A Remembrance Sunday stroll in Central London, England

I flew into London for the Remembrance Day long weekend in November 2017 and spent Remembrance Sunday strolling through central London starting from my lodgings located near the Pimlico tube station.  The Central London Map & Guide I received with my Heathrow Express train ticket the day before was very handy.  I walked along the River Thames up to House of Parliament and Big Ben and captured Remembrance displays at Westminster Abbey.

In Canada, Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11th, however in Britain it’s celebrated in large part on the Sunday.  Unfortunately, I did not know that tidbit of information and hence missed the parade but I did manage to catch the soldiers returning to Wellington Barracks which is 275 meters from Buckingham Palace.

It was a splendid day, somewhat brisk, but great for continuing my exploration of central London.  From the Barracks I walked up to Buckingham Palace (see feature photo on top) and strolled alongside Green Park on Constitution Hill towards Wellington Arch.

From Wellington Arch I ventured into Hyde Park and came across The Serpentine, a recreational lake created in 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline.

I dropped into The Serpentine Kitchen and Bar for lunch and later walked around taking pictures of the waterfowl and the hundreds of pigeons getting handouts from the passers-by.  It was funny watching a bride and groom getting their wedding pictures taken among the pigeons.

   

I moved on from The Serpentine towards the Northeast portion of Hyde Park and came upon the drone lady.  She was getting selfies from her drone then picked it up and walked further into the park.At the Northeast corner of Hyde Park I happened by The Speakers’ Corner and enjoyed taking photos for my separate blog entry – have a peek!  I ventured a short distance to Marble Arch where I discovered a religious festival underway that included a bizarre public display of self flogging.  It was getting dark and I opted not to use a flash, but I figured the blurry motion might give readers a better sense of the action.

After the flogging fest I traveled East on Oxford Street including a few steps down some side streets to capture the beautifully decorated streetscapes.

I ventured down a side street for a short distance and captured a photo of these friendly merchants from a cosmetics store.  I gave them my website address, perhaps they’ll say hello again.

As dark had settled in I put my camera away and walked a short distance to the Soho entertainment district for a delicious supper over a tasty beer.  After supper I dropped by a few pubs before catching the tube back to Pimlico for a good night’s sleep.