London Walkabout #2

Our walking map of London for day 2. (Thanks, Rick Steves)

Rick Steves really does do a great job of researching, mapping and describing sites in his audio tours. Free to download, these tours are a step-by-step journey through most major cities, complete with little anecdotes and little known spots that would otherwise go unnoticed. So far, pretty good deal.

Early morning start so we can hit all the sites on good ole Rick’s list. Absolutely perfect day for this, 50⁰ and no rain predicted for the entire day. Got on my walking shoes, sunglasses and ready for the adventure!

First stop- Church of St. Clement Danes (The Royal Air Force Chapel). One theory is that the chapel was first built somewhere around the 9^th century by Danish colonizers in London. Another theory is that the chapel was built around 1100AD as a memorial to the Danes that were massacred there as they gathered for church service. Another is that the church was given the name because of King Harold I was buried here and he is of Danish origin.

Whatever the reason, the church today is a restored version of the one originally built. During the Nazi blitz bombing, the church received a direct hit and was completely consumed by fire leaving only the walls and tower. Rebuilt in 1958, the church became re-consecrated as the Central Church of the Royal Air Force.

Inside, inset into the floor, are over 800 badges for squadrons, wings, groups, stations, etc. as a memorial to those airmen who lost their lives in WW1 & WW2, including some 16,000 US airmen stationed in England.

Just down the street are the Royal Courts of Justice. This very elaborate building houses the High Court and the Court of appeal for England and Wales. Built in 1870, this is one of the largest courts in Europe.

Next is Twinings Tea shop. Located at 216 The Strand, Twinings Tea Shop is the oldest tea shop in London. Started in 1706 by Thomas Twining, the tea shop was a challenge to coffee shops that had become all the rage in London. Men, not women, were allowed to enter coffee shops to discuss politics, smoke cigars and occasionally, enjoy the company of certain staff members (women). Tea shops, especially Twinings, allowed women as well as men to enter and enjoy a drink, no shady dealings. So, what else to do but tax the hell out of tea so people can’t afford it.  Didn’t work and tea became the next rage.

This shop is about 10’ wide and possibly 60’ long, just big enough to walk down the middle and select your teas from the hundreds of shelves and containers on either side. There is a tasting room located at the rear of the shop for those who just can’t decide what to buy. The shop is easy to find, just look for the two Chinese men above the doorway.

Further down at 17 Fleet Street is Prince Henry’s Room. Actually, has nothing to do with Prince Henry or any other royalty, just a catchy name. But it is a survivor of the great fire of 1666, which destroyed much of Fleet Street. The buildings exterior is from the 17^th century so pretty neat. The building also sits over the walkway into Inner Temple, and the Temple Church.

Yes, this is the same Temple church as the one from The Da Vinci Code. Home to the Knights Templar in 1185, this modest church was constructed to be the grand headquarters of this Order. It was built as a round church modeled after the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and was as “close as one could get to Jerusalem” without undertaking the journey. The Knights offered protection and housing to anyone on their way to Jerusalem.

Inside the church lies 9 effigies of Knights grasping swords, some with their legs crossed, some not. No bodies are interned here. Around the walls are commemorative plaques that identify important Templar’s from the past and some from not so far in the past, like those that signed the Constitution of the United States. Also, some that signed England’s Magna Carta. Yep, these boys got around.

Wasn’t until the end of the Crusades and then pissing off King Phillip IV that the Knights fell from grace. (King Phillip owed the Knights a ton of money so how better to zero out a debt than get rid of those you owe the money to.) The Knights were rounded up and charged with kissing each other on the mouth, the belly button and the small of the back, and worshiping the devil. If you confessed, you were killed; if you didn’t confess, you were killed.  Enter the Knights Hospitaller, they inherited all the land owned by the previous Knights Templar. More info than you wanted so time to move on.

The next stop isn’t really a stop, it’s Fleet Street. Mostly known as the birthplace of British publishing, Fleet Street was home to lawyers, journalists and of course, bartenders in the early 16^th century. The street is marked by a statue of a dragon and is known as the street where the fictional character Sweeney Todd gave his oh so close shaves.

