Today’s lunch time idea was to do a minor sightseeing tour.
I left my office pre-armed with lunch, a perfect day. Icy cold yet wonderfully sunny and clear. I turned down Piccadilly, passed the lovely Ritz which has just had a facial. All the years of soot and detritus was recently blasted from its surface. A perfect time for pictures of this mightily impressive building (to come soon).
I cross the road – I use the subway and not the lights, it’s quicker!
After just seconds in the terrifically busy Green Park tube station I emerge blinking in the bright spring light. Armed with a pasta salad, an mp3 player, a camera, and a Londoner’s best friends – umbrella and sunglasses – I take a tour of our small park.
There are about 1/2 weeks before the daffodils bust through their green sheaths and erupt into a hallelujah of yellow, I can’t wait.
You can see them trying to break through the cold hard dirt. Spring is finally spronging and it makes me glad to live in London, I spend more time in parks and appreciating nature more now then when I ever lived in the West Midlands.
I walk West (right) out of the exit, until I am in line with the glorious Canada Gates which provides a perfect photo opp. the symmetry is beautiful (photo uploads over the weekend!).
Then I turn south and walk towards Buckingham Palace, it is a great spot for people watching, the palace itself makes great visual impact. The sun glistens on the Canada Gates as you approach under the tall trees of Green Park, as you round the corner into the quadrangle the space opens up. The glorious sunshine sets the gold leaf on fire and lights up the Victoria Memorial.
It is a small shame that there is almost always traffic and orange cones in the way of the perfect picture!
By this time, I realise I must slowly amble back, satiated by sunlight, the wonderful architecture and picturesque gardens I feel like I’ve had a really refreshing break.
On the way back I stop by the Canada Memorial, the engraving reads: “In two world wars one million Canadians came to Britain and joined the fight for freedom. From danger shared, our friendship prospers.” and is a reference to Britain and Canada’s cooperation during World War I and II. It is always in a little dark and cold spot of the park.
It is easy to forget up until you hear the running water of the monument that Green Park was once thought the “swampy burial-place of lepers from the nearby hospital at St James’s.” 1
The walk was lovely, I would recommend it to anyone who works nearby and to any tourists who fancy a little amble in London’s little park.
KayLon's Joy of London life 