Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

London – Southwark (Borough of) – St Saviour’s War Memorial

There’s a Wikipedia page to this monument on Borough High Street that gives more information than I can here, but this is one of the more striking war memorials that I’ve seen. The monument, which was funded by public subscription, was unveiled in November 1922 and is on a base of Portland stone with a bronze sculpture on the top.

The bronze sculpture was designed by Philip Lindsey Clark (1889-1977) who has a distinguished war record of his own, winning the DSO. The unveiling of the memorial was overseen by General Lord Horne, a Commander of the British First Army during the First World War, but the Bishop of Southwark was ill, so the dedication was performed by the Bishop of Woolwich. There was singing led by the choir of Southwark Cathedral and the Last Post and the Reveille were played by the Life Guards. Lord Horne gave a little ‘motivational’ speech saying that nine out of ten of those men who were dying on the frontline had said as their last words that they wanted someone to look after their wife and family.

This finely decorated bronze tablet shows battleships with another tablet on the other side showing planes.

The memorial was removed for an extensive restoration in 2013, being returned in the following year. The memorial is now Grade II* listed with the architectural listing mentioning:

“* a well-executed war memorial of striking composition using high quality materials and demonstrating excellent craftsmanship;

* a fine example of the work of the distinguished sculptor Philip Lindsey Clark with bronze figural sculpture and reliefs of exceptional quality;

* it is relatively uncommon with First World War memorials to feature the role of the air services in combat; by including a bronze relief of an air combat scene, St Saviour’s war memorial demonstrates the growing importance of the use of aviation in combat in the First World War.”

June 24, 2021
London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Whitechapel Ibis Budget

I rather like the Ibis Budget chain of hotels and I positively miss the one in Torun with its all you can eat hot dogs for breakfast (I’m easily pleased). They’re basic, but usually clean and functional. And, best of all, generally they’re pretty cheap. I haven’t seen this one listed before, so it has either recently reopened or I’m just not very observant, and the latter is always a distinct possibility. Anyway, I opted to stay here for two nights given that it was keenly priced and I liked how central it was for the City of London (which was an excuse to visit a few more pubs in that area).

The interior of the hotel is bright and well maintained. I’ll contact the hotel [done, and they’ve kindly sent the below] and see if they can let me have some photos of the public areas (I also forgot to take a photo of the large teddy bear on one of the seats, but there are some on the team’s Instagram channel at https://www.instagram.com/ibisbudgetlondonwhitechapel/), as I didn’t get chance to take any of my own. And the hotel staff were unfailingly polite and helpful, offering a friendly welcome and an engaging farewell. The hotel didn’t feel very busy at all, but there were always staff visible in the public areas and it felt like a safe environment.

Above two images supplied by hotel, the one on the left is the large breakfast area, the one on the right is the reception area. This is far more Ibis Styles than Ibis Budget in design, I remain impressed at the investment that has been made here.

This isn’t the Ibis Budget room that I’m used to, there has been some sort of large scale refurbishment here. The bathroom is modern and all within one room (often Ibis Budget have a separate toilet, a shower that is sort of open plan and a sink that is in the bedroom). There’s a pull down bed at the rear and a small desk in the corner. Some money has been spent here in this refurbishment and I think it’s looking rather good and certainly entirely functional. The hotel doesn’t offer hot drink making facilities or irons in the rooms, but, I have a Pret subscription and don’t use irons as I’m scared they might burn me, so this wasn’t an obstacle.

I didn’t experience any noise issues either internally or externally, to the point that I did wonder how many guests were actually in the hotel. The air conditioning made the room very cold, which pleased me greatly, and I’m impressed at how easy it was to control the temperature, better than most other budget hotels.

Not the view from my room unfortunately, but a view from one of the hotel windows near to the lifts. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the Tower of London and about a twelve-minute walk to Greggs.

Perhaps not “sinfully decadent”, but this is a really sensible list of snacks that is easy for the hotel to provide. The prices aren’t unreasonable and this seems a well thought through list of options.

