WhyWaitForever - London
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WhyWaitForever - London - Images of Historic London
Images of Historic London
These pictures take you from Buckingham Palace through St James Park to Westminster Abbey. The route continues along Whitehall past Downing Street to Trafalgar Square and on to St Pauls.
Our walk started in front of Buckingham Palace with Green Park to our right and facing the indomitable statue of Queen Victoria. Turning round we looked over the flower beds into St James Park. We entered the park and walked parallel to the Mall we crossed the bridge in the late. In the distance lay Whitehall with the London Eye behind. To some an eye sore, to some a fairground attraction running the character of the Georgian and Victorian views and to others a thing of beauty and marvel of engineering.
Leaving St James Park with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on our left we turned up Cockpit Steps passed St James Tube station, passed New Scotland Yard, turned left into Victoria Street and headed towards the river.
Since around 800 CE Westminster Abbey now in the grounds of St Margarets has graced this part of London. In November the grounds have poppies commemorating those who died serving their country. As a child we always walked down in the afternoon to pay our respects.
A Journey
With Parliament in front we skirted Parliament Square and entered Whitehall leaving the stern status of Sir Winston Churchill staring towards the statue of Oliver Cromwell who returns the gaze.
On the right is Old Scotland Yard the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in my youth. The walls still invoke the barbarous feel of the vilains of those times and worse the horror of hangings and capital punishment from the uncivilised unenlightened rule of law. An inspector of Sherlock Holmes' times could walk into the close and recognise it all.
Continuing down Whitehall on the left are the Treasury, the Foriegn and Colonial Office, Downing Street and other great offices of state. On the right is the Ministry of Defence and other Ministries. The Cenotaph stands in the middle of the road in silent remembrance.
We walked towards Trafalgar Square, along the Strand, the Aldwych, past the Royal Courts of Justice and on to St Pauls Cathedral. We ended our walk in a little wine bar near to the memorial of the fire wardens of the second world war on the path down to the Millenium (Wobbly) bridge.