England 9/2025: London, then Cornwall or the Lake District? Not sure...

ZivBnd · September 9, 2025, 6:51pm

England looked green and pastoral from 14,000 feet as we flew in to Heathrow, but I was forewarned about the coming Tube strike so I was ready for delays. And it started the moment my Elizabeth Line train got halfway to Tottenham Court. Unboard, wait, reboard and wait. But I got to my hotel south of Camden Town in Mornington Crescent, dropped my bag and hit the Greek restaurant right next door, Andromeda. Owner greeted me kindly and dropped an amuse bouche immediately of diced pickled beets and what tasted like home fries seasoned with Italian Colatura di Alici. Odd, but I kind of liked it.

I did like the Soutzoukakia, hard to miss with meatballs in tomato with garlic. Not a great meal but a good one.

But the dog that refused to leave the front of the Greek cafe due to the cooking smells? Dog of the day!

Also ordered a sausage starter, Loukanica, and it was only so-so. Dried out and not as flavorful as I like.

I then went to get my Oyster card for transport and the woman at the Underground station was from the islands and very, very kind. Trinidad? Not sure. It was nice to get three sincere welcomes in less than an hour from the hotel clerk, the waiter at Andromeda and the Underground employee. But the Underground employee was pretty clear that the delays were going to be worse than I thought. Went back to the hotel and fell out, hard. Slept for around 11 hours.
Next morning it was just a Kind bar and a cup of builders tea and I got the subway to Leicester Square where I wanted to start with the first scene in Aaronovitch’s River’s of London books. So off the the East Portico of Saint Paul’s Church (not cathedral) then over to the sunken mall of Covent Garden Market where a quintet was sending beautiful notes into the area. Loved it.

Next I was off walking to the Tower via a few old favorites. I stopped at St. Paul’s Cathedral where I took their photo for a young family from Sydney who for some reason known only to God thought I was Australian. But I took it as a compliment.

I took a photo that does not do justice to an artwork called Forgotten Streams, which is an homage to all the buried streams and rivers of London, which also ties in to the Rivers of London books.

I stopped by Simpson’s Tavern on the way, hoping for some signs of life, and yet it was still closed. Sad. I kind of wanted a sausage with that meal.

I got the last free, unscheduled pass for Sky Garden, the 30 story high terrace with a view of London from Canary Wharf to Big Ben. Loved it! The staff were slammed by punters and were still kind. What is going on here? So many nice people are making me nervous!

Stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch at a fast casual Lebanese place at the base of Sky Garden called Sky Beirut. Very nice manager took my order and delivered some rather good Lebanese food. I ordered the Lamb Kafta plate with rice and the Kanafe desert and both were pretty darned good. Though the lamb was minced a bit too fine, I would go back!

Then I stopped by an old abandoned church, Saint Dunstan’s, that is now too popular for its own good. Darn. But I got my shot of the exterior, which made me feel a bit better.

I finally arrived at the Tower of London, where I took a tour for the first time and was rather impressed with the comedic timing of the Yeoman Warder, Yeoman Warder Wyatt.

24 years as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the English Army and now he is doing pretty well in his second and third careers of being a Warder and a Comedian. It was a fun tour! Crown jewels were impressive but not as enjoyable as the jokes.

The field full of poppies honoring those lost was a solid reminder of a part of the history of this land.

Then it was back to the hotel (minor travel hickups due to the strike) for a power nap and a long anticipated walk over to Sheephaven Bay for a cask ale and a Sunday Roast. The Young’s Special Bitter was outstanding! But the Sunday Roast was sliced off a roll of pre-prepared meat and the mashed potatoes had set so firmly they appeared to be in a state of rigor mortis.
And the Yorkshire Pudding? Simply sad.

But I have family flying into town later in the week and that will be a treat! Taking them on a food tour and then to see my old tall ship, the Golden Hinde, which is in dry dock south of London Bridge. Here is a photo of her back when I was sailing aboard her back in 1994.

That is Tower Bridge behind her, of course. We tied up at Butler’s Wharf for a month around Christmas of 1994.
Anyway. More London food to follow, then I will be off to somewhere at the end of the week.
Another stray Tower photo.

BeefeaterRocks · September 9, 2025, 7:47pm

(post deleted by author)

BeefeaterRocks · September 9, 2025, 7:49pm

Great report, looking forward to more. I’ve found the UK to be full of nice, kind, helpful people. Paris, not so much, if you collapsed on the sidewalk Parisians would step over you and give you a dirty look for blocking the sidewalk.

ZivBnd · September 9, 2025, 8:02pm

I have heard similar reports about Paris but i have to admit that it is one of the cities i most want to visit. But I think maybe smaller towns might be a better destination than big cities in Europe.
I have found population density maps for both Spain and France and i want to travel in the less populated areas, up from Cordoba to Lleida, then west of Lyon and up to the west of Metz.
Travel where the fewest people live.
Maybe.

