Teddy Edward: London Calling

Took a little trip down to London Town a few weeks back; a bit of a break and a bit of catching-up with family. We were down for a week and chose to stay at The Alma Hotel in Wandsworth as it had good transport links to the places we wanted to visit.
On our first full day there we just had a walk around the local Wandsworth area and down to the banks of the Thames:

Moira beside the Thames at Wandsworth

Wandsworth Bridge across the Thames

Ducks on the River Wandle

We crossed over the River Wandle to an area known as Wandsworth Riverside Quarter, which is full of expensive (and mostly empty) riverside flats and it also has lots of moorings for boat-houses:

Boat-houses moored at Wandsworth Riverside Quarter

Old style Boat-house

Modern Boat-house

Despite being right next to the Waste Recycling Centre (which loads and transports rubbish down the Thames on barges) this was a very prosperous area, with apartments for sale starting from £720, 000 (no I haven't added an extra zero!).
Further along the riverside path we came to Wandsworth Park, which was very nice:

Tree-lined Avenue at Wandsworth Park

Wandsworth Park

Eddie at Wandsworth Park

We had a drink and a snack at the little café in the park (which had its own crazy golf course) before heading back to our hotel. On the way back we passed this lovely old pub, which had a wonderful vintage-style mobile kitchen parked outside:

The Cat's Back Pub

The Cat's Back 'Pig Out 'Van

The Cat's Back Van

The main reason we were down in London was to visit my son and daughter-in-law (Alan & Laura) and their new baby boy Graeme, so later that day we headed over to their place:

Graeme asleep in his rocker

Graeme with Pawpaw

Graeme with Nana

It's not everyday that you become a grandparent and we are so proud of Alan and Laura and love little Graeme.
The next day we all headed out to Kew Gardens for a visit; by all of us I mean me, Moira, Alan, Laura, Mary-Ann (Laura's mum) and Morag (Alan's mum):

Kew Gardens Museum

Laura and Graeme at Kew

Our first port of call was the Palm House, which was full of exotic species (note that the plant names are made up by me and may not be the exact scientific name):

Under the Palm Leaf Canopy

Butterfly Drinking Fountain Plant

Woolly Caterpillar Tree

Plastic Bead Tree

Silvery Leaves

Pretty Flower

That's ma Boy

We also went up the stairs in the Palm House to view the canopy of trees:

Moira on the Balcony

After the palm house we paid a brief visit to the Princess of Wales Conservatory, were we somehow managed to get split up and go in different directions, before eventually getting back together. Anyway here is a photo from inside the cactus area of the conservatory:

Desert Scene

Once back outside we headed to a relatively new attraction called 'The Hive' which is a multi-sensory experience designed to highlight the extraordinary life of bees:

The Hive

Below The Hive

Leaving The Hive

In principal the lights you see and the sounds you hear inside The Hive are triggered by bee activity in a real beehive at Kew. However in the daylight it was difficult to appreciate what the lights were doing and the sounds were drowned out by the noise of the dozens of people in The Hive.
I would recommend visiting it in the evening when it is darker and less crowded.
Before heading for some coffee and cake we had a pleasant walk around Kew Royal Palace:

Kew Royal Palace

'Cheese' in an Avenue of Trees

Reflection of a Cherub

A Cherub Reflecting

Family Conference

Pram Duties

One of the many things I liked about Kew was the wide variety of sculptures placed around the gardens, here are some of my favourites:

You Talking To Me?

Ostrich Running

Cheetahs Running

Leopard Stalking

Glass Bluebells

The stalking Leopard was my favourite, it was so lifelike, it was just like looking into the eyes of a real wild Leopard (not that I have done that!)
Next up on our London trip was a visit to Windsor to meet up with Moira's nephew Jeff and his family:

The Thames at Windsor

Jeff and Family

last time we were in Windsor was when Jeff and Claire got married, shows you how long ago that was. It is such a nice place to visit....... pretty as well as historic............ we had a stroll along the riverside first:

Boats and Birds on the River Thames

A Swaggle of Swans

A Single Black Swan

A Weeping Willow

Although there were plenty of Swans on the river, they were outnumbered by the Canada Geese. In fact a whole flotilla of Canada Geese swam towards us as we walked along the riverside path:

Flotilla of Canada Geese

Pair of Egyptian Geese

With Canada Geese, Egyptian Geese and an Australian Black Swan it was starting to feel a bit like United Nations.
We were heading for Alexandra Gardens and on our way I spotted (well it was hard not to spot it) this Hurricane aircraft:

Hawker Hurricane

Chocks Away

The Story Behind the Hurricane

It was part of the Sydney Camm Memorial, and as the above interpretation panel explains, the Hurricane was designed by Camm when he worked for Hawker Engineering. He also designed the Hunter and the Harrier............ and probably some other planes beginning with 'H'.
When we reached the park the kids enjoyed running around in the open space, having a game of Tag (or Tig, depending on where you come from):

Catch Me If You Can

The girls also enjoy the fairground rides that were there (the boys were a bit big for these):

Who's Driving?

