July 27, 2025 – One week from next Tuesday I’ll fly back to London. Then hook up with hiking partners and take the train to Winchester to start the Pilgrims’ Way. (Canterbury Trail.) So as the last post noted, “it’s time to get serious. Time to see what kind of terrain we have to look forward to.” And that last post got this pre-trip recon as far as Dorking, 49 miles from Winchester.
Which sounds great, but first a note on arriving in London on August 6. I’m scheduled to arrive at Heathrow airport at 6:30 in the morning, but my check-in time isn’t until 2:00 p.m. That means I’ll have plenty of time to meander. So first I’ll take the Elizabeth Line to Paddington Station, which should take 30-40 minutes. From there I have a choice… Or do I?
If I walk down to the Wandsworth section of town – carrying at least a 15-pound pack* – it would be take at least 90 minutes to cover the four miles to my lodging.
Which is probably what I’ll end up doing, mostly because I couldn’t find a simple, direct and cheap mass-transit route. (Tube or bus.) Besides, it could be a pleasant hike. First down through Kensington Park along the Long Water and Serpentine, where I visited last May 8. (The May day I first got to London.) I could stop at “Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain,” then down to the Thames via the Sloane Street that eventually becomes Chelsea Bridge Road. “From there, straight southwest until you hit Wandsworth Road, then start checking street numbers.”
Just to be safe I’ll print out a paper map showing the area south of Chelsea Bridge.
Back to the hike. The link in the last post – Guildford to Horsley Walk – gave an idea of terrain on the way to Dorking, where we left off. But next is Greensand Way [from] Dorking to Reigate Walk – Saturday Walkers. That gives an idea of the terrain from Dorking to Redhill, Surrey, by way of Reigate Heath and Reigate itself. Mostly a gentle uphill slope, or so it seems, with most of the area a “shrublandhabitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils” and mostly “open, low-growing woody vegetation.” That’s the definition of “heath,” and that terrain also includes “acidic grassland, with some areas of woodland and marshy meadow.”
Which doesn’t sound too appetizing, but then comes Reigate itself, a town with a number of pubs & bars, including the Pilgrim Brewery. And who knows, maybe we’ll have time to stop there for a pick-me-up, before finishing the final two miles to Redhill? (The terrain along the way is also described as “mostly flat with a moderate long ascent.”)
On Tuesday August 19 we hike some 13 miles from Redhill in the direction of Westerham, a town in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, “adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey.” It’s said to be another “restricted route or private roads,” but mostly flat. On Wednesday August 20 we hike a mere 6.25 miles to a guest house somewhere in Dunton Green. It lies in “the valley of the River Darent,” three miles north of Sevenoaks and known as an “area of outstanding natural beauty, due to its proximity to the North Downs.”
We stay in Dunton Green two days, for the second of two days off hiking. Then comes a hike of some 10 miles, to past the town of Wrotham, “a village on the Pilgrims’ Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs.” Which brings us to the 11th of our 16 days on the Trail, with only five days left before reaching Canterbury. (Passing through Westgate, the medieval gatehouse.) Which makes this a good place to stop, roughly two-thirds of the way to the end.
And just a reminder: I’m writing these posts hoping to review them each night on the Trail. For example, on Saturday, August 23 – the 12th day our hike, leaving only four to go – we get to the town of Maidstone, largest in Kent, 32 miles east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the center of the town, and All Saints Church, Maidstone, stands right beside the river. So maybe – the night before – I can review this post, and by doing my research end up able to get a good picture like the one below. And know what kind of terrain to expect.
Next up? A post to cover our last five days hiking, through places likeLenham (a market village in the Maidstone, on the southern edge of the North Downs); Kennington (a district in south London and home of the Imperial War Museum); and Chartham (a village in the Canterbury district of Kent). All of which assumes I calculated right. Stay tuned!
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The upper image is courtesy of Box Hill Pilgrim’s Way Uk – Image Results. See also Pilgrims’ Way – Walking Away, with good information I may use in future. (“Pilgrims’ Way, Box Hill to Merstham.”) One nugget: “At the top of Reigate Hill … there’s a busy walkers’ café and I’m tempted by the menu.”
Some things I didn’t about the verb meander. Aside from meaning “to wander aimlessly on a winding roundabout course,” the word “comes from a river in modern-day Turkey, the Maiandros:”
Today, a stream or a path meanders, as does a person who walks somewhere in a roundabout fashion. If your speech meanders, you don’t keep to the point. It’s hard to understand what your teacher is trying to impart if he keeps meandering off with anecdotes and digressions.
That’s from Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com. See also Büyük Menderes River – Wikipedia, on the Great Meander in southwestern Turkey: “The river was well known for its sinuous, curving pattern, and gives its name to the common term, (meander),” used to describe such bends in rivers. So I may add that word to the list of my writing characteristics, along with “rabbit trail” and “off on a tangents,” but obviously that’s a great way to expand your mind and learn new things.
Re: 15-pound pack. The experts say that for such long-distance hikes your pack should weigh no more than 10% of your body weight; in my case 15 pounds. For the last two hikes – in 2023 and 2024 – my pack weighed closer to 20 pounds, but this year I’ll try to follow the experts’ advice.
