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First Visit to the UK (Part 5): London

River Thames

During my visit of the UK in September 2019, one of the cities that I visited was London. It was more of a transitory route on my onward travel to Chatham and later to St. Neots. After leaving Tetbury, I travelled by bus to London for 1 hour a journey of 100 miles (160 km). As we approached London, I could sense I was in London without being told. The magnificent buildings I started seeing gave the city away. I alighted the bus from Victoria Station in the heart of London. At the station, I bought some food and then looked for a place to sit so that I could do some work on my laptop. I found a suitable place at Starbucks where I ordered some coffee and worked away. After working for more than a hour, I decided to become a solo tourist. I went to the baggage section at the Victoria Station and left my bag for storage at a fee.

Buckingham Palace

I followed the clearly labelled signs to begin my touring with my first point of call being at the Buckingham Palace area. On my way there I saw the famous Westminster Abbey. I was amazed at the beautiful gardens named St James Park that I saw near the palace. They are beautiful gardens where one can sit down and relax. Buckingham Palace (see photo above) is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. it is located in the City of Westminster. It has been a focal point for the British during times of national rejoicing and mourning.

I was amazed to see the throngs of people waiting to get inside the Palace for a guided tour. I could not venture there as I had not made prior arrangements to do so. I also learned that on some days visitors can get to watch the change of guards. Changing the Guard takes place outside Buckingham Palace on certain days from 10 45am and lasts for 45 minutes. This is one of the most popular free London events.

Gardens around Buckingham Palace (see photo)

One interesting thing I noted is Birdcage Walk near the Palace. I noticed a lot of birds in the area. My former workplace in Lusaka was Birdcage Walk, most likely named after the one in London! After exploring the area around Buckingham Palace and checking out some souvenir shops (mostly selling high quality teas and biscuits) I made my way back to Victoria Station, where I got back the bag I had left and returned to Starbucks for more coffee and some more work. Later in the afternoon, I again left my bag for storage and went on more exploration this time heading in the opposite direction of where I had headed in the morning.

My wandering led me to the famous River Thames (see photo above). At 345 km, River Thames is the longest river entirely in England. It flows through Southern England including London. I visited the site next to the river that describes the use of the river in years gone by for generation of power. On the river, I saw at least three bridges. The highlight was seeing the sun set on the river. With the sun setting it was time to retreat to Victoria Station where I had another cup of coffee as I waited for Kunda Kalifungwa to come and pick me up. I enjoyed my solo visit around a bit of London and wished I had more time to see more sites. By God's Grace, I did have more time after a few days to see a bit more of London. 

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