Travelog for: Arthur

After a long and tiring journey, Arthur was very happy to arrive in London, where he was welcomed by his host, Travel Ted. Travel Ted was very pleased to meet his new guest, and Arthur’s kind gift of chocolate was gratefully received (and quickly disappeared).

By the time Arthur reached his London lodgings it was late at night and time for bed. He looked forward to a good night’s sleep and pleasant dreams of all the famous London landmarks Travel Ted promised to show him.

Techincally, his arrival in London meant he had completed his second mission, but he resolved to wait until he had seen at least one well-known sight before ticking it off on his mission list.

It was a cold, rainy, and miserable day, but this did little to dampen Arthur’s spirit as he visited Trafalgar Square and had his photo taken in front of Nelson’s Column. (He had to hold on tight to a bollard in case he got blown away by the wind, or stolen by one of the square’s famous pigeons, but that was ok!)

Second mission completed. Brilliant!

Although the weather wasn’t very good, Arthur was keen to get out and see some sights. His first stop was Piccadilly Circus, where he saw the famous statue of Eros.

All the streets in this area had big purple banners on display, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Arthur thought this was quite interesting, and had a little sit down in Regent Street while he studied them more closely.

Next, he visited Covent Garden, and had his photograph taken outside the market building. Nearby were two of London’s iconic red phone boxes, which he liked very much.

Although the weather still wasn’t very good, Arthur enjoyed a good day of sightseeing.

First, he visited the London Eye – the tallest ferris wheel in Europe. Officially opened on 31 December 1999, it was often referred to as the ‘Millennium Wheel’ and was, at that point, the biggest ferris wheel in the world. Located on the South Bank of the River Thames, it offers panoramic views of the city and remains a very popular London attraction.

Walking further west along the South Bank of the Thames, Arthur passed several other popular tourist attractions, including the London Dungeon, the London Film Museum, and the London Aquarium, before crossing over Westminster Bridge to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

He was very impressed by the enormous clock tower. Although it was officially renamed ‘The Elizabeth Tower’ in 2012 (to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II), everyone still calls it Big Ben.

The adjacent Houses of Parliament (officially called ‘The Palace of Westminster’ were almost equally formidable. After arriving home, he felt inspired to read more about this great building here: Palace of Westminster.

Moving in a circle, Arthur walked east along the Victoria Embankment on the north side of the river. This took him through the Whitehall area of London – and gave him an opportunity to admire some of the beautiful dolphin lamps, as well as another good view of the London Eye, as well as some of the busy river traffic. Most of the boats were designed as sightseeing vehicles for tourists, although an increasing number of boats cater to local commuters.

His walk took him past the ‘Battle of Britain’ war memorial monument, which seemed appropriate since his next stop was the Ministry of Defence, the entrance of which was flanked by two huge statues by Sir Charles Wheeler, which symbolise Earth and Water.

Arthur’s final stop for the day was the Horse Guards’ Barracks, where he queued up behind the other tourists to have his photo taken with one of the mounted sentries. This was a definite highlight of his trip to London.

It was a lovely sunny day, and Arthur found himself drawn back to the River Thames. He was quite overawed by Cleopatra’s Needle, which is 21 metres high, and which was first erected in Heliopolis in Egypt around 1450 BC. It now stands on the Victoria Embankment, having been given to the UK in 1819 and transported there at great expense in 1877.

The needle is guarded by two sphinxes. Arthur felt a bit intimidated by them at first, but they turned out to be quite friendly, as did the dolphins on the lampposts.

A Saturday morning seemed like a good time for a long walk. Arthur started in Blackheath, a historic suburb of South East London. After a weeklong heat wave, the grass was looking rather brown, but he enjoyed the pleasant view across to All Saints’ Church.

On the border of Blackheath Common lay Greenwich Park – a very famous place. Arthur began his explorations in the Flower Gardens, where he climbed an oak tree and took a picture of an inquisitive squirrel.

There was a great deal of activity over by the bandstand. Arthur hoped he might have arrived in time for a concert, but it turned out that all the people were gathering for a charity walk and picnic.

A little further on, Arthur reached the top of a steep hill, from which he enjoyed panoramic views over London. The first thing that caught his eye was a curious white structure – once known as the Millennium Dome – which now housed a big leisure complex and concert venue called the O2.

At the top of the hill stood the Old Royal Observatory – a very important scientific site founded in 1675. In its grounds is the Meridian Line, from which all time is measured around the world. In 1833, a big red ‘time ball’ was installed on the roof. Arthur was interested to learn that the ball still drops at 1.00 every day, to help people set their clocks and watches correctly. Before leaving, he examined a plaque on one of the outside walls, which shows different British measurements.

Looking down the hill, Arthur saw another interesting building: The Queen’s House, designed by Inigo Jones. Many members of British royalty lived in this building, and King Henry VIII was born there. In the distance, on the opposite side of the river, he could see the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf – an important centre for banking.

On reaching the bottom of the hill, Arthur saw a very curious site: an enormous ship inside a bottle! The bottle, designed by Yinka Shonibare, was 4.7 metres long, and had first been displayed in Trafalgar Square before moving to its new home outside the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.