I Want a Pink Cadillac

Afterwards we all went for a lovely lunch at an Italian Restaurant in Windsor. Jeff, Claire and the family had to leave after we had lunch, so Moira and I had a walk round the town of Windsor.
We headed up towards the castle where there was a military parade going on:

Tower at Windsor Castle

Marching Military Band

Naval Cadets and Sea Cadets (I think)

Naval Officers (and some Sea Scouts?)

Apologies if I have got the names of these groups wrong, I think they were all Navy though?
We then had a walk around the outside of Windsor Castle (too mean to pay to get in):

Plane flies over Windsor Castle

Entrance to Windsor Castle

You can't park 'ere mate

As we headed towards 'The Long Walk' we were passed by a DUCK?

DUCK heading down St Alban's Street

DUCK Tours

Obviously it is an Amphibious Vehicle (known as a DUKW) and not a Mallard.
We stopped at the east gate of the castle for a few photos but decided against a stroll down The Long Walk as it was a bit far:

Moira at East Gate of Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle from East Gate

Eddie at Start of The Log Walk

After our photo-shoot we headed back to the station and got the train back to Wandsworth.
Next day we took a bus trip across the water to Kensington, where we paid a visit to Kensington Gardens and the adjoining Hyde Park:

The Round Pond, Kensington Gardens

Tree-lined Avenue in Kensington Gardens

Has anybody seen the Ring-necked Parakeets

In a clump of trees near to The Long Water we met a couple of women who were feeding the wild Ring-necked Parakeets which often visit Kensington Gardens. They kindly offered me a piece of apple so that I could feed them too:

Feeding Ring-necked Parakeet

Other birds watched from the trees

Ring-necked Parakeet close-up

Had enough apple

It was thrilling to be able to feed them, they did peck my hand occasionally, but I was brave and didn't cry.
We then had a relaxing seat near The Long Water (which separates Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park):

Wildfowl on The Long Water

Egyptian Geese on The Long Water

It was getting near time for a spot of lunch, so we headed towards the Lido Bar and Café in Hyde park. I stopped occasionally to photograph some birds on The Serpentine:

Popular perches on The Serpentine

Cormorant Posing

Heron on The Serpentine

After a bite to eat Moira suggested that we should visit the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain:

Moira at Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Looking down the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Princess Diana Memorial Rapids

I still can't understand why it is called a fountain?
Although it was only mid-afternoon it was starting to get very dark and the sky had turned a strange yellow colour and blocked out the sun:

The End of Days

The above picture doesn't really do it justice, but apparently some people were claiming this was 'The End of Days'. We just thought it time to go, so we got a bus to Battersea and visited Alan and Laura.
The day fortunately didn't end, and we had a nice evening out with the family:

Enjoying a meal with Graeme, Laura, Alan and Mary Ann

What a lovely evening for the End of Days.
For our last full day in London we paid a visit to the Covent Garden area, where we went to the 'Bond in Motion' exhibition at the London Film Museum. As the name suggests, this was a collection of vehicles and other memorabilia associated with the James Bond movies (cue theme tune!).
First up was the iconic Aston Martin DB5 as used by Bond in Goldfinger, Goldeneye and Skyfall:

Bond's Aston Martin DB5

C U Jimmy Bond

The next Aston Martin DBS was featured in Quantum of Solace and was rather bashed-up looking:

Sheepish return of damaged Hertz Rental?

It wasn't all about cars though, there were some boats, including this speedboat from Live and Let Die which Bond used to jump over levees in the Louisiana waterways:

Glastron GT-150 Speedboat

There was also a car that thought it was a boat (a submarine to be exact) from the Spy Who Loved Me:

Lotus Esprit S1 Car/Submarine

Then there were cars with rockets, from Die Another Day:

Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (guns and rockets optional)

Jaguar XKR with Rockets (as driven by baddies)

There were also motorbikes, aeroplanes, moon buggies, cellos, etc. .......and who could forget the red car that jumped over the corkscrew bridge in The Man With The Golden Gun! (a clip worth watching considering the stunt was for real and not CGI):