern: The Ship Tavern. They determined that it got good reviews and booked the reservation weeks before we all arrived in London. Not sure what we were thinking, but we decided to walk there. It wasn't really such a bad idea at the time. On the map, it is about 1 mile from The Cockpit. Having been on our feet with a few beers in us, it felt like a lot more than a mile. Our thinking was we would go for a while and if the spirit (see what I did there?) moved us and we saw yet another pub, we would stop, rest and refresh. And guess what?

The Viaduct Tavern - London, England
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THE VIADUCT Tavern wasn't even on our radar. But we spotted it from across the street and, like a magnet, we were drawn in. It had its own gin brand, and we (my wife and I) are gin drinkers so of course we had to try it. It was good.

EXHAUSTED AND hungry, we finally arrived at our Ship Tavern. We knew the way home would be Uber, and looked forward to a relaxing and enjoyable meal. We were a bit early for our reservation and our table wasn't quite ready for us. But hey, we were on a pub crawl, after all, so we ordered a beer and sat at the bar to wait. At the street level, The Ship was yet another pub, much like many of those we had been in already during the week. But upstairs, the restaurant was another story. It was obvious, as we ascended the stairs, by the smell, that we were in for a great dining experience. The entrance was down an alley and I didn't really bother to try to get a shot of the Tavern itself. But it is worth the visit. We had a great meal, and headed home to a much anticipated, good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be our last day in London, and we had the Churchill War rooms ahead of us, and then an Indian Food restaurant that Todd and Heather had also scoped out pre-trip.

The Second Half of our London Adventure - Todd and Heather

Grand Union Canal - Paddington - London, England
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TODD AND HEATHER were due in mid-morning. I thought it would be nice to meet them at the train, especially since it was only steps away from our hotel room. 😉 As usual, I was awake early and decided to explore down around the area where we had eaten a couple nights previous in what I think is referred to as the Paddington Business District. It skirts the Paddington Basin and the Grand Union Canal, mostly along its westerly side as it flows north toward "Little Venice," and eventually, Camden Town. I walked all the way up to a quite wide spot in the canal; an area called "Little Venice." It was there that we were to board our canal boat later that morning. I was surprised that it was only about a 10-15 minute walk. Once I cleared the business district (which is also the site of a significant multi-story residential living area), how quiet it got. Along the canal itself were numerous liveaboard canal boats. It appears that the city allows them to dock there for a limited period (like 2 - 3 weeks) and then they must move along.

Code-Breaker Memorial - Paddington - London, England
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THE PREVIOUS morning, I had discovered a coffee shop just partway up the tunnel toward the other end of the station. The night we left Smith's Tavern, we realized that this tunnel was the more direct way back to our hotels. The walk from our hotel entrance in the train station to this area was less than 10 minutes and mostly all flat (one medium staircase), before emerging just south of the highway bridge, just this side of Smith's Tavern (and other establishments). Under the bridge there is a kind of cool digital monument to the WWII code breaker, Alan Turing. For those who haven't heard it, there is a story that he was killed eating a poisoned apple, and that Apple Computer's name was in tribute to him. Most accounts and officials at Apple deny that there is any connection other than coincidental.

Food and Drink establishments along the Grand Union Canal
Paddington - London, England
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ALONG THE canal in that business district, there were a couple canal boats that had been converted into various food establishments. One specialized in breakfasts. Another was a wine and cheese establishment. Yet another seemed to serve as a floating food truck. It was easy to tell that during prime periods the place was popular. It was a fun and interesting walk with a couple fun photo ops. The "walking/standing" man statues were fun to play around with some perspective shots.

Standing/Walking Man Statues - Paddington
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WALKING ONWARD, I soon realized from the signs and what became visible ahead, that it was really only a short distance to an area on the Grand Union Canal known as "Little Venice." There, the canal widened out into a kind of natural turning basin.

Canal Tour Boats - Little Venice - London, England
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ON ONE side there were touring "canal boats" that you could ride back and forth between here and Camden, and even beyond by negotiating "Camden Lock"  (Todd and Heather had actually purchased tickets for us to do that very excursion later that morning).