All told, this was a hotel which exceeded my expectations, an engaging team of staff, a clean environment, modern rooms, decent air conditioning and a short walk to the underground and the city of London. For anyone who can get a room here at a similar price to Travelodge or similar, I’d pick here, as the rooms are better kitted out and that air conditioning is very useful (and would have been at Stratford Travelodge). All very lovely.

June 24, 2021
London – City of London – The Walrus and Carpenter

For the first time in a long while that I’ve been in London, I haven’t needed to go anywhere by public transport today, such is the advantage of staying in the centre of the city (I haven’t got wealthy and decadent, just that the nearby Ibis Budget was cheap). That meant I thought I’d visit a few pubs that I’ve never managed to get to in the area of the Tower of London, on the grounds that they’ll be reasonably empty of business-people and tourists so I’ll be able to see inside properly.

This is another Nicholson’s pub (although until 2006, this pub was operated by Young’s) and they’ve made their usual effort of not overly engaging about the history of the building, although their web-site does talk about the nearby Monument. They do explain that the pub name comes from a verse in a poem by Lewis Carroll, although they don’t give a reason why they changed the name from what it was called, which was the Cock. Although perhaps they don’t really need to.

The interior was bright but empty, although the pub had a bustling area to the front where people could sit outside overlooking the busy road. There was a polite welcome from a staff member at the door and, before I could get my app order in, I was asked what I wanted to drink. The staff member at first seemed to prefer to just take my order rather than me faff about via the app, but then I explained that I wanted the 25p discount from the app, so he gave up and let me get on with it. I should go when it’s a little bit busier, then they don’t get chance to try and take my order before I’ve made it. I make many things awkward with trying to save 25p….. The staff seemed to be from a number of different countries, they did add positively to the whole atmosphere of the pub.

Anyway, the beer choice was limited to London Pride and Nicholson’s Pale Ale, which was hardly thrilling. I went for the latter and it was satisfactory. I’ve gone back a bit on Untappd to see if the choice ever gets more exciting and the short answer from the last three years is rarely, this is really a lager and spirits led pub (although that doesn’t seem to have been the case a few years ago, when the real choice was quite extensive).

As is usual with Nicholson’s, they have a theme to their food, and here it’s pies. It’s a clever gimmick and one that I think is quite successful for them, although the food seems to still be brought in en masse so there’s still a lack of individuality here. Pricing for food and drink is around average for the area and it’s not a bad choice for tourists to the Tower of London as it does have the feel of a traditional British pub.

Although it’s always interesting to see another pub, it’s not really one for me because of the lack of beer choice, although it seems competently managed judging from the consistently good reviews. The pub is though large, with an upstairs and downstairs that can be opened up, so there’s some flexibility here and those wanting food are likely to be rarely disappointed that they can’t be seated.

June 23, 2021
Matlaske – St. Peter’s Church (Interior)

I wrote about the exterior of St. Peter’s Church in Matlaske a couple of weeks ago, but the interior was certainly no less interesting.

The door in the north porch is medieval, one of many survivors in the church dating to that period. There was a porchway on the other side of the church as well, but that was bricked up and the space turned into a vestry.

The nave of the church and the south aisle on the right. The roof of the nave was reconstructed in 1878 as part of the renovations and restorations to the church. The roof of the south aisle was reconstructed in 1710, as this is noted by a tablet on the wall, although has since been restored again.

The inside of the tower, which dates from the Saxon period.

The font and cover, which are both from the medieval period.

I can’t recall seeing such an historic join between the nave and the tower, all of which dates from the Saxon period. I very much liked seeing this, I could almost imagine this being constructed over 1,000 years ago. It was also quite a chunky construction, with the tower walls being four feet wide in places.

This was the end of the nave, but when the chancel fell down in March 1726, it was brought forwards to be used as the new chancel.

It’s clear that there are some maintenance issues that the church need some funds to fix.

Looking back towards the tower, the interior feels bright and spacious.

I like that the church feels comfortable leaving these old books out and I hope that no-one breaks that trust.

The private chapel for prayer and the church history mentions that this is the Jacobean communion table from the chancel that fell down.