A view of what I think is hiking downhill from the top of“St Martha in Surrey, England…”
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July 21, 2025 – Two weeks from tomorrow – Tuesday, August 5 – I’ll fly back to London. At the end of the week I’ll hook up with two hiking partners – my brother and his wife – and from there take the train to Winchester and start hiking the Pilgrims’ Way. (Also called the Canterbury Trail.) I did seven posts on the preliminary “recon” trip in May – listed in the Notes – but now it’s time to get serious. Time to see what kind of terrain we have to look forward to.
One article I found – Walking the Pilgrims Way – Explore Kent – spoke of the “ancient trail stretching some 150 miles across Hampshire, Surrey and Kent.” The first part described the path from Winchester to Surrey Hills. At the cathedral in Winchester the writer got a guided tour from a local, including the chance to pray at the shrine of St. Swithun. (The Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, later patron saint of Winchester Cathedral, who died in 863.)
But once he started hiking he found things a bit different. He met day hikers who were interested in his journey, but also “locals who honestly just thought I was mad for walking all that way.” Such negativity was offset by “some of Southern England’s finest landscapes.”
I’ll be checking those links on my tablet, hopefully each night before the next day’s hike.
The next section of Walking the Way – Kent, covered Sevenoaks to Canterbury. The writer reached the border with Kent on day 6, “transitioning from the Surrey Downs to the Kent Downs.” The scenery continued amazing. “The views from the top of Star Hill (near Chevening) and Shore Hill (near Kemsing) across never-ending rolling green hills were just breathtaking. Then, only a little further along the trail were the magical woodlands of Trosley Country Park where I would stumble across hundreds upon thousands of glistening bluebells.”
Then the outskirts of Maidstone. “There is so much packed into this beautiful 35 mile stretch of trail; amazing viewpoints up at Blue Bell Hill and White Horse Wood Country Park and beautiful woodland trails in the King’s Wood.” Then on to “some of the prettiest villages that Kent has to offer. Detling, Hollingbourne, Charing, Boughton Aluph, Wye and Chilham,” one right after the other. “The hardest decision I was having to make was where to stop for lunch!”
On his 10th and last day he hiked up “St Dunstans and through the Westgate Towers.”
The Westgate is a medievalgatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England. This 60-foot (18 m) high western gate of the city wall is the largest surviving city gate in England. Built of Kentish ragstone around 1379, it is the last survivor of Canterbury’s seven medieval gates, still well-preserved and one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. The road still passes between its drum towers.
For myself – and as noted in the “Fat Henry” post – on last May 14 an earlier travel companion and I did a day trip by train from London to Canterbury. (I wanted to check out some of what lay in store for me in August.) We stopped for lunch at The Old Weaver’ Restaurant, then walked the four minutes to the cathedral. That included going down Mercery Lane, “the same lane I’ll walk at the end of August, after hiking the estimated 133.8 miles or so from Winchester.”
Another note. Instead of covering the distance in 10 days, my brother, his wife and I will take 16 days, but that includes two days off from hiking. (All three of us are retired and in our 70s.)
Returning to what kind of terrain we’ll cover, I found some other posts. They divide the hike up in sections and one, St Swithun’s Way: Alton to Winchester – AllTrails, does the first part backwards. But it adds that it’s generally a moderately challenging route, taking an average of 8 hours and 16 minutes to finish. (Our route will be slightly different in that part, due to a quirk in finding suitable lodging.) And the link has over 500 photos, along with the comment, “This trail is [also] great for backpacking, hiking, and running, and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter many other people while exploring.” But hopefully some place to stop for lunch – and maybe a beer?
Next, Saint Swithun’s Way: Alton to Farnham – AllTrails. “Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 4 h 53 min to complete. This trail is great for backpacking, hiking, and walking, and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter many other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime.” The link has 198 photos.
“From breakfast at Farnham to tea at Guildford, enjoy this peaceful linear walk along the first section of the North Downs Way with rural views and chances for exploration. A relatively easy introduction to the National Trail with no major hills, it is a long route at 17.5km setting off from the hustle and bustle of Farnham and slips into the tranquillity of the Surrey countryside. Much of this section is flanked by stretches of arable land and livestock. Pass through Puttenham with pubs to choose from, or stop at Watts Gallery tearoom at Compton. You can take a minor detour up to the ruins of St Catherine’s Chapel for sweeping views, or press on to Guildford town centre to relax after your adventure. [I added the emphasis.]
But North Downs Way: Farnham to Guildford – AllTrails says “Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 5 h 9 min to complete. This is a very popular area for backpacking, hiking, and running, so you’ll likely encounter other people while exploring.”
Next North Downs Way – Section 2: Guildford to Dorking. “We started in Guildford, watching boat clubs zoom along the river Wey. Then we turned off onto the main route by crossing a pretty bridge.” That hiker did the route on a rainy day in January, so much of the trail was muddy with huge puddles. (Hopefully we won’t have that problem in August.) Then added, “As you walk through the woods you slowly climb higher and higher. Finally you’ll reach the top by the church at the top of St Martha’s Hill. From there, you’ll be able to see down into the valley below. Well … at least you should be able to see the views if it is not too cloudy and rainy.”
Finding the path to Albury Downs, the hiker and his companion found “easily the busiest part of our walk. There were lots of other runners, kite-flyers and dog walkers.” There is apparently quite a view from Albury Downs, which led to crossing a busy road getting to Newlands Corner, followed by “easy going as it is quite level ground surrounded by woods.”
