A day in Londinium

One last full day in London before we headed elsewhere.

After breakfast we hopped on the Circle Line and headed to Blackfriars -the train was packed, and it’s an indirect route but potentially the fastest by avoiding changes.

From there we walked along the river to the Tate Modern. It’s in an old power station – a huge, spectacular space.

We were at the Tate to check out the Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition. Yes, amusingly we were in London seeing an Australian artist.

Some of the pieces were borrowed from the NGV and NGA, some owned by Steve Martin and his wife Anne Stringfield – it turns out Martin has been very supportive of Australian indigenous art.

From there we walked back along the river towards the London Eye (which we went on in 2017 – it was good, but no wish to go again, thanks) and joined the throngs on Westminster Bridge.

Big Ben surely must be one of the most photographed buildings in the world, so I joined in and snapped a few pics. We’d wanted to go past because last time we were here it was partly covered in scaffolding.

We waited for the clock to go Bong for one o’clock, then kept moving.

The traffic around this area was truly horrendous, and we walked past Westminster Abbey (it was its turn to be covered in scaffolding this time), then along Horse Guards Road, past His Majesty’s Treasury and the back of Downing Street.

Then we cut through to Whitehall, past the Royal House Guards, towards Trafalgar Square.

We were aiming for Covent Garden, where I wanted to have a quick look in the London Transport Museum Shop, to see if I needed (!) to buy anything to take home (again).

We got a baked potato for lunch from a food van. Tasty.

From there we caught a bus to Liverpool Street Station.

In September 1825 the Stockdon and Darlington Railway opened – the Brits consider this the first proper railway, and are marking two hundred years with various events around the country.

This one would be free, quick, and easy to get to – a display of photos in an exhibition space in the station. And a good view of the station itself, which is in the middle of an upgrade.

From there, back on the Lizzy Line to Paddington and the hotel.

Then we headed out to a nearby pub (the Victoria) for an afternoon ale. What’s particularly noticeable in the UK is the smoking. In Australia we’ve got used to smoke-free outdoor dining spaces. Not so elsewhere.

Then out to dinner – the Bakerloo line to Waterloo station. The poor old Bakerloo line must be due for upgrades – the trains looked tired and old-fashioned, and the stations in need of a boost.

Waterloo main line station, which serves areas to London’s south-west, was also not having a great day – there seemed to be widespread delays of 30 minutes or more, with hundreds of people on the concourse gazing up at the screens hoping to see their trains listed as running.

Navigating our way to outside was a bit confusing, but once we got out, I could see the special liveried new Bakerloop buses running past – they’re an express shadow bus route for a Bakerloo line extension. Shadow buses run along the proposed rail line, to build up patronage in preparation for trains.

We found the restaurant and our friends R & V, ate, drank and chatted. Lovely.

Then we headed back the way we came to the hotel.

The Bakerloo line might look shabby, but it still runs every 3-5 minutes all day and evening. I can’t emphasise enough how much of a difference the high frequency makes to the usability of the service.

If we could get even to a 10 minute frequency to most stations at most times back home in Melbourne, it’d make a huge difference.