A funerary hatchment, which would have been hung on the wall of the deceased’s house for a few months, before being moved into the church.

The Royal Arms which are for King George III and date to 1801.

A boxed pew arrangement still in situ.

This is the old commandments board which would have been located elsewhere in the church, but it has been repurposed to hide a cleaning cupboard.

Anyway, this is a beautiful church and in a peaceful part of Norfolk. I liked very much that an effort had been made to open up the church and also to explain its history. The collapse of the chancel many centuries ago is unfortunate, but I do like how they’ve been able to keep some of the stones which fell to ensure that its story isn’t entirely forgotten.

June 23, 2021
London – City of London – Seething Lane Tap (Brewdog)

My aim of visiting all the Brewdog bars in London is nearly complete, but they also have a few pubs which are remnants of the Draft House chain which they took over a few years ago. This is one of them which is located very near to Brewdog Tower Hill and the Tower of the London. I think this one is quite sports orientated, although I visited on a Wednesday afternoon, so I’m not sure that there’s much to show which was handy.

It was quite busy on the tables outside, but it’s fair to say that it wasn’t entirely packed inside. There was a friendly staff member who welcomed me near to the entrance and noted that I could sit anywhere. A lot of the tables had power points located by them, which is always a handy facility to have. The ordering process is the same as with Brewdog, so I ordered via the app and went for half a pint of Amygdala from the Solvay Society brewery in London. The food menu also looks the same and I noted that they offered Wings Wednesday, although I decided against going for that today.

What arrived was a pint and I did own up to having only ordered a half, not as a complaint, but in case they had brought the wrong drink over. The staff member said it was fine to keep it, and I did, as I’m very accommodating and helpful like that. It’s a saison, not a beer style that I’m particularly used to drinking, but I do know that I like the flavours. As I haven’t had many of these, it’s a little hard to compare with others, but I liked the aftertaste, a very drinkable beer.

There seems something slightly disappointing that Brewdog have nearly entirely incorporated these pubs into their chain without keeping them distinct in some way. Much as I like being familiar with the ordering system, they could perhaps have kept some of the original Draft House character. They do seem to have a larger food menu than Brewdog bars though at least, including fish & chips and some more starters. But, no complaints about my visit here, five different guests and the standard Brewdog options, all in a clean environment and friendly staff. And definitely no complaints about the free half a pint, much appreciated.

June 23, 2021
London – City of London – The Ship Pub

This is the Nicholsons operated pub in the city of London, a short walk from Greggs and Monument station. As an aside, and not that I’m one to moan (but yet here we are as someone used to say…..) but it’d be nice if Nicholsons didn’t just say on their web-site that their pubs were historic, but actually said why. Fortunately, CAMRA have something to add on this, namely “on the site of the Talbot which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London”. The former name of the pub, and the current name of the court, is named after the breed of hunting dog, known as the Talbot.

Also, if anyone has a Good Beer Guide book from the last couple of years (but not last years), let me know, as I think that this pub was listed, but it seems to have been removed from the latest edition. As I have the app, I can only see currently listed pubs and not ones that are no longer listed. There’s another pub called the Ship nearby as well, to add some extra confusion to arrangements.

I was welcomed by a friendly member of staff who was standing near to the door to meet the Covid requirements. It was quiet inside, but there are some tables outside (apparently something that they’ve only recently been allowed to do) which I studiously ignored on the way in as I was quite happy to sit inside in the cold. The staff member offered to take my order, but I mentioned I’d use the app, as then I can automatically get the 25p off my half pint without having to ask for it and look stingy. Anyway, although it was agreed it’d probably be easier for the staff member to take the order (and I’ve discovered they can apply the 25p themselves now), they also wanted to test the app as they’ve had problems. So I ordered via the app. Fortunately, it went through, although the staff member had already brought my drink over before I’d finished paying using the app.

There are five real ales available here, perhaps none exceptional, but the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord was well kept and tasted fine, and indeed better than I remember it. I do like the element of history in this pub, although there’s a touch of the generic in what is a very distinctive building. That’s not the fault of the very capable staff, just the whole Nicholson’s vibe doesn’t really offer anything