Which makes this a good place to stop. Writing this I found that a lot of place names – supposedly on the Canterbury Trail – were similar to or identical to other places in England but much farther away. Plus this post and the last one were both way longer than what I like to write. (And probably way longer than the attention span of today’s average reader.) So I’ll call a halt here and wait until Wednesday the 23d, when I’m supposed to get this book from Amazon.
Bottom line? All this is an experiment, trying to get a better handle on what kind of hike the one in August will end up. I’ll let you know in future posts how all that turns out, but as a fallback I could just turn to John Steinbeck, who once said, “You don’t take a trip, a trip takes you.”
Re: Steinbeck on trips. The actual quote is “people don’t take trips. Trips take people.” John Steinbeck – Travel Quote of the Week – Authentic Traveling.As for using the quote repeatedly, you could cut and past “steinbeck trip takes you” in the search engine above right.
My last evening in London – Tuesday, May 20 – I visited this place, the historic Gun Pub…
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July 15, 2025 – Here’s what I hope will be the final post on my trip to England last May. (From the 7th to the 21st.) The Notes below have links going back to first one, about arriving in London on the morning of May 8, but meanwhile: In three weeks I fly back to London, and from there on to the Canterbury Trail. So I need to finish these On May posts before flying over again.
The last episode saw my companion and I get as far as a Britrail trip to Hampton Court Palace, of “Fat Henry” fame, on Thursday, May 15. Later that afternoon I did a near-four-mile round-trip hike down to the Gipsy Moth Pub, across the Thames in Greenwich, by way of the Greenwich foot tunnel. I didn’t have time for a beer then, but vowed that in a day or so, “I shall return!”
So here’s a quick cheat-sheet of what happened next.
On Friday, May 16, we did a day trip to Bath. On Saturday, May 17 – our 8-day Britrail Pass had expired – we used Oyster cards to get over to London’s National Gallery, and National Portrait Gallery. That night we met “friend Scott” for dinner. Sunday, May 18, we went to a service at St Paul’s Cathedral. Monday, May 19, we visited the British Museum. Later that afternoon I hiked down to the foot tunnel, then crossed over – under – then had a beer at the Gipsy Moth pub. (A definite highlight.) And still had time to meet up with “friend Ola” for dinner. (And another beer.) Tuesday, May 20, I visited the Natural History Museum while my companion visited the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum. (Verdict? Both worthy of day-long visits.)
And on Wednesday, May 21, we flew back home to Atlanta. Now for more detail:
Back to May 16: Bath, in Somerset, is 97 miles and over an hour train ride from London, almost to Bristol and the Bristol Channel. It’s known for and named after its Roman-built baths, built about 60 A.D. (The Latin name was Aquae Sulis, for “waters of Sulis,” a local Celtic deity.) I read that over 6 million people visit the place every year, and after our May 16 visit I believe it. One thing I noticed: The water was green! We heard that was caused by algae, which wasn’t a problem in the old days because the place had a roof over it. But with no roof, the algae got a boost from all that sunlight. Plus – I later learned writing this – the water is now polluted.
In more modern times swimmers used to bathe in the waters every year as part of the Bath Festival. Then in 1978 a young girl did that and “died of a meningitis-related illness.” Later tests showed a “dangerous amoeba that can give a form of meningitis.” On a more pleasant note, one thing I remember well – even to this day – was a hologram in one exhibit showing an en déshabillé Roman lady being prepped by local slaves to slip into the then-unpolluted waters.
Some things stick in your memory. Like that hologram – and our lunch at the Square Grill Brasserie and Piano Bar Restaurant, at 11-12 Abbey Churchyard. (Which according to Google Maps is one minute and 144 feet from “the iconic Bath Abbey and Roman Baths.”)
Turning to Saturday, May 17, we took a Tube-and-bus trip in the morning – courtesy of our Oyster cards – over to London’s National Portrait Gallery. We snacked at the Audrey Green cafe; “‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ inspired and bathed in natural light, occupying the ground floor of the [National] gallery’s East Weston Wing, a cool, contemporary and airy space.” (What I remember was a huge movie poster – one of many – with a very young Leonardo DiCaprio, standing next to a huge white horse in some kind of a circus surrounding.) After that we went to the one-minute-away National Gallery. (Both just off Trafalgar Square.) The portrait gallery included an official portrait of the new king, Charles III. The consensus, “not too flattering.” But I added, “I’m sure SOMEONE liked it!” (There was also a matched painting of Camilla next to it.)
My verdict? Both museums were worthy of repeat all-day visits.
Before heading back to the digs in Canary Wharf, we stopped off for a pint (for me) at Halfway To Heaven, on Duncannon Street. My verdict, “great little pub.” It was only later, after getting back home that I found out it was a well-known gay bar. (“Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That!”) Which probably says something telling about me. Like maybe I’m not too judgmental? Or maybe I was more focused on the very do-able beer prices. And a side note, for those who don’t drink beer that much: Many pubs we visited had ice-cold lemonade on tap, right there among all those beers on tap! Non-carbonated, and delightful. (That’s what I heard anyway.)