GretchenS · September 9, 2025, 8:31pm

I am so excited you are on another trip!! Cannot wait to hear more! I have always found folk in the UK to be kind and welcoming.

Harters · September 9, 2025, 10:07pm

I’m sure that was just a slip of the keyboard and that you know the Army defends all of the UK, not just the English bit of it.

ZivBnd · September 9, 2025, 10:18pm

I do not know the proper name then.
I thought it was the English Army.
I was told that it was the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and Royal Marines but that the army was not termed royal.
I have read the term English Army in history books but now I think that i should have realized that it is the British Army now.

grumpyspatient · September 9, 2025, 11:00pm

A great recap of your trip, thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the next installment.

ernie_in_berkeley · September 9, 2025, 11:06pm

It’s odd that for many Americans, Australians and British accents sound the same, and for many British, Australian and American accents sound the same.

Phoenikia · September 10, 2025, 12:51am

What a nice visit to London.

I have visited Cornwall and the Lake District. Both are worth visiting.

I think of the Lake District as more of a tourist destination. There are bus tours. Some parts are kitschy.

Cornwall feels more like the Britain I think of in my mind, when I think of Britain. And of course, it’s home of the Cornish pasty and the Cornish hen. LOL

I am glad I visited both.

I’m a Gilbert and Sullivan fan, so I decided Penzance would be my base in Cornwall. I also visited St Ives and Plymouth. Both Penzance and Plymouth have seen better days, and are a little worn.

This is where I stayed in Penzance

I only stayed a few nights in Windermere, at a lovely Inn on the lake. The place I stayed had really good food.

klyeoh · September 10, 2025, 4:49am

Absolutely love your report.

ZivBnd · September 10, 2025, 9:04am

I did not know that about many Brits finding Australian and American similar in some ways.

I have a hard time recognizing the difference accent differences between some forms of (Southern?) English (though not Northern English or Scottish) and Australian. Back 20 years ago I was hiking the South Downs Way and had a long day of it, covered a little over 20 miles. When I arrived at my bed and breakfast pub, one of a group of locals asked where I was in from and I told him the town I had left that morning. One of his buddies said something about that being a good distance away, and that the people in that town had an odd accent to their speach. I guess I had passed from a Sussex accent area to a Southern English or maybe a West Country accent area. They all sound good to me. The ones I had trouble understanding were some of the Scottish ones and Manchester was tough, as well.

I can frequently tell a person from Beijing from a person from Shanghai as soon as they start talking even though I do not speak a word of any variant of Chinese languages/dialects, which is kind of interesting. The hard Z sounds seem to be a lot more frequent in Beijing accents/Mandarin.

Harters · September 10, 2025, 9:35am

It’s not happened for several years but, on our earlier trips to the States, I would be regularly asked if I was from New Zealand (and once if I was Scottish). My accent is nothing like a New Zealander’s. I think it was probably that, in those days, Americans had not been much exposed to English regional accents, through TV programmes, so didnt think I could be British. The conclusion being “Hmm, speaks English but oddly. Must be a Kiwi”.

Harters · September 10, 2025, 9:45am

And our accent can vary even within the metro area. I’m middle class and live in the southern part. I have a very different accent from, say a working class accent from the north (only 20 or so miles away). My friend Paul, who lives in Kentucky, also has a friend from the north. He says he can easily understand me, so long as I don’t talk too fast, but he really struggles to follow the other guy.

As for the thread, Cornwall (and Devon) and the Lake District (and the rest of Cumbria) both have much to offer. The Lakes has stunning scenery but parts can get horrendously busy during the tourist season. On the other hand, I fnd driving around Cornwall to be not that much fun. Main issue is that it’s very common for roads to be lined with high hedging so you can miss out on a a lot of scenery. Once you get to where you’re going, it’s great. Both are great food counties.

Phoenikia · September 10, 2025, 2:30pm

I haven’t had trouble following what most Brits say. I probably would have a little trouble with some Scots.

I can barely understand some New Zealanders. LOL

ZivBnd · September 10, 2025, 8:02pm

I was up the next morning and wandering about Camden Lock people watching. Good time.

Anyway, my narrow boat showed up at 1115 and I was off on a leisurely backwoods canal trip from Camden Town/Lock all the way to Little Venice over by Paddington Station.

I love the way the canals kind of slip by the traffic, taking you through quiet neighborhoods you would otherwise never see.

I took a “canal boat” tour in Birmingham once and it was all trees and greenery. The tour ended and I walked up a brick staircase and I was a couple hundred yards from the Bull Ring Shopping Center which is about as urban as Birmingham gets.

