{"id":23868,"date":"2025-07-15T00:39:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T00:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=23868"},"modified":"2025-08-03T17:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T17:18:53","slug":"from-a-bath-to-the-gun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=23868","title":{"rendered":"From (a) Bath to “The Gun…”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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My last evening in London – Tuesday, May<\/em><\/em> 20 – I visited this place<\/em>, the historic Gun Pub<\/a>…<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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July 15, 2025 \u2013 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:<\/em><\/strong> In three weeks I fly back<\/strong><\/em> to London, and from there on to the Canterbury Trail<\/a>. So I need to finish these On May <\/em>posts before flying over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last episode saw my companion and I get as far as a Britrail trip to Hampton Court Palace<\/a>, of “Fat Henry<\/a>” fame, on Thursday, May 15. Later that afternoon I did a near-four-mile round-trip hike down to the Gipsy Moth Pub<\/a>, across the Thames in Greenwich, by way of the Greenwich foot tunnel<\/a>. I didn’t have time for a beer then, but vowed that in a day or so, “I shall return<\/a>!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here’s a quick cheat-sheet of what happened next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, May 16, we did a day trip to Bath. On Saturday, May 17 \u2013 our 8-day Britrail Pass had expired \u2013 we used Oyster cards<\/a> to get over to London\u2019s National Gallery<\/a>, and National Portrait <\/strong><\/em>Gallery<\/a>. That night we met “friend Scott” for dinner. Sunday, May 18, we went to a service at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral<\/a>. Monday, May 19, we visited the British Museum. Later that afternoon I hiked down to the foot tunnel, then crossed over \u2013 under<\/em> \u2013 then <\/strong><\/em>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<\/a> while my companion visited the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum<\/a>. (Verdict? Both worthy of day-long visits.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on Wednesday, May 21, we flew back home to Atlanta. Now for more detail:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to May 16: Bath<\/a>, 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<\/a>, built about 60 A.D. (The Latin name was Aquae Sulis<\/a><\/em><\/em>, for “waters of Sulis<\/a>,” 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! <\/em>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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 d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/a> Roman lady being prepped by local slaves to slip into the then-unpolluted waters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some things stick in your memory. Like that hologram – and <\/em>our lunch at the Square Grill Brasserie and Piano Bar Restaurant<\/a>, at 11-12 Abbey Churchyard. (Which according to Google Maps is one minute and 144 feet from “the iconic Bath Abbey and Roman Baths.”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning to Saturday, May 17, we took a Tube<\/a>-and-bus trip in the morning – courtesy of our Oyster cards<\/a> – over to London\u2019s National Portrait Gallery<\/a>. We snacked at the Audrey Green<\/a> cafe; “\u2018Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s\u2019 inspired and bathed in natural light, occupying the ground floor of the [National] gallery\u2019s East Weston Wing, a cool, contemporary and airy space.” (What I remember was a huge <\/em>movie poster – one of many – with a very young Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a>, 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<\/a>. (Both just off Trafalgar Square.) The portrait gallery included an official portrait of the new king, Charles III. The consensus, \u201cnot too flattering.\u201d But I added, \u201cI\u2019m sure SOMEONE liked it!\u201d (There was also a matched painting of Camilla next to it.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My verdict? Both museums were worthy of repeat all-day visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before heading back to the digs in Canary Wharf, we stopped off for a pint (for me) at Halfway To Heaven<\/a>, 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<\/a>!”) 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<\/em> on tap! Non-carbonated, and delightful. (That’s what I heard anyway.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving “Heaven” and heading down to Charing Cross station – off Trafalgar Square and by way of St Martin-in-the-Fields<\/a> church – we had to negotiate our way through a pretty big and long pro-Palestine demonstration-parade. (Down The Strand<\/a>?) You could Google it, but add the 5\/17\/25 date. There were many around the UK around that time.