Leaving “Heaven” and heading down to Charing Cross station – off Trafalgar Square and by way of St Martin-in-the-Fields church – we had to negotiate our way through a pretty big and long pro-Palestine demonstration-parade. (Down The Strand?) You could Google it, but add the 5/17/25 date. There were many around the UK around that time.*
I managed to be sneaky and get a picture of the passing protesters, without getting my ass kicked. From there we met up with “friend Scott” for dinner at Noodle Street … Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Docklands. Another place I’d recommend, highly.
Sunday morning we managed to make the 11:15 service at St Paul’s Cathedral. (Not too late.) “Very impressive,” featuring a Missa Brevis in C (KV 257), by Mozart. (Much of which we missed, though there were people who came in later than us.) Also, the New Testament reading – from Acts of the Apostles – was written and read out in Ukrainian. (Though the following page had it in English.) After the service I made like a bag lady and gathered up left-behind bulletins as souvenirs for the folks at church back home in Georgia. And as I made like a bag lady the organist played a voluntary. (What I learned later was Bach’s “Toccata in E.”) Very nice.
After all that we had another split lunch, a Reuben sandwich combo, at The Paternoster pub, a two-minute walk from the church. Some reviewers gave Paternoster a bad rap,* but we liked it. But there followed another “cock-up,” involving my afternoon plan to get a bus down to the Wandsworth section of town. (Where I’ll be staying the first few days when I fly back in August.) Those plans ran head-on into the occasionally-iffy London bus service.
That was frustrating. Our bus was rolling along merrily when it suddenly stopped and we were told to get off. We ended up waiting at the stop a good 45 minutes. Meanwhile, the line for the next bus was getting so long that it was likely we’d have to wait for the one coming after that. But the eventual Plan B turned out, “the heck with this, let’s head back home on the Tube.” But first we made a prophylactic calm-the-nerves stop at Hamilton Hall, near the Liverpool Street Tube station. My verdict: “Great place to recoup, with a 4-pound Bud Light draft.* Cheapest beer I’ve gotten in London so far. ‘I’ll be back!'” (Though that will have to wait until August.)
As noted, on Monday, May 19, we visited the British Museum, “dedicated to human history, art and culture… Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world.” One thing I didn’t know: “The natural history collections were an integral part of the British Museum until their removal to the new British Museum of Natural History in 1887, nowadays the Natural History Museum in South Kensington.” (The Museum I would visit the next day, May 20.)
My reaction? A huge place, and overwhelming. (Mostly overwhelming “because of all the danged tourists!”) Plus it’s supposedly free, but they hit you up for a donation. We figured on going through the front entrance, but that’s only for those who book tickets in advance. Those without pre-booked tickets have to go ALL the way around to the back entrance, and it’s quite a hike. And there’s another swanky fourth-floor restaurant, like the one at the National Portrait Gallery. (And just like the NPG you need to book ahead.) Otherwise the food court “way down below” on the ground floor serves well. (They had beer, and like most museums in London they make up for the “free” entry with higher-than-I’m-used-to food prices. “But hey, it’s London!”)
Another reaction? Another place worth a full day-long visit, but overwhelming. In fact, so overwhelming that I had to take a break to fulfill another decades-long dream.
Back in May 1979 I worked nights as a paste-up artist at what was then the St. Petersburg Times. I dated a coed from Eckerd College* – probably a great-grandmother by now – and that spring she did a semester abroad at the college’s London Study Centre, 35 Gower Street. I saved up all my vacation time and flew over for a visit. One thing I remember: The Goodge Street tube station. Mostly because right outside was a great locals-only place serving fish and chips in authentic rolled-up newspaper. (I even acquired a taste for fish and chips both sprinkled liberally with malt vinegar.) I also wanted to visit the Study “Center” itself, if possible.
I headed out the back entrance we’d come in earlier, then turned left on Montague Place and over to Gower Street. (Google Maps says a four-minute walk to #35.) Just as I got there a group of four came out the front door. I talked to them a bit about my long-ago visit and they were polite and charming. (Humoring the Old Guy no doubt.) But just as polite was the young man I met inside, after explaining the situation again. I took lots of pictures of “those musty old rooms” that brought back plenty of memories. Like the cozy den-like room with fireplace, and the study room across the hall. Yes, “lots of memories,” but then it was time to get back to reality.
The Goodge Street Station is a five-minute walk from #35. Up Gower Street, on to the shady and tree-lined Chenies Street (and more memories), then up Tottenham Court Road to #72, where the memories ended. The area around the station was nothing at all like I remembered. No great locals-only hometown place serving fish and chips in rolled-up newspaper. Just a bunch of crowded, overshadowed trying-to-be-trendy-but-not-succeeding franchise places…
But I suppose Old People have talked like that since the beginning of time. To fix things up – get a better mood – I put my phone on Google Maps. (“Something new under the sun, Qoheleth!”) And lo and behold, I found Fitzrovia Belle, a “beautiful community pub on Tottenham Court Road which is all about friendly service & quality products.” Four minutes down Tottenham Court Road, and from there about a 10-minute walk back to the British Museum. (On the way I saw and took a picture of the “Big-shoes Guy” noted further below.)