Anyway, my boat trip was over so I hoofed it over to Plaza Khao Gaeng for Thai food at a Michelin Bib restaurant I have visited before and made the mild mistake of ordering the Lunch Special, Red Curry with fried egg with a Cha Manao (Black tea with Limejuice). It was good but the flavors were not as pronounced and the spice level was modest.

The last time I was there I got the Massaman Beef Curry and it was rich and complex, just delicious.

Great attentive (but not over the top) service both times. The place is small so coming at a non-rush time really makes sense.

The underground strike is in full swing and my faithful 24/29 buses were loaded to the gills so I walked home via Tottenham Court, where there was an immersive art display on 25’ by 60’ monitors on 3 walls and the ceiling. Pretty darned intense. I caught three, one was very good in a 1960’s LSD sort of way, the other was boxes bouncing artfully and the other one was a Jenga game played by the people there who were willing to download the app. All were interesting if only for the scale of the work.

Went home to Camden where I got dinner at Blues Kitchen, which had a shocking lack of blues music… Anyway, ordered a margarita, rocks, no salt and actually got the drink I ordered, hand made not from a mixer or a pre-mix. Yea!

Plus my beef brisket sandwich with bacon gravy was pretty darned tasty, as well. All was going great until the restaurant manager stood and talked to me for a few minutes and I was ambushed by a Northern accent that was nigh on undecipherable, by me at least. I wish I had a picture of me with the deer in the headlights look in my eyes. She left with a bit of devilish grin, so I think she knew what she was doing.

Good food, good time. Walked about Camden and saw two old school punks offering to sell photos of themselves for 2 quid. I asked them to throw in a bird or two at that price. They did. Good sorts.

Next morning I woke late and hit the zoo, and realized that I had missed almost all the feeding times and the active times for the morning animals. Poor planning. Mom gorilla and child were both napping. Until child decided they needed some attention.

But the conversation between the giraffe stuck behind the gate and the zebra seemed to be an interesting one.

Then I found a tiny portion of the 24 bus to stand on and traveled down past Leicester Square to the Original Ivy. Ordered a dirty martini, scallops and sheperd’s pie. Martini was good but way dirty, I will order dry next time. The scallops were lightly grilled and very nice, albeit a bit on the sweet side. Still very good. The sheperd’s pie was outstanding, a very balanced meaty flavor, almost like the mince were equal parts of lamb, mutton and beef. But rich and delicious. Though I have to admit that it benefitted from the garden peas I ordered as a side. Great meal at the Ivy!!

Walked to Goodge due to overcrowded buses, then saw that the Goodge Undergound had northbound trains to Camden. Woohoo! I got so excited I took the stairs down instead of waiting for the elevator. 146 stair steps down the spiral stairs to the mid-level, then I followed a 1930’s tile lined corridor to more stairs that took me down to the track level. Thank GOD I was descending, not climbing! Train to Camden Town, then walked about Camden a bit as the sun dropped. Nice in a mildly mad sort of way.

Rain was off and on, so I waited 30 minutes for a bus, then bailed at Cambridge Circus, walked around a bit, still crushing on the building that is the home of the current Harry Potter play, the Palace Theatre. Shaftsbury Avenue is full of beautiful buildings but the Palace is right up there. It also sides to The Spice of Life pub, which features heavily in a Rivers of London book.

So I took photos and continued on my quest for Bao, at Bao SOHO. Ordered the award winning mackerel bao and an old favorite of mine from other places the beef rib bao, plus braised pork over rice with boiled egg and scallops. The mackerel was understated and tasty, and the bao wrap was pillowy and slightly sweet. Very good! I inhaled all 4 small plates, with the exception of the rice for the braised pork, I had over ordered and had to leave it behind. Outstanding cafe, very good food and service, good bubble tea, nice people… I want to go back already.

Then I walked down to the Horse Guards Museum and watched old couple outfitting each other in Guards uniforms. That was kind of amusing. The museum was small and very interesting. There is a translucent wall that separates part of it from the stable where 4 of the regiment’s mounts are stabled. I could not help looking through the misted glass and wishing that I could get a tour of that side of the ‘glass’. Beautiful animals.

#10 Downing Street was double fenced off. I remember not that long ago people walked down that road. So far the 21st century sucks.

Finally, when the rain started in again I took myself off to Westminster Abbey. Walked in the door and was gobsmacked by the view.

I love the classical architecture of Europe. Wandered about and admired Ben Johnson’s 18” x 18” tomb, then over to Isaac Newton’s somewhat more impressive “headstone”.