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I managed to be sneaky and get a picture of the passing protesters, without <\/em>getting my ass kicked. From there we met up with “friend Scott” for dinner at Noodle Street … Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Docklands<\/a>. Another place I’d recommend, highly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday morning we managed to make the 11:15 service at St Paul’s Cathedral<\/a>. (Not too<\/em> late.) “Very impressive,” featuring a Missa Brevis in C (KV 257)<\/a>, by Mozart. (Much of which we missed, though there were <\/strong><\/em>people who came in later than us.) Also, the New Testament reading – from Acts of the Apostles<\/a> – 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<\/em> I made like a bag lady the organist played a voluntary<\/a>. (What I learned later was Bach’s “Toccata in E<\/a>.”) Very nice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all that we had another split lunch, a Reuben sandwich combo, at The Paternoster<\/a> 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,\u201d involving my afternoon plan to get a bus down to the Wandsworth<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/em>that. But the eventual Plan B turned out, \u201cthe heck with this, let’s head back home on the Tube.\u201d But first we made a prophylactic calm-the-nerves<\/em> stop at Hamilton Hall<\/a>, near the Liverpool Street Tube station. My verdict: “Great place to recoup, with a 4-pound Bud Light draft.* Cheapest beer I\u2019ve gotten in London so far. ‘I\u2019ll be back!'” (Though that will have to wait until August.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As noted, on Monday, May 19, we visited the British Museum<\/a>, “dedicated to human history<\/a>, 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<\/a> in South Kensington<\/a>.” (The Museum I would visit the next day, May 20.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My reaction? A huge place, and overwhelming. (Mostly overwhelming \u201cbecause of all the danged tourists!\u201d) Plus it\u2019s 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!”<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in May 1979 I worked nights as a paste-up artist at what was then the St. Petersburg Times<\/em>. 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<\/a>, 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<\/a>. 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>!”) And lo and behold, I found Fitzrovia Belle<\/a>, 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.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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 \u201cfriend Ola\u201d for dinner. (At the Wahaca Canary Wharf Restaurant<\/a> – rated 4.6 out of 5 – and another beer.) By the time we got back home I was tired – it had been<\/strong><\/em> 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\u2019ve learned to tolerate.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the plan for May 20, but “there’s always the unexpected, isn’t there?<\/em>” (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<\/a>.” I’d see the Natural History Museum<\/a> and my partner would go over to the Victoria and Albert Museum<\/a>, right across Exhibition Road. On the way up from the South Kensington tube station<\/a> we stopped for a mid-morning snack at the Kensington Creperie<\/a>. 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<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Wikipedia, on the NHM<\/a>: A prominent exhibit – highly visible on entering – is an 82-foot-long Blue Whale skeleton that immediately caught my attention. (It replaced “Dippy<\/a>,” a 105-foot long replica of a Diplodocus carnegii<\/a><\/em> 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, \u201cWelcome to the Struggle!\u201d (My reaction? “Frikkin microplastics<\/a>.”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>, which Google Maps says is one minute shy of the South Kensington Tube station. I Facebooked to the folks back home, “Don\u2019t know if this burger plate counts as food porn, but it\u2019s g-o-o-o-d! Along with the 660 ml Brooklyn Pilsner<\/a>. (Despite the name it\u2019s brewed in the UK.)” And that from there we were “heading back to The Digs, to relax and start packing.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not quite: One more pub to visit. A 20-minute hike east to The Gun Pub in Docklands<\/a>. It’s been around a long, long time, and offers a great view – off across the Thames – of The O2<\/a>, “formerly known as the Millennium Dome<\/a>,” on the Greenwich peninsula<\/a> 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<\/strong> for August.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut wait, one more thing!\u201d 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 <\/em>of all kinds of young people making all kinds of unique \u201cstatements.