Liveaboards along the Grand Union Canal between Paddington and Little Venice
London, England
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ON THE other side there was a nice little canal boat - turned restaurant which appeared to be a popular place for breakfast. When I walked by early that morning, it wasn't yet open. When we returned a couple hours later, it was hopping. The entire surrounding locality is a nice, quiet, and apparently reasonably affluent residential area. At the end of the wide spot there is a bridge with an accompanying footbridge that crosses the canal. The bridge is ornate and photogenic and it is easy to tell from there (other than the canal) how the area gets the "Little Venice" name.

Westbourne Terrace Road Bridge - Little Venice
London, England
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THERE IS also one of the ubiquitous "British Pubs." Again, at that early hour, it was closed. But I do have it in my "gunsight" for a future visit. 😀 I headed back toward Paddington and the train station as it was getting closer to their arrival time.

The Bridge House Pub - Little Venice - London, England
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I ARRIVED back at the train station landing right around the time Todd and Heather's LHR Express train was to arrive. And, shortly, I saw them walking along the platform. After months of anticipation, it was great to see them. My wife joined us on the platform and we headed up to the hotel lobby, where they checked their bags with the concierge, so we could walk up the street and grab some breakfast. Heather had booked a reservation for us around noon for one of the canal boats that goes from "Little Venice" up to the Camden Lock, and Camden, a kind of "rock & roll" famous area of London. Having just done it, I knew we could walk it easily, and after hours on an airplane, they were ready to stretch their legs.

Just under the bridge, you can see the man operating the Camden Lock
Camden - London, England
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THE CANAL ride was interesting. One of my biggest challenges with my travel photography is trying to shoot scenery from a moving vessel (whether it be a boat or a vehicle). But I always try, and sometimes I am at least a little bit successful at getting a feel for the place. On the canal, the "scenery" along the banks changed from affluent multiple unit housing, to single homes (some of them outright estates), to a semi-industrial area, before reaching the commercial and touristy Camden. We even went through the middle of the London Zoo.

Single family homes along the Grand Union Canal near Camden - London, England
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CAMDEN WAS a kind of cool, eclectic place. As we approached the wharf area where we disembarked our canal boat, I was struck by this pretty grandiose Chinese restaurant right on the bend of the canal.

Camden - London, England
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WE DID some people-watching, and a little trinket shopping.

Camden Markets
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Camden - London, England
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Camden - London, England
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Camden - London, England
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Well. I am thinking there is at least one pair I could probably pull off 😆
Camden Markets - London, England
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WE THEN found "The World's End" bar, on Heather's bucket list for this trip. There we sat and had our first couple of many beers over the next couple weeks. The bar is fairly large and the currently operating interior space is open, and bright with a large, enclosed bar in the middle of the main room. There is also an upstairs balcony overlooking the bar. During our stop here, I excused myself to find the mens room, and discovered what is undoubtedly the original bar. It was closed, but by the looks of it, there are certainly times when it is still in use. It looked much more like the early centuries, dark, clubby atmosphere that we would see many times during the next week.

The World's End Tavern - Camden - London, England
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IT WAS a pretty easy subway ride back to Paddington from there, and after checking in and freshening up, we walked (again) down to The Victoria. We didn't have reservations, but we asked if we could be seated and they accomodated us. After a choppy start (it didn't seem like they were really prepared) we were seated in their upstairs dining area, a very charming, but small room upstairs from the bar. Things got better from there. The food was excellent. The company was - of course - fun, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. And then we were all ready to crash.

WE DIDN'T have a really jammed itinerary for the next couple days. They arrived on Friday, and we had car service reserved for Monday morning, so we had Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We did have a couple scheduled things. One was a visit to the Churchill War Rooms. We did that on Sunday, and Heather was feeling a bit "Under the weather," so she stayed in. Shortly after boarding our cruise ship that same "crud" (basically cold symptoms) caught up with me, too. Our Churchill tour was partly outdoors and began down along the Thames, and partly down in the basement area that housed the war rooms. All pretty fascinating, especially if you are at all a history buff. I'll cover it in a separate post soon.

THE SECOND planned event was something that kind of grew from a thought I had in 2021 into a solid plan in 2025. As we walked along Fleet Street toward St. Paul's back in 2021, I noted several quaint looking pubs, that were equally quaintly named. We walked by a few of them and it seemed like it might be fun to drop in a couple of them for "a pint." But we were on an organized walking tour at the time. Fast forward to 2025, and the 4 of us planned a full-blown "Pub Crawl." Next up: our London Pub Crawl.