Took a quick peek at the gardens…

…and was on my way out of the secure are where I was stunned to hear a guard yell something that sounded like, “Oi! Thats me jacket!!” while he was looking at me. I was wearing a light rain coat I got while visiting Santorini and did not realize that it has a pretty prominent Greek flag on it. He explained that he was from Corfu so we shot the breeze a bit about how beautiful Greece is, how great Greek people are and how traveling on shoulder months is the only way to see the world. Another memorably good time in London. Then I was off to the bus stop to try to find standing room on the 24 bus. No joy. So I walked to the next stop. No joy. The rain started to get heavy, the skies darkened, the temperature dropped … and an empty 24 bus magically turned up.

Just south of the Palace Theatre and the Harry Potter play.

You do the math.
I want to believe magic is real and wizards are looking out for us muggles.
This is London. Anything is possible.

PedroPero · September 10, 2025, 9:49pm

Hilarious!! looks like you’re having a good time so far, great photos and reporting as usual.

GretchenS · September 14, 2025, 11:41am

Hope you are still having a wonderful time!

ZivBnd · September 15, 2025, 9:40am

I attended a family reunion in Fairmont Hot Springs Montana a few months ago and my cousin mentioned that he and his wife were going to be visiting London and Paris in September which kind of got my attention. I asked when and realized that their visit to London overlapped my stay in the UK by a couple days so we planned on meeting in London on the 11th. I got to plan so I opted to take in a Secret Food Tour of Borough Market and then a visit to a tall ship I crewed aboard 30 years ago, the Golden Hinde.
We met our guide, Billie, and 6 other foodies and off we went.

We started with a English bacon Bap at Brood which was the perfect start, salty, rich and served on a slightly sweet brioche bun that might or might not be authentic to Southwark, but it was great. But I have to admit that the huge over-sized wok of paella at the entry of Brood looked even better than the Bap.

Ginger Pig had an outstanding, rosemary rich meaty sausage roll. Simply delicious! Almost too rich…

No food tour of a London Market would be sufficient without at least one order of fish and chips and Fish! did not disappoint, except for the fact that there are almost no seats nearby... The one shortfall here was that our guide, though we loved her, did not order mushy peas. A significant shortcoming in my view, though not so much for others.

Seriously, though, on tours like this the guide is crucial and Billie hit it out of the park. Knowledgeable and fun. Great combination.

Finally we had a cheese plate and a chocolate toffee desert with a dry cider at the Mug House, which is located under/inside the south end of London Bridge. I wish I had taken notes because the Stilton Cheese was outstanding (not sure of the brand but it is the Stilton on the tasting plate there), as was the Aspall’s cider. When the tour ended we visited my old ship, the Golden Hinde, which has been in drydock for over 25 years at Saint Mary’s in Southwark. It was a sad sort of reminiscing sensation as we toured her, she had been seaworthy and afloat in the Thames when I left her on New Years day in 1995. We sailed from Great Yarmouth to Hull, then a month later from Hull to Ipswich and a month after that we sailed again for London where two fireboats welcomed us with sprays of Thames water out of the water cannons.

That is me in the middle. Steve and Michelle on the left were feeling a bit of residual sea sickness from the gale the night before but myself, Sue, Tobie and (I am ashamed to say I can not remember the Crewman Emeritus on the lower right) were having a grand morning. Tobie and the gent I can not remember were not technically part of the crew for the journey but had crewed before or were professionals. We did not HAVE to listen to their advice, but we invariably did. It helps a great deal to have someone on deck who knows what they are doing! LOL! Captain Roddy (the owner) and Captain Paul (Captain when Roddy did not sail with us) gave us a great deal of latitude to enjoy the ship and the sea and learn as much as we could in so doing. There were usually 10 crew and 2 or 3 Emeritus Crew, plus the Captain.

After leaving the Hinde we walked over London Bridge and up to the Tower of London where we boarded a Thames tour boat back to Westminster. Great seeing London from the water, too!
Then I realized it was time for my cousin and his wife to head back to their hotel and for me to get ready for an early departure the next morning for Barnstaple. I grabbed a quick bite at a fast casual place called MoMo’s in Camden Town, a triple protein of Teriyaki Chicken Thighs, Chicken Katsu and Yazu Chicken over spicy yakisoba noodles. Surprisingly good and just £9 plus the drink!

Camden Town is all it is reputed to be, hectic, slightly seedy and totally fun. I highly recommend the Jason’s canal boat tour and just hanging out in Camden. The food is not always great but the atmosphere is.
London, of course, is simply one of the Great Cities and it deserves every bit of the glory and a good bit of the infamy that is heaped upon it. I love London. Being there for 6 days during a transit strike made me walk even more and that let me see more of the city. And the more I see, the more I like it. Reading Aaronovitch’s “Rivers of London” books while I was there added another layer of enjoyment.

LindaWhit · September 15, 2025, 2:16pm

If you hadn’t noted “Great Yarmouth” I would have thought you were in the Massachusetts area.

Sounds like an amazing trip!