Last week my better half and I visited Covent Garden in London. We’ve been there many times before and around nine years ago would be there on many a Sunday afternoon, enjoying performances, a drink or a dessert at Henry’s which depending on your requirement is a bar, café or restaurant, but the one thing it definitely is, is stylish.

Covent Garden is easily accessible and is a short walk from a few tube stations, though it does have its own. This time around we had brought our own lunch with us, and enjoyed it in the quiet grounds of a church at Covent Garden that brought a welcomed shade.

Afterwards we watched Spikey Will amuse and amaze with a street performance. Over the years we’ve enjoyed good music and other street performances at Covent Garden. Always an enjoyable destination for an hour or so.

A quick tour around the shops, only to be disappointed that one of our old favourites has since departed the square. Back out into the blazing hot heat and instead of using its tube station, we strolled through the London streets to another tube station, window shopping along the way and then onto our next destination.

We opted not to have the breakfast’s at our hotel. We wanted to eat elsewhere and it is all too easy to pop into a Starbucks, a Café Nero etc, which can be found along streets in many cities around the world, all offering the same non-local experience, but we prefer a local experience. So on the second morning we went in search of the Shepherdess Café down City Road, not too far from our hotel.

I had researched greasy spoons before heading towards London and the Shepherdess Café was what we were looking for. Our hotel was on City Road also and as we strolled along it was already turning into a freakish hot day for late September.

The café was easy to find and its coolness compared to the heat outside was welcomed. We sat down and a waitress came and asked us what we wanted to drink, which on this occasion was tea. In the meantime we browsed the menu, which was fairly comprehensive. We are vegetarians, so full English breakfasts were not for us, so instead we ordered the mushrooms on toast, with an extra slice of toast each when she returned with the mugs of tea.

The breakfast arrived quickly and they also kindly gave us a small portion of chips each, which complimented the delicious breakfast. The café was a relaxed environment and we chatted whilst enjoying the breakfast. When I visited the counter to pay on leaving, I couldn’t help but see the row of photographs of British celebrities who have visited lining the wall.

The cost of breakfast was cheaper than our hotel’s and soon we were back out in the sun heading onto our next destination. The nearest tube station being ‘Old Street’ not too far away.

We were very glad we took the time to visit the Shepherdess Café.

The morning (last Friday) of our tour around Buckingham Palace’s state rooms and the Royal Mews, I had woken up with a bad back. By the time we got off the tube train at Green Park station my back pain (I had taken tablets only 30 minutes before) was getting worse. Already by 10am that morning it was fairly hot, but Green Park brought a welcome coolness, as well as being such a peaceful park to stroll through.

The last time we had been outside Buckingham Palace, London was caught in a deep coldness, with snow and ice. This time it was a freakish heat wave during late September. When we crossed the road to Buckingham Palace, as with the time before there were a swarm of tourists taking in the sights, including the guards and two horse drawn carriages leaving the Palace, probably heading for the Royal Mews.

I must mention the staff at the Palace are incredible. It was extremely busy, but they are well organised, helpful and as long as you turn up early for your tour time, all should proceed smoothly. My first security check of the day and a wave of the ‘wand’ because of my belt and a couple of pounds I forget were in my pocket (oops), then we picked up our audio headsets and headed towards the state rooms.

The audio guide is very well done and there are often additional bits of information, available at the touch of a button. There is no rush to progress through the state rooms, but naturally there were a lot of tourists partaking in the experience, so patience waiting to look in detail at an item or area is required at times.

By this stage my back was getting worse and climbing the incredible staircases I felt three times my age, including walking at a rather slow pace, often a footstep bringing on yet more pain. I’m a stubborn person and wasn’t going to let the pain stop me.

Alas no photography is allowed inside the state rooms, but as you can imagine the sheer scale, expense and grandeur were breathtaking. It was worth the time to visit and the audio guide gave it more depth.

The dress Kate Middleton wore at her wedding was on display, including welcomed seating as there was a tv presentation on loop about the making of her dress. So as I rested my back I watched five minutes or more detailing the making of the dress. Now I appreciate the dress is great, but I only sat down as I desperately needed to sit down due to pain, but many others were enthralled by the presentation and dress you could walk around.

Also part of the tour were displays of the Royal family’s Fabergé collection, including Fabergé eggs. Again the audio tour provided interesting detailed information about the collection.

Once we had finished the tour, we ventured outside into the heat, but quickly found shade in the gardens, where grey squirrels are to be found. I must admit the gardens were not what I expected – no amazing flower displays along the walk we took, but very pleasant calming surroundings, blocking off much of the noise of the busy road just over the wall.

Upon leaving the gardens we walked to Victoria to buy lunch, then afterwards ventured back to the Royal Mews. Here you will find a courtyard with stables, old carriages and a car. Again I set off the security sensor. Audio headsets collected, once again we strolled around taking in the rich history of the location. Possibly within an hour we had left the Royal Mews, compared to a much longer time spent strolling through the state rooms, but the entrance fee difference does reflect the different venues.

By this stage my back was much better, no doubt helped by the medication and we strolled into the heat of the day on-route to our next location. Below is a gallery of photographs taken at Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews:

In the freakish autumn heat last week we ventured to the Strand in London one afternoon. Situated next to the river Thames we wanted to visit three locations during the afternoon, and below I cover all three.

Temple Church and Knights Templar Effigies

Firstly we visited the Temple Church, an ancient church that many of you will know from the Da Vinci Code movie, primarily for the Knights Templar’s Effigies.

Situated near to the law courts, the main entrance is down a quiet walkway. Even before reaching the church entrance history was seeping into my pours and I knew the trip was going to be worth it.

For a few pounds each we ventured into the 12th century church. There are two main sections, one of which contains effigies of Knights Templars. Though there is much more to admire about this grand church. It has been restored many times, including by the great Sir Christopher Wren.

On the hot summer’s day, we sat down and took it all in, appreciating the history as well as the coolness of the church, with the heat beating down outside.

This wasn’t just another building, another location and just the cherry to top this great location, there was a fine drawing of the church from the past…….. drawn by a William Emmett.

At the bottom of the blog post you will find a gallery of photos from the Temple Church.

Twinings Tea Shop

Afterwards we ventured to the Twinings shop (opposite the law courts) as any devoted tea lover should if in the area.

The small shop has a small history display and information at the very back, but that truth be told only took a minute to admire, it was the selections of tea that lined the shelves that were so alluring.

Some I believe more expensive than in supermarkets, but they made up for this by presenting choice, including Twining teas I’ve not seen in my local supermarkets. Some of the tea were available as individual tea bags, so for ten pence per tea bag, we choose a selection to try.

Sitting along the River Thames

Afterwards we strolled down to the river, brought a couple of cold drinks from a nice lady outside the tube station, and found a seat along the pave as many others had and admired the river Thames.

Docked was a ship hosting some event or other, but other than the traffic, the location was quite relaxing with the Thames waves crashing upon the old mooring stones.

Hope you found this blog post regarding London interesting, especially as more are to follow. Below is a gallery of photographs taken at the Temple Church: