A little further out of central London in Kew gardens is Queens Charlotte's Cottage. It was closed at the time of my visit.

Queen Charlotte's Cottage

Another interesting site in Kew is The Chinese Pagoda. It was also closed at the time of my visit.
It dates back to 1762 and is over 50ft tall.



The Chinese Pagoda at Kew Gardens

Another interesting piece on the Pagoda in this link below. Scroll down , when the link is open and go to the photo of the Pagoda the info is worth reading.

Chinese Pagoda

Do think the Kew Gardens would take a week to explore thoroughly. Maybe longer. They would be amazing, a word I seem to use all too often, but is nonetheless, appropriate.

The roof on Queen Charlotte's Cottage looks to be aged thatch or, I wonder if it is some other material made to look like thatch. Is there a Chinese garden by the pagoda?? Just as well it was closed when you were there Dawn. Think of all the stairs to climb to get to the top!!

Yes Joy it was thatched and it was old, not sure how old though.? I was a bit disappointed with the cottage not being open at the time, as it is a long walk to get there. But I would have known this, had I have bought a guide book. I usually do my research before I visit, so I never bother to buy one.
I saw a peacock on the way there though so that was a plus and he was really pretty and tame. I manage to get a photo of him but of course he wouldn't oblige me with a full tail fan. So this made up for it No Joy no Chinese garden that I could see just open spaces with lawn and the normal trees that one finds all over Kew.

I also just noticed that I wrote it is 50ft it is actually 50m .

here is another link to some more information on it , I love the humour in the second paragraph of this piece, just gotta love it


The Chinese Pagoda at Kew Gardens

That was a shame about Queen Charlotte's cottage not being open, Dawn. Guess peacocks only display their beautiful tails to a peahen he fancies. Which is more of a shame.

Did think the Pagoda looked taller than the one I climbed in the Chinese Gardens at Singapore, which was 100ft. So it is two thirds taller again. That would be quite a climb!! Thought it looked a little plain compared to the Asian pagodas & it is a shame it hasn't been restored to its original splendour. Thanks, again, for the very informative link. Old Horace Walpole was a bit of a wit as well as a curmudgeon.

Kew Gardens certainly has more to offer than I realised, though it would be even more excellent if they had a golf buggy service for those whose legs ain't what they used to be.

Yea! I guess I am not a beautiful Peahen that's it. :idea: I am trying to remember if I saw any of those luverly little golf cars scooting up and down, no I don't think I did. The British are very good at walking, especially when the sun comes out everyone marches everywhere. I am always being "told off" for taking the bus over the train bridge in Wimbledon.

I drive everywhere here, even down the road rain shine or snow. . You see its the hills I dont like. :hot:

I know they have the golf cars at Kirstenbosch!!. I think Kew is quite flat in landscape, Kirstenbosch has some steep inclines. Comfortable shoes are a necessity doing this one, as you do not realise how far you are walking, and tend to forget that you have to walk all the way back.

That peacock didn't know what he was missing in not trying to impress you with a wonderful tail display, Dawn.

NO GOLF CARTS??? It does appear as though one would have to get into serious training to go sightseeing in London, doesn't it?? Comfortable shoes is all I wear now but sometimes my poor legs don't appreciate that.

We are the same as you, Dawn, as we live a wee bit too far from our local shops with a hill (not very big but a hill nonetheless) between us & the shops, so we drive. Everything else is too far away so we have to drive. It is the tyranny of distance, I'm afraid. Even the British would drive if they lived here.

Joybells wrote:That peacock didn't know what he was missing in not trying to impress you with a wonderful tail display, Dawn.

NO GOLF CARTS??? It does appear as though one would have to get into serious training to go sightseeing in London, doesn't it?? Comfortable shoes is all I wear now but sometimes my poor legs don't appreciate that.

We are the same as you, Dawn, as we live a wee bit too far from our local shops with a hill (not very big but a hill nonetheless) between us & the shops, so we drive. Everything else is too far away so we have to drive. It is the tyranny of distance, I'm afraid. Even the British would drive if they lived here.

I forget to explain that to them about the distances out here "when I am being told off" shall have to try to remember this one, a really good defense . When my family come out they walk for the first few days then ask to borrow my car . for the rest of the holiday! Oh this is a good laugh . Their public transport over there is so incredibly good , I tend to think ours here is absolutely non exisitant in comparison. Yes having your own transport here is imperative too. I do remember a friend of mine in the UK amazed at what distances we would drive to go places, even if it is just a trip to an entertainment venue. We drove the length and breadth of England on a regular basis when we lived over there. Of course the traffic was a different story in certain patches.

There are cattle stations, here, Dawn, which are the size of England!! Even on smaller "farms" in NSW some people have to travel 160kms, one way, just to go to the nearest pub. Our public transport is, to all intents & purposes, non-existent. Certainly none in our small village & to go to the two nearest larger centres there is one bus which trundles its way to Lismore, & return, & costs a fortune, &, I think, one to Ballina. Though that might even be a school bus.

Neither of my sons, who both live in the eastern suburbs of Sydney with its great public transport, own a car. One doesn't even have a driver's licence. He does a lot of walking, though & would be right at home in Britain, I think.

The Royal Albert Hall

I love this building. I have never seen the inside in reality, even though there are tours through for the public. But the link below has a virtual tour which is fantastic. If you take the virtual tour, don't forget to use the UP arrow and take a look at the ceiling

Virtual tour

Royal Albert Hall






A view of the mosaic frieze around the top. In the Wiki link above, under the design section, is an explanation of the frieze and the terracotta inscriptions

Joybells wrote:There are cattle stations, here, Dawn, which are the size of England!! Even on smaller "farms" in NSW some people have to travel 160kms, one way, just to go to the nearest pub. Our public transport is, to all intents & purposes, non-existent. Certainly none in our small village & to go to the two nearest larger centres there is one bus which trundles its way to Lismore, & return, & costs a fortune, &, I think, one to Ballina. Though that might even be a school bus.

Neither of my sons, who both live in the eastern suburbs of Sydney with its great public transport, own a car. One doesn't even have a driver's licence. He does a lot of walking, though & would be right at home in Britain, I think.

Yes Australia sure has some serious wide open spaces. I sure wouldn't like to have a car breakdown on any of them between towns.

I wouldn't like to have a car breakdown here either come to think of it

Another wonderful & grand London building, Dawn. It is great to see it is still in constant use for all sorts of events. Truly is the "Nation's village hall", to quote a quote in the Wiki article.

Thanks for the link to the virtual tour. It was almost as good as being there. The ceiling is amazing with those acoustic "mushrooms". I'll bet there has been some funny business going on behind the curtained booths over the years, especially the smaller ones. The ceiling of the Cafe Consort was wonderful, too, with all the ferns.

View's of the Odeon.

While there are cinema's and theatres all over London, the ones in Leceister Square host all the big stage and screen Premier's.







They were preparing for a premier on one of the films while I was there! The Queen was attending the premier so there was lots of buzzing around.

The last image is of the well known Official Half Price Booth (tickets)

The luxury 5 star Hampshire Hotel in Leceister Square.

The Hampshire Hotel

One of the streets that lead off from leceister Square the Zoo Bar as it is usually referred to. We did go in one evening while touring the pubs and bars in the area. It was a good experience, but more for the younger set. I can remember being in there for over two hours and not being able to hear anything anyone said as the music was so loud . But all theyounger ones in our group did just fine

A view of Covent Garden's Apple Market.

Which is a wonderful source for bygones. I bought a set of Victorian grapefruit spoons here, not expensive either, although some things are very pricey just depends what you are looking for. Apart from an antique market . the Market has stalls with loads of different items,
so not only antiques

Another view from the other side. I loved to go walking around Covent Garden.

The one day I was visiting with my daughter, and MCFly ( hope I have spelt this correctly any how, the Pop group were lauching their new single in the square. We had ring side views, which we promptly gave up after thousands of teenagers decended on the area from somewhere?, we both felt a little embarrassed to be amongst 16 year old's screaming on the tops of their voices.
We had seen them setting things up and hung around not thinking that it was a POP group aimed at this age group. Strangely enough my daughter was more embarrassed than I was.

I do think 16yo girls find out about such events by osmosis. Doubt they would have even noticed the both of you, though it is a wonder you weren't, both, trampled in the rush.

Leicester Square is almost romantised in a way, so it is good to see it in an everyday, business-like, way. The same with Covent Garden. These pics give us a good view of just how utilised these places are, which is good to see. Did notice how ubiquitous the wearing of black was in your pics, except for those wearing denim. Though some did combine the two.

Yes in winter especially, a lot if not all wear mainly black. I am sure this has something to do with travelling on the tube. I wear black as well, for the travel bit and also, it is a good colour to mix and match with on holiday. Just in case there is a problem doing laundry. In summer they tend to colour up a bit more. That is sharp of you to notice that

I am not feeling so sharp today, not enough sleep. But try as I might I couldn't nap now even if I was paid to

Joybells wrote: I do think 16yo girls find out about such events by osmosis. Doubt they would have even noticed the both of you, though it is a wonder you weren't, both, trampled in the rush.

Leicester Square is almost romantised in a way, so it is good to see it in an everyday, business-like, way. The same with Covent Garden. These pics give us a good view of just how utilised these places are, which is good to see. Did notice how ubiquitous the wearing of black was in your pics, except for those wearing denim. Though some did combine the two.

Yes I agree it did not look very romantic or glamorous the day I took these photo's of Leicester Square . It might have done if I had waited for the Premier to begin. There was a young girl positioned in a prime place waiting for it to start which was hours away. I can't remember exactly how long she was going to have to wait, but at the time I wished her well as it was hours and when I left thought no way on God's earth would I wait there for all that time ,unless they would give me a good couple of million.

Well it is back to the south bank near the Jubilee gardens so after crossing theWestminister Bridge where the Coade Lion stands if you walk a short way you will come to the Jubilee gardens this is where you will find the London Eye. I am not sure this is classified as a 'building' but it is not a monument statue or fountain. It has become a landmark though so I guess this is the place to put it. The link gives some information on how and why it came into being.

The London Eye

A view of people alighting the car for a flight as they call it.



We have been on the London Eye, it was a few years ago in autumn and was a really amazing experience, because of the views one gets of London.



The image above gives a view from the Eye once in flight, looking over the Jubilee bridge, with the Westminister Bridge behind you now.





The image above is a view over London on the north bank of the Thames not far from Westminister Bridge which is situated to the left in this image.


Looking down onto the Houses of Parliament, with Big Ben visible and the Statue of Boadicea only just visible and very small looking on the north bank of Westminister Bridge. Directly behind the parliament buildings you can see parts of Westminster Abbey.



A view of the Thames with Lambeth Bridge and then Westminister Bridge visible in the fore of the image. The leafy south bank walk is visible on the left of this image. To the right, between Lambeth Bridge and the Parliament Buildings is Victoria Tower Gardens.



Just another view but without the Eye car in the way.

Some more views of the London Eye.



Standing underneath it.

This is the perfect spot for these images of the London Eye, Dawn. What great shots. The views from the Eye would be fantastic. I wouldn't know when to stop taking pics & start to just look at the vistas. Just as well my SanDisk memory card will hold around 7000 pics.

Did read that it takes 1/2 an hour to do the full rotation. Is this right?? You could certainly see so much in that time.

Thanks for posting these, Dawn. They are great.

Dawn wrote:Yes in winter especially, a lot if not all wear mainly black. I am sure this has something to do with travelling on the tube. I wear black as well, for the travel bit and also, it is a good colour to mix and match with on holiday. Just in case there is a problem doing laundry. In summer they tend to colour up a bit more. That is sharp of you to notice that

In the major cities here, black is all the go, from a sweltering summer through to a more chilly winter. Even have the problem of trying to buy summer clothes, that aren't black, in the subtropics.

Dawn wrote:Yes I agree it did not look very romantic or glamorous the day I took these photo's of Leicester Square . It might have done if I had waited for the Premier to begin. There was a young girl positioned in a prime place waiting for it to start which was hours away. I can't remember exactly how long she was going to have to wait, but at the time I wished her well as it was hours and when I left thought no way on God's earth would I wait there for all that time ,unless they would give me a good couple of million.

Agree with you on that one, Dawn. Some people will camp out for ages, sometimes days, just to get a prime spot for something. I'm afraid I couldn't be bothered. Supermarket queues are about it for me. Thank goodness, since ATMs & internet banking, those dreadful bank queues are a thing of the past.