London touristing 26/10/18

Today we walked a bit.  I turned on my watch to track a little while after we left home, and after we had done all the walking in and around the St Johns museum. It still recorded our distance as 11.5km!! This was more ambling than walking, with lots of stops to look and read etc.

First stop (after breakfast and cup of tea) was St Johns museum where we happened to arrive a few minutes before the commencement of a free tour. We were able to see many other parts of their holdings in the area, and were amazed by the history and also by the treasures held there (quite casually). A conservator's paradise I suspect.

We took a detour past a narrow church front (St Ethelreda's)  after quite a few interesting little alley walkways, but couldn't get a look at the largest stained glass window in England due to a service being in progress. This one  amazingly survived the Great fire of London, the reformation, (Henry the 111V) and any direct hits in the blitz and is the oldest Roman Catholic church in the country (from the period of Edward 1). We did get to stick our heads into the lower chapel (crypt) which appears to be used for functions sometimes.

From here we wound our way through to St Paul's , where we enjoyed a stroll in the grounds, but decided not to pay the best part of $70 Aus to go inside and see the architecture. Even from the outside very impressive. This, along with many other buildings has been built on the site of another earlier church. It is incredible to see how many feet the ground level has moved (at least 6 foot) over the years since some of these buildings were erected.

Lunch was found (essential ) before we strolled past the Old Bailey

We marvelled at a garden in a church (bombed out and left as a garden, with some walls representing the site)

and an interesting clock - donated by the clockmakers of London

Then down to the Thames past a display of huge "Harry Potter" wands, memorial to history of scientific discovery and amazing modern sundial

before a detour around the path beside the Thames - which just happened to take us past an incredible mosaic, which depicted the history of London from 0AD to present day.

Then we walked back up to see where John Wesley once lived, and wandered through the Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, which has apparently been there for about 1000 years,  and holds the graves of the like of John Bunyan  along many others.  This area would have been about 200 metres wide and the same long at least, and has so many gravestones packed in amongst falling autumn leaves, towering trees, wandering squirrels and hordes of pigeons. quite beautiful.

Home to our room for a nice relaxing cup of tea, before heading out to find some food.
Tomorrow we head for Italy and more adventures.

The tube is an excellent way to get around London.