A Royal Parks kind of day...

When I was looking up details how to get to Greenwich Park I also had a look at some of the other Royal Parks - most of which I know already (Hyde, St James', etc)  but I caught sight of details of Brompton Cemetery which I knew was meant to be quite a "pretty" cemetery...

I went into the information centre at the gate and bought a map  - there are some (supposedly) fairly well known people buried here but I thought it might be an idea to have a bit of help finding them (not that I did very well) 

I set off down the central avenue - it was certainly quite a pretty place

 set amongst trees

 with lots of ornate statues and memorial stones

lots of the writing has faded and eroded away so you can't read the names on many of the graves

 this was one of the graves on the list. Richard Tauber. Not a singer/operetta composer (to quote the plan)  I was familiar with (given that he died in 1948)  but as I'd found it....

 there were several plaques dotted about that held interesting information

 they are certainly packed in!

 a lot of the older graves have run wild - but it kind of added to the peaceful feel.











I had to double back (once I'd put my glasses on to read the plan properly- I don't normally take them with me when I go out with my camera) to find this one near the entrance  - Emmeline Pankhurst, suffragette. 

I had expected it to be in better condition and easier to find but had initially walked straight past it.

memorial dedicated to the Chelsea Pensioners

the inscription says that 2000 odd Chelsea Pensioners are buried in this plot (I wasn't exactly sure how big an area it covered)

(having checked the website again, 2625,   but way back in the end of the 19th century) 

 this didn't seem to be "for" anything...

at the far end to where I'd come in, two colonnades run - in Victorian times this was a place to be seen, apparently! 

I should have crossed to the other side of the road to get a better view of the entrance as I left, but there was too much traffic



I headed back to the tube station  - I wasn't entirely sure where I was going next....





I got off at High Street Kensington... should probably have headed for the similarly named South Kensington and "hit the museums" but it was a lovely warm sunny day so not really suited for being inside

Instead I walked along Kensington high street


past this beautiful church I've seen before - St Mary Abbots Church.


bathed in sunshine...














I kept on going though, to Kensington Gardens- second Royal Park of the day

 entered by the nearest entrance to Kensington Palace and "those" gates - the ones that were feet deep in flowers when Princess Diana died

someone was mowing intricate stripes in the grass

 formal garden area to the right

 I walked through the grounds to the garden that Princes Harry and William opened dedicated to their mum a year or so ago.

a sign said that September is when they change the bedding to the winter display so it was a bit empty

and I still find it frustrating you can only view it from the angle I am at, not down in the sunken bit but hey ho!

 I always get a bit lost walking through Kensington Gardens - this is the Round Pond

 notice boards said it is a haven for wildfowl - well the swans were a-plenty!

the Albert Memorial and the Albert Hall (concert hall) behind it

 Now in Hyde Park - Royal Park no 3


the Serpentine (or Long Water)


I sat on a bench for a while

more swans/ducks being fed



I headed for an exit and looked for a form of transport to my next destination.



not that I knew where that would be yet.

 however, the bus stop I located was for buses towards Trafalgar Square and there was one due soon.


the traffic was horrendous (lunchtime, London traffic is always horrendous)  so it took a while..
works are going on at the famous fountains so no pretty shots!

 the steps up to the National Gallery...

free entry to this national museum holding thousands of paintings.


I usually go in for a "loo" break.....

 they seem to be trying to turn the "plaza" in front into a kind of Covent Garden with musicians and street art  happening




London is still full of tourists

 I sat and had a cup of tea and piece of cake

on my way out (I didn't visit many of the exhibits today - just a room with paintings from the Spanish Renaissance by Bartoleme Bermejo from the 15th century... I'd never heard of him but his paintings were fantastic given how long ago they were painted)

I came across this gorgeous mosaic floor...

probably not meant to take photographs (you can't of the paintings)  but I didn't see any signs saying so.

I couldn't see who designed it or can I find it on the website.

but it was fab!

I didn't know where to go next either..

 but I headed through Admiralty Arch
which is normally thronged with traffic, but works are taking place and traffic is partly diverted

 from the other side - look how blue the sky is

 I started to walk down The Mall - couldn't decide whether to keep walking all the way down to Buckingham Palace or cross the road ....

 into St James Park?   (Royal Park no 4 - I think - I've lost count)


that's kind of cheating though as I didn't walk through St James Park but

 walked through Horseguards Parade opposite...

the London Eye (on the South Bank of the river down at Westminster) dominates the sky

 I passed through Horseguards onto Whitehall

 where as ever the mounted guards prove a popular attraction to visitors

 I headed past the Cabinet Office where yet another Brexit protest was happening - as I walked on, past the entrance toDowning Street a car swept in through the gates and disappeared so I guess some Brexit meeting or other is going on

 just a few minutes walk to the end of Whitehall you get to the river at Westminster

where both Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are undergoing major refurbishment works which detracts from the photogenic aspect

 Westminster Bridge too is being repaired and closed to most traffic (which helps getting across if I'm honest)

London Eye 

 Westminster Pier in the bottom left corner is another point for picking up river boat trips

 but I'd had enough for the day

just time for a Big Ben pic - whilst the works are ongoing they have kept one face of the clock uncovered for tourists )

before I went down the steps to the underground and back home.


I couldn't believe when i got home how few photos I'd taken today - normally a day out is in the hundreds... 88 in total today that's all!!

Tomorrow is Kew day... an early start for the 8 am opening as they will finish soon so I need to make the most of them - that's going to be a challenge after a week of lying in!!

Thanks for looking