Day 5 THE EMBANKMENT
Today we hopped on the Bakerloo Line and headed down to have a walk in the gardens and along the Thames Embankment. We have noted in some areas that London seems to be fraying a bit around the edges from what we remembered from previous visits. The train we caught was a rather extreme example of this being graffitied both inside and out.
We reached the Embankment and checked out the Embankment Gardens. It was pretty enough but seemed to have attracted several collections of rough looking characters who were gathered in groups drinking beer.
One interesting structure here was a private watergate built in 1624 for the Duke of Buckingham. River improvements undertaken in the 19th Century have left it rather high and dry.
I also found a statue of Sir Arthur Sullivan who is a favourite composer of mine.
The next park along, Whitehall Gardens, was a lot more up market with magnificent flower beds.
We kept walking inland towards the Horse Guards where the crowds were becoming very thick. There was a half dozen mounted police waiting in a side road so we thought something might be happening but didn’t know when or what.
So we pressed on down past the Cenotaph.
The footpaths were crammed with people as we passed Parliament House and admired the newly restored Big Ben tower.
In the surging throng we slowly moved down the side of Parliament, and I got to say hi to Oliver Cromwell’s and Richard the Lion-heart’s statues. After what seemed an eternity, we escaped from the crowds and the road closures and the detours. We hopped the tube and headed back to Paddington where we found a nice little cafe and had a late lunch.
This evening we headed down to Covent Garden where we had a lovely meal at a restaurant called the Banana Tree. We had tickets to “ The Play that goes wrong” at the nearby Duchess Theatre. It was an absolutely hilarious evening.
Hardys’ Travels 