Once back at the British Museum I met up with my patient travel partner and headed back to 9 Byng Street. From there, after a brief rest, I hiked down to the Greenwich foot tunnel, then crossed under the Thames and finally had that beer at Gipsy Moth pub. (A definite highlight.) And still had time to hike back and meet up with “friend Ola” for dinner. (At the Wahaca Canary Wharf Restaurant – rated 4.6 out of 5 – and another beer.) By the time we got back home I was tired – ithad been a long day – but had time to write, “Last full day tomorrow. A visit to the British Library, with whatever happens after that, then back to the Digs to start packing. (Flying home Wednesday.) Now for a G-and-T, which I’ve learned to tolerate.”
That was the plan for May 20, but “there’s always the unexpected, isn’t there?” (Too many things to see and not enough time?) For whatever reason we opted out of the British Library and decided to “split the baby.” I’d see the Natural History Museum and my partner would go over to the Victoria and Albert Museum, right across Exhibition Road. On the way up from the South Kensington tube station we stopped for a mid-morning snack at the Kensington Creperie. I shared some food porn with the folks back home, via Facebook: “Coffee, sweet panini and some kind of chocolate croissant.” (A side note: At my first weigh-in back home I found that I had gained a few pounds. And I’ve been told it was a crepe, not a panini.)
From Wikipedia, on the NHM: A prominent exhibit – highly visible on entering – is an 82-foot-long Blue Whale skeleton that immediately caught my attention. (It replaced “Dippy,” a 105-foot long replica of a Diplodocus carnegii skeleton.) The museum is divided into “zones,” including a Red Zone, themed around the changing history of the Earth; a Green Zone, themed around the evolution of the planet; A Blue Zone exploring the diversity of life on the planet; and an Orange Zone, “Accessible from Queens Gate” that lets the public “see science at work and also provides spaces for relaxation and contemplation.” One thing I focused on, an anti-plastic research video, “Welcome to the Struggle!” (My reaction? “Frikkin microplastics.”)
Altogether way too much to see – to fully digest – in two busy days, but enjoyable for all that. (And I can come back in August.) But to chill things out a bit, we stopped at Honest Burgers, which Google Maps says is one minute shy of the South Kensington Tube station. I Facebooked to the folks back home, “Don’t know if this burger plate counts as food porn, but it’s g-o-o-o-d! Along with the 660 ml Brooklyn Pilsner. (Despite the name it’s brewed in the UK.)” And that from there we were “heading back to The Digs, to relax and start packing.”
But not quite: One more pub to visit. A 20-minute hike east to The Gun Pub in Docklands. It’s been around a long, long time, and offers a great view – off across the Thames – of The O2, “formerly known as the Millennium Dome,” on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London. And it was one enjoyable pub. In fact, so enjoyable that I’ll have to try and persuade my brother Tom to go there in August. But first, It’s time to finish this off and start getting ready for August.
“But wait, one more thing!” Remember the walk back from Fitzrovia pub to the Tottenham Court Tube station? And the young guy with the big shoes? That led me to think that London is full of all kinds of young people making all kinds of unique “statements.” My response? “Oy vay. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!” I had to share the picture, and that I can’t wait to get back…
Re: Audrey Green cafe. See LOCATION – AUDREY GREEN – DAISY, and Eat and drink – National Portrait Gallery, which listed three other food services: 1) The Portrait Pavilion Cafe, Gallery forecourt, Charing Cross Road, “take-away only;” 2) Larry’s Dining and Bar, third floor, table service, booking recommended; and 3) The Portrait Restaurant by Richard Corrigan, fourth floor, table service, booking recommended. (The last two sounded way too swanky for the likes of me.) See Richard Corrigan – Wikipedia, on the Irish chef born in 1964:
He serves as the chef/patron of Corrigan’s Bar & Restaurant Mayfair, Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill, Daffodil Mulligan Restaurant & Gibney’s Bar in London, Virginia Park Lodge and adjoining pub the Deerpark Inn in Virginia, County Cavan, and most recently The Portrait Restaurant, located on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Re: Pro-Palestine demonstrations “around the UK at that time;” i.e., May 17, 2025. There have apparently been many since then. (Google “london palestinian demonstration london trafalgar square.”)
“4-pound Bud Light draft.” In dollars that would be (today) $5.37, still one of the cheapest draft beers I found “across the Pond.”
The coed at Eckerd College was Janine, mentioned in Countdown to Paris – 2021, and 2023’s Gearing up for the Stevenson Trail in France. After one week in London while she finished her course work, we toured Europe via Eurail Pass, including two days in Paris. Back then the Paris hotel prices were so “exorbitant” that we camped on the grounds of a no-longer-there youth hostel in Choisy-le-Roi.
Re: A 10-minute walk back to the British Museum, from the Fitzrovia Belle. Google Maps says it’s 14 or 15 minutes because of “restricted usage or private roads,” but I didn’t see anything of that.
“Always the unexpected, isn’t there?” I remember that line from 1957’s Bridge on the River Kwai.
Hampton Court – “A life-size painting of Himself. Before HE turned old, fat and grumpy…”
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July 10, 2025 – Here’s one more episode-post on my trip to England last May. (From the 7th to the 21st.) The Notes below have links to past posts on the trip, but meanwhile…
In less than four weeks I’ll fly back to London, and from there on to hike the Canterbury Trail. So I need to finish these “on May” posts before flying over for a second English venture.
