We made up a picnic and left home at 9.30am. Just as we were about to drive onto the M1, we heard there'd been an accident and the traffic was stationary on the motorway. We decided to take the A508 instead and head to Milton Keynes where we could pick up the A5 which would take us all the way to Junction 9 of the M1. Not a brilliant start to the journey!
Once in London we became caught up in traffic again but we were soon through and heading towards Hyde Park. We'd done our homework this time and knew to turn onto Queen's Gate so we could drive straight into the park! There were numerous spaces available but we could only park for four hours, which was a bit of a pain.
We ate our picnic and were delighted to see that the weather was fine, dry and sunny. Just what we'd hoped for! Keith paid for four hours' parking and we set off into the park to walk next to the Serpentine. There were lots of people about enjoying the gorgeous sunshine.
Once out of the park we walked through the Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill which was closed to traffic. We could hear bagpipes in the distance and there was a large gathering of people by the Canada Memorial opposite Buckingham Palace with the Canadian flag flying. We think it was some kind of war commemoration and there was a large police presence in the area.
Buckingham Palace was looking lovely in the sunshine and there were the usual crowds of tourists, as well as more police vans and armed guards on the gate.
It felt very strange with no traffic going past and we didn't know whether that was because of the recent terror attack or whether it was due to the gathering of people by the Memorial. The Mall was also devoid of traffic but we did see the occasional important looking car speed through the barriers! I would love to have known who was inside!
Trafalgar Square was packed with people and the waters by the fountains looked very inviting as it was quite warm in the sun.
There were lots of street entertainers, and crowds had gathered to watch them. We headed for the National Portrait Gallery and spent a good hour and a half looking at all the treasures on display, including Monet, Manet, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Constable. I even managed to find my favourite painting of Susanna At Her Bath which had been moved to another location within the building.
From Trafalgar Square we walked through St James's Park and Sophie treated us all to an ice-cream. The flowers in the park were gorgeous but unfortunately my mobile died as I'd been using it to take photos and also to chart our walk! Luckily Sophie took some beautiful pictures and will send them to me over the next few days so I can post them here.
Keith realised that we didn't have a lot of time to get back to the car before our ticket ran out so we had to walk very quickly! I didn't think it was that far but it was! We had to power back up Constitution Hill and then do a route march through Hyde Park to make it in time. We arrived back at the car at the exact time our ticket ran out!
Getting back onto the right road was a breeze and very soon we were heading towards Chiswick and the pub we'd chosen for Sophie's birthday meal, the George and Devonshire. Keith had been a bit worried that the pubs would be full as both Arsenal and Chelsea were playing at home, but the place had only a couple of men in and we took a seat by the window with our drinks.
It was lovely to sit and relax after our busy day and we were welcomed by the pub dog, Rosie who took an instant liking to Mike! We ordered food - garlic bread to start (although it arrived as a side order), burgers for Sophie and me, fish and chips for Keith and a chicken and ham pie for Mike.
The food was good but Rosie managed to finish off our burgers! The pub never became busier and the television screen stayed off so that was good. However, we were back on the road before the football had even started and we decided to head home via the M40 for a change.
Keith listened to the football in the car and after what seemed like a very short time we were turning off the M40 and onto the A43. We saw a few signs that the road was closed up ahead but we didn't take them seriously... It was only after we reached Silverstone that we realised that the northbound lane of the A43 was indeed closed so we had to find an alternative route through the dark countryside!
We finally arrived home at 9.30pm and Sophie said she'd had a fantastic day. What a relief!
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