Another fun-filled day in London! (there were a lot of them, and all of them were fun-filled!)
We began today’s tour with a visit to a hidden oasis; St Dunstan in the East.
The church was first built here in Saxon times, restored by St Dunstan in 950 AD, and then rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire in 1697. (It’s around the corner from The Monument of the same fire.) The garden you see now was laid out following severe damage in the blitz.
It is a beautiful and serene space. When inside you can hardly believe that there is a bustling city going on just outside the walls.
From there we moved on down the road to the Tower.
I should have researched more. Sometimes things slip under the radar, and when you get there you want to kick yourself. If I’d known “the Tower” was the “White Tower” which I’d been reading about since I was a child, I would have organised to spend more time there than I did. But sometimes I’m special like that.
Having said that, when you do have only limited time, try to get in on THIS Yeoman’s tour! *waves at @billybeefeater *
One of the best storytellers I’ve ever met (and I’ve met a few!), and with an obvious passion for history, his country, and yes, even the tourists.
It was sad that we did have such little time in the Palace precincts, but I was grateful for the heads up from the guy in the Mint to join Billy’s tour. One day I’ll probably even catch the beginning of it!
But before long we had to move on! We had to see/experience/walk across Tower Bridge …
… in time to get to a catch up with a friend, and our next Neverwhere fan moment on the HMS Belfast!
This was an incredible experience and the three of of had a blast running around like maniacs with our cameras! I was kind of afraid it might be a bit dry and boring, just with lots of signs to read. But I was pleasantly surprised!
This diorama had the sound effect of the drill. *shudders*
We spent hours on this ship, and could happily have spent longer! But we were kicked off at closing time *pouts* Needed more time for that experience too! But, I know for next time!
Just up from the HMS Belfast is the famous London Bridge. Not the original that fell down, and not the one that was sold and moved brick by brick to Arizona … Actually, there have been a few … You really should click that link.
It had been a big day so far at this point, so the three of us decided dinner was the best bet. We found a pub (I’m still kind of blown away by how many there are, and how close they all are. You actually can pub-crawl, unlike in Sydney) and had pies and mash! Yep English cuisine is … Northern European, really.
But it did give the sun time to disappear in order for me to get you this gorgeous picture.
Tower Bridge, with the HMS Belfast in front, taken while standing on London Bridge. Yep. I’m happy with that. 🙂
As one final photograph from Day 3, I’ll leave you with another Neverwhere moment …
ghoti industries 
You so vividly transported me back to a wonderful city plus introducing what I can see would be a magical place – St Dunstan
I’m glad you’re enjoying the recounting of our adventure 🙂
I’ve not been to St Dunstan — I’ll have to add that to our itinerary on the next trip we make there! It looks like a great place to wander. In a perfect world, how much time would you allow to explore there?
It doesn’t take long to find and explore, it’s more … how much time do you want to spend sitting in solitude and reflection? We sat for about 20 minutes before realising that we really had to get a move on to fit everything in for the day!