In the last episode my companion and I ended up at Marlin Apartments, 9 Byng Street, in the Canary Wharf part of London. This was after our first (one) night in London – recovering from jet lag – then one night in Liverpool, and then two nights in Stratford-on-Avon. (The last two featured reservation “cock-ups,” explained and defined in past posts.) But from Monday, May 12 on, “I knew where I’d be laying my weary head for the next nine nights in a row.”
Briefly, here’s what followed. (A cheat-sheet of highlights.)
Tuesday, May 13, a day trip to Oxford and the Ashmolean Museum. Wednesday, May 14, a day trip to Canterbury, to see where I’ll end my hike in August.Thursday, May 15, a day trip to Hampton Court. Friday, May 16, a day trip to Bath. On Saturday, May 17 – our 8-day Britrail Pass having expired – we used Oyster cards to get over to London’s National Gallery. Sunday, May 18, we went to a service at St Paul’s Cathedral. Monday, May 19, later in the afternoon I hiked down along the Thames to a foot tunnel across from Greenwich, then crossed over – actually under – and had a beer at the Gipsy Moth pub. (A definite highlight.) Tuesday, May 20, I visited the British Museum while my friend visited the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum.
And on Wednesday, May 21, we flew back home to Atlanta. Now for more detail:
Tuesday, May 13. Oxford is roughly an hour train ride from London’s Paddington Station. It’s home to “the oldest university in the English-speaking world.” One thing I didn’t know: “There is a long history of brewing in Oxford. Several of the colleges had private breweries… In the 16th century brewing and malting appear to have been the most popular trades in the city.” But we focused on the Ashmolean Museum, Britain’s first public museum. (It started in 1678 as a place to house Elias Ashmole‘s “Cabinet of Curiosities.”) Of interest to me was the massive art collection, including drawings by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci; paintings by Picasso, Cezanne, Titian, John Singer Sargent; and watercolors and paintings by J.M.W. Turner.
(I got tired just remembering trying to digest all those exhibits.)
On Wednesday May 14, we took a day trip to Canterbury. I noted, “Today I’m slowly working the way to Canterbury Cathedral, partly for penance? But mostly to see where we’ll end up at the end of August, after hiking all those miles.” On the way we stopped for lunch at The Old Weaver’ Restaurant, a quirky old-timey place four that “serves up hearty and flavorful British pub fare, with pies and fish and chips frequently highlighted.” (And a four-minute walk from the Cathedral.) From there we passed a statue of Geoffrey Chaucer – of Canterbury Tales fame – then walked the last block or so down Mercery Lane. That’s the same lane I’ll walk at the end of August, after hiking the estimated 133.8 miles or so from Winchester. (Depending on the source. I’ll give my updated estimate in September.)
The Cathedral itself was huge, and well worth the visit, but probably boring to the reader. (Besides, I’ll give an update with more detail when I get home at the end of August.) On the way back to the train station we stopped at Bakers and Baristas, 23 High Street, a coffee shop a mere three minutes from the Cathedral. (We needed time to recuperate from gawking.)
Thursday, May 15. For starters, we had to take “Britrail to Hampton Court. Meaning getting up at the crack o’ dawn, because if you don’t get there early the place is ‘filled with [bleep]ing tourists!'” (We got up early and to Hampton Court early, but the place was still full of tourists, bleeping or otherwise.) It was chock-full, mostly with of large groups of students, mostly well-behaved, and all on “outings” like the kind Mary Poppins mentioned in the 1964 movie. For contrast there was one two-year-old who threw a long, loud and continuous hissy fit. She was brought to the place by Grandma and Grandpa, apparently to give mommy a break, “but really? A dark dank spooky castle-like edifice filled with strangers? No wonder she wailed!”
But other than that the place was a fun visit.
For more starters, lunch in the cafe included a local brew. (Or so I thought at the time. It was actually a Meantime Greenwich Lager, ostensibly brewed in Greenwich, 18 miles away as the crow flies.) But it was “crisp and refreshing,” and went well with a split lunch of some kind of veggie pie, with a great Cole slaw mixture and assorted roasted more-veggies, all topped with gravy.
Some other highlights? The place itself was huge; in Henry’s day “200 cooks worked slavishly from sunup to sundown to feed 800 guests when Henry’s entourage was staying at the palace.” And there’s a picture of me standing in front of the huge fire in the huge kitchen, to feed those hundreds of servants. “The lady behind me is the Keeper of the Flame.”
And speaking of the good old days, how they disposed of “refuse.”
Lots of people: Lots of poo at Hampton Court. All human waste was gathered in a cesspool. Some lucky men had the fantastic job of using this chain pump to empty the pool when it was full. Insert one end in cesspool. Raise other end to highr ground. Connect higher end to pipe leading to river. Insert crank to turn the chain. The paddles will now carry the poo to the pipe. Let gravity do the rest!
All that was explained by a big chart on the wall, right next to the jury-rigged slooshy-looking chain pump that carried “waste” from the cesspool to the nearby Thames River. (Upstream from London, but still…) Which is why the English in those days drank beer instead of water!
Later that day we got back home for some well-deserved recuperation time. Duly recuperated, I hiked the near-four-mile round trip, down from Byng Street to the Gipsy Moth Pub, across the river in Greenwich. Or in my case under the river, by way of the Greenwich foot tunnel.