\u201d My response? “Oy vay. We\u2019re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!\u201d I had to share the picture, and that I can’t wait to get back…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Only in London???”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The upper image is courtesy of The Gun Pub Docklands – Image Results<\/a>. See also THE GUN – Updated July 2025 – 150 Photos & 88 Reviews – Yelp<\/a>, The Gun | Pub and Restaurant on Docklands | Excel London<\/a>, and The Gun – Historic Riverside Pub Docklands London – The Gun<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Links to past posts on the trip<\/em>. Starting last March, Next up \u2013 Hiking the Canterbury Trail<\/a>, then A mid-May \u201cRecon<\/a>,\u201d \u201cLondon, Liverpool and Stratford<\/a>,\u201d A return, to \u201cLondon, Liverpool and Stratford<\/a><\/em>,\u201d From Stratford-on-Avon to Byng Street in London<\/a><\/em>, and From \u201cFat Henry\u201d to Gipsy Moth pub<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re: “I shall return.” See Douglas MacArthur’s escape from the Philippines – Wikipedia<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polluted “Bath” water. See This is why swimming in the Roman Baths in Bath is NOT a good idea<\/a>. Dated May 2019, the article said climate-change protesters had jumped into the green waters fully clothed, which brought up the “not a good idea.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re: Audrey Green cafe. See LOCATION – AUDREY GREEN – DAISY<\/a>, and Eat and drink – National Portrait Gallery<\/a>, 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<\/a>, fourth floor, table service, booking recommended. (The last two sounded way too swanky for the likes of me.) See Richard Corrigan – Wikipedia<\/a>, on the Irish chef born in 1964:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He serves as the chef\/patron of Corrigan’s Bar & Restaurant Mayfair, Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill<\/a>, Daffodil Mulligan Restaurant & Gibney’s Bar in London, Virginia Park Lodge and adjoining pub the Deerpark Inn in Virginia, County Cavan<\/a>, and most recently The Portrait Restaurant, located on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery<\/a>, London. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Corrigan opened the restaurant on the top floor of the newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery<\/a> in July 2023. “The Portrait Restaurant has received rave reviews from Tim Hayward<\/a> in the Financial Times<\/a>, Giles Coren<\/a> in The Times<\/a> and more.” (Yup, way too<\/em> swanky for the likes of me<\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.”)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re: Sunday morning service. The link is to Mass in C major, K. 257 “Credo” – Wikipedia<\/a>. The New Testament reading was Acts 11:1-18. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re: Bad reviews on The Paternoster. See NOTES COFFEE ROASTERS & BAR | ST PAUL’S, London – Reviews<\/a> (Trip Advisor), but also The Paternoster, London, St. Paul’s – pubs & bars review<\/a>, gave it four-and-a-quarter stars out of five. And like I said, personally, we liked it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re: Wandsworth. Wikipedia<\/a> says the London Borough of Wandsworth<\/a> is one of “35 major centres in Greater London<\/a>. The area takes its name “from the River Wandle<\/a>, which enters the Thames<\/a> at Wandsworth.” Its main communities are Battersea<\/a>, Balham<\/a>, Putney<\/a>, Tooting<\/a> and Wandsworth Town<\/a>. (The latter is 2 miles southwest of Charing Cross<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coed at Eckerd College was Janine, mentioned in Countdown to Paris \u2013 2021<\/a>, and 2023’s Gearing up for the Stevenson Trail in France<\/a>. After one week in London while she finished her course work, we toured Europe via Eurail Pass<\/a>, 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<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re: Hamilton Hall. For a non-“prove you’re human” link see Hamilton Hall – Good Beer, Good Pubs<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Always the unexpected, isn’t there?” I remember that line from 1957’s Bridge on the River Kwai<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full link for our May 20 mid-morning snack is Kensington Creperie London – themunchingtraveller<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took the lower-image photo of “Big-shoes Guy.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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*   *   *   * *   *   *   * July 15, 2025 \u2013 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23868"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23868"}],"version-history":[{"count":246,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24668,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23868\/revisions\/24668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}