Our next stop was Doc Johnson’s house. Prior to this Rick Steves walking tour I’d never heard of Dr. Johnson, neither had anyone in our group, but that didn’t deter us from following ole Rick’s advice and stroll down this narrow passageway to a little hidden courtyard. Best we came up with was that Doc Johnson wrote one of the first dictionaries of our time. Oh, and he drank a lot at the Ole Cheshire Cheese pub (our next stop). Other than that, not sure why this guy was so important but so be it. It was a nice walk.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub – Home away from home to many literary figures, the Cheshire Cheese as it’s known to regulars, appears in many novels and other literary works. Charles Dickens tipped a few pints here as well as Anthony Goldsmith (The Good Natured Man); Mark Twain (don’t tell me you don’t know Mark); and Alfred Tennyson (a famous British poet). We just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a pint of local ale and enjoy the fire. The place opened at 12pm sharp and filled up quick. We were lucky to get a seat in room #1, the room with a sign above the door that says “only gentlemen are served here”. They served Jessie so I don’t think it applies any more.

Time to walk off our pint and head for St. Brides Church, stop #9. Known as the “Church of the Press”, St. Brides is lined with pews and seats named after journalists and reporters who have lost their lives while trying to provide the world with news. This church also claims to be one of the oldest religious sites in London based on finding ancient Roman mosaics and tile work under the foundation and in the crypt.

Next, Old Bailey. The Old Bailey is located about 200 yards northwest of St Paul’s Cathedral, just outside the former western wall of the City of London. It is named after the street on which it is located, which itself follows the line of the original fortified wall, or “bailey”, of the City. Today it’s used as the Central Criminal Court where in truth or fiction, some dastardly characters have been seen (and sentenced). In truth, Mr. Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, who over the course of 5 years killed 13 women at the direction of God; and in fiction in Charles Dickens’, “A Tale of Two Cities”.

Further down Fleet Street we come across stop #11, Temple Bar Gate. Temple Bar, not a pub like in Ireland (YES!) but a gate or an entrance into the city, was were the Corporation of the City of London erected a gate to define the city limits. This 17^th century barrier was originally across Fleet Street to help regulate trade in the area. The gate was also the formal “barrier” to royalty attempting to enter the area. The custom was for the monarch to stop at the gate while the mayor of London would offer the “Sword of State” as a token of loyalty.  In the later years, the gate was seen as unnecessary and more of a hindrance to traffic so it was removed and finally ended up at the side of Paternoster Square.

Probably the most well known of Fleet Street sites is our next stop, St. Paul’s Cathedral. This massive Anglican church is the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is dedicated to Paul the Apostle and the original church dates back to 604AD. The current cathedral was rebuilt after the great fire of 1666 and is one of the most recognizable and famous sites of London. This cathedral has been the site of numerous famous funerals, such as Admiral Nelson, Sir Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher; as well as weddings, Prince Charles and Lady Diana for example.

Our next to last stop is again, not a stop at all but an area, Cheapside, number 13. Today Cheapside is the financial center of London, but in the Middle Ages, Cheapside was a marketplace. Cheap, meaning “market” defined the area where various goods and produce were sold. Some of the side streets here have names reflecting that past, Honey Lane, Milk Street, Pudding Street (where the great fire of 1666 started), and Poultry Street. Cheapside today also has a large number of restaurants which, it’s getting pretty late in the day so we may just need to find one and take a break.

Time for lunch. We decided to take a break in our journey and try out one of the small pubs in Cheapside. The Old Watling pub sounds perfect. Located on a small side street of Cheapside and almost completely surrounded by office workers having a pint and eating their lunches outside, we brave going inside to tryout their lunch specials, pies! Steak and ale pies, chicken and veggie pies, and my favorite, chicken club sandwich with triple-fried chips! Great lunch!

Just as we started to leave our waitress asked where we were off to next, guess we looked a little like tourists. We said we were going to St. Mary-le-Bow and then off to London Bridge, about 15 minutes walk. That’s when she told us of the news. A terrorist had stabbed several people on the London bridge and the entire area was cordoned off, no access.

We decided to head for the flat and pass on the rest of the day’s tour. Not until we got home did we learn that two of the victims had died and the terrorist had been shot and killed. Three other victims remained in critical condition in hospital. That’s when we realized that if we hadn’t stopped for lunch, we could have been at the London Bridge almost at the time of this cowardly act.

Enough travel for today. Time to regroup, tell everyone we love them and we’re doing fine and keep those who suffered from this unfortunate act in our thoughts.

Our adventure is coming to an end. Three months have passed so quickly it doesn’t seem real. Still, we very much miss everyone and look forward to seeing you all and sharing our trip, both the happy and the sad. Tomorrow we’ll start our journey home so we won’t have another post for a few days.

Till then, hasta la vista, baby!