Sometimes on the way down I could hike along the Thames Path, a footpath that I just learned – writing this – is 185 miles long. (It starts at the river’s source in the Cotswalds.) But often the pleasant riverside path was blocked by big-ass waterfront condos. (Like the big-ass waterfront condos back in the States that block so much beach access.) When that happened I had to shunt over to Westferry Road. In due course I got to the tunnel entrance and started over.
Or under, more accurately. That was quite an experience. Good acoustics, meaning you could hear screaming little kids pretty much the whole way. And practice “limberness” dodging the frequent bicyclists, all while remembering to “look left,” the way they say in the UK. (Not “look right,” like back home in the States.) But other than that it was an enjoyable hike.
By the time I got across it was late and I had to get back for dinner. (And one of those G&T‘s in a can from Westferry Food & Wine, a three-minute walk from our apartment.) I took some pictures, including the famed Cutty Sark, “a premier exhibit at Greenwich.” Also of the Gipsy Moth Pub. I wrote longingly later that day at the apartment, “in a day or two I’ll hike back down, and under the Thames, with enough time to have a beer.” Which is a story for next time…
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A destination for the next – and last? – post on this “wonderful May trip…“
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I took the upper-image photo during our visit. See also Henry VIII, Terrible Tudor? | Hampton Court Palace, which included the following: “Henry’s religious policies met with opposition in the wider country, which he ruthlessly crushed.” “In 1539, the Act of Proclamations gave full legal authority to all his commands. Discriminatory laws were also passed … which had terrible consequences for many innocent people persecuted over the next two hundred years. Henry had become a tyrant.”
Re: “Hiking 130 miles.” Wikipedia says the Canterbury-Trail hike is 119 miles. My brother Tom’s estimate is 133.8 miles, which includes getting to some of the hard-to-find lodging along the trail.
Re: Thames footpath. See Thames Path – National Trails, Thames Path – Wikipedia, and Ultimate Guide to Hiking the Thames Path. As noted, there are sections of the Path in that part of London, between 9 Byng Street and the Gipsy Moth, but frequently you have to shunt over to Westferry Road, then back. Google Maps says it’s a 1.8 mile hike straight down Westferry, but that doesn’t account for the “shuntings.” (Note, the noun “shunt” has a different meaning than the verb form.)
July 6, 2025 – To catch you up, last May a companion and I visited England, from the 7th to the 21st. See links in the Notes for the trip’s purpose and progress, but meanwhile: Less than five weeks from now I’ll be flying back to London. There I’ll meet up with my two “Camino” hiking partners, brother Tom and his wife Carol. After a couple days getting settled in, we’ll take the train to Winchester. Two days after that we’ll start the long hike on the Pilgrims’ Way, from there to Canterbury Cathedral. All of which means I need to finish writing posts about the May visit – that Mid-May “Recon” – before beginning the next adventure in England.
But things worked out, and the White Swan was a real treat. That continued into Sunday morning, before we headed to the 10:00 service at Shakespeare’s Church – Holy Trinity. (“Stratford-on-Avon’s oldest building,” on the banks of the Avon, and one of England’s most visited churches.) In the Swan’s breakfast nook I shared some food porn with folks back home. (Using two terms not often seen in one sentence; food porn and English Breakfast.) The Swan’s nook offered a multitude of items, including the classic “baked beans on toast.” I forewent that option and instead chose the French toast topped with fruit and some kind of yogurt. My conclusion? “Delish!” (Another word not often used in connection with “English breakfast.”)
After that we walked the 25 minutes or so to the 10:00 Holy Trinity service. (The post London, Liverpool and Stratford had a picture of me with the church in the background.) After that we stopped for lunch at Barnabys fish and chips, 22 Waterside, then “we” picked up some fudge at a street festival. (I certainly didn’t need it.) Then back to the Swan and a change of clothes.
In more casual dress we met friend Jane at the Shakespeare’s Birthplace museum about 2 pm. The visit included some old-timey-dressed performers doing bits from Shakespeare plays that involved some crowd participation. (Luckily I didn’t get volunteered.) We then followed Jane to her new flat down the street. (The afternoon before – before the hotel reservation “cock up” – we stopped by the two-story flat she was moving from.) Then headed back to the hotel.
Later that afternoon I took a walk. First, east on Bridge Street over the Avon River, then a bit more east down Banbury Road, then backtracked to the riverside park. (“The Recreation Ground,” including the Stratford-on-Avon Bandstand.) From there down the riverside footpath to the Lucy’s Mill footbridge, back across the Avon. From there I followed the footpath up past Holy Trinity – from the other end – and on back up to the White Swan.
My appetite restored, we had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. A great shared meal including roast chicken, roasted root vegetables and gravy, and Yorkshire pudding. (Which I thought was a dessert, but no. “Not sweet, a savory crispy bread.”) There’s more detail in the Notes about this “no it’s not really a dessert even though the name makes it sound that way!” (Which illustrates the joy of discovery on your travels.) The hotel staff also showed us some things about the White Swan that had been uncovered during one of many renovations.
That included a framed readout of the hotel’s history, dating back to 1450. The readout included that after his 1582 marriage to Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare and Anne “would have drunk many a drink in the newly decorated tavern.” Another find? An ancient Bible in French open to the Book of Tobit. Yet another, a wall painting uncovered in a more recent renovation, this one in 1927. Research showed that the painting was commissioned by William Perrot, and could be dated “around 1560,” because Perrot and nearly all his family died “in the great plague in 1564.” The painting itself depicted the story of Tobias and the Angel, said to be a subject “doubly appropriate for a tavern of the day.” (Which I didn’t know.)
Next morning, Monday, May 12, we took the train from Stratford back to London, with a stop off at Winchester. (Where I’ll start my Pilgrims’ Way hike.) The goal was Winchester Cathedral, where the August hike will officially start. But first, we stopped for lunch at The Royal Oak Pub, the “oldest bar in England,” from at least 1002 A.D. (According to the chalkboard.) We checked out the Cathedral – and it was awesome – then headed back to the Oak. The Royal Oak that is, after an hour or two touring the Winchester Cathedral. (Lots of stuff to see.) This time I saw that “the Oak” had Estrella, a Spanish beer, on draft. (A brew I first learned to love on the original Camino Frances – French Way – from Pamplona, in 2017.) And by the way, I’ll have more pictures and commentary of Winchester in September, when I get back from the hike.
Finally, way later in the afternoon, we got on the train to London and eventually arrived at “The Place.” The place where I’d be laying my weary head down, for nine nights in a row. At Marlin Apartments, 9 Byng Street, in the Canary Wharf area. But first, the Ordeal…
The ride on the Elizabeth line – from Waterloo Station to the Jubilee metro station – was the ordeal, or more like a nightmare. 5:00 pm, big-city London, and the cars were jam-packed, all full of hot, sweaty, tired and anxious-to-get-home bodies. We had to let two trains go by, as they were packed like the proverbial sardines – chock full of people. Eventually we saw the third train a BIT less crowded, so we got on. Still, in all the jostling I got separated from my travel partner. She ended up surrounded – and jostled – by tall thuggish teenage lads, who refused to hold on to safety rails and giggled at the resulting bumper-car mayhem. I was luckier. I was surrounded – back against the sidewall – by a bevy of lovely young lasses. (Apparently, aside from the usual rush hour business-person traffic, a local high school just got out too.)
But wait, there was more! Google Maps says it’s a mere half-mile walk from Jubilee station down to 9 Byng Street. That’s assuming you head straight south, past Oysteria seafood, cross the New South Dock Bridge from Canary Wharf to the Isle of Dogs, down Admiral’s Way to Marsh Wall, then catty-corner over to Byng Street. That’s what Google said to do, but the only problem – construction! As in construction unanticipated by Google blocking the Google-suggested way. Meaning we had to backtrack up to Bank Street, then head west and on to negotiate the Marsh Wall Roundabout, then down the A1206, also known as West Ferry Road. All while lugging our bags behind us – and my “backpack on my back” – in what turned out to be a full mile hike, through a-bit-past-5:00 London rush-hour traffic.
Meaning, by the time we turned left onto Byng Street and found the lodging, we were hot, tired, hungry and bedraggled, not to mention in no mood to go back out looking for a place to have dinner. But somehow we got checked in, unpacked a bit and admired the nearby view of the Thames, through a gap in the tall buildings. And somehow I managed to find Westferry Food & Wine, a three-minute walk south in the Tower Hamlets building. There I found a bonanza: A slew of Ashoka Ready to Eat packets, including – for that night – Ashoka Aloo Matar, generally around £1.79 a packet. (We had two that night, to mix and match.) Also a prophylactic 16-ounce beer for right-away-me, and a good selection of ready-mixed gin-and-tonics-in-a-can. (A late-nigh libation I grew quite fond of over the next nine nights.)
For the morrow we planned a day-trip-by-train Oxford and sights like the Ashmolean Museum, but that’s a story for next time. Meanwhile, enjoy the view of Marlin Apartments, Canary Wharf. We had the seventh-floor apartment that included the ship-brow-like patio-balcony at the “toppermost of the poppermost” of the picture below. I later found out that it cost an arm and a leg – at least to me – but at a split cost of $100 a night, “actually not that bad – for London!”
Plus – I knew where I’d be laying my weary head for the next nine nights in a row…
Re: “Camino hike.” My definition: Any hike where at the end of each day you can look forward to a warm bed, hot shower and a cold beer. (You don’t have to pack a tent, sleeping bag, etc.)
Re: Yorkshire pudding. The Britannica article included this about the classicold-fashioned British Sunday lunch: roast beef (not roast chicken), “typically cooked on a spit in a fireplace:“
Below the roast was a metal tray into which the fat and beef drippings fell. When the roast was done, a batter of egg, flour, and milk was poured into the tray, rising in the manner of a soufflé and forming a satisfying crunchy crust at its base where it had come into contact with the sizzling beef fat. The resulting pudding was then cut into squares, covered with gravy, and eaten as an appetizer or, less often, served alongside the roast, since it is considered a dish that should be served at once while hot.
And now you know more than I did when I first tasted this “Surprise, it’s not a dessert!”Also, Pudding – Wikipedia says it’s a type of food which can be – but doesn’t have to be – “a dessert served after the main meal or a savoury (salty or sweet, and spicy) dish, served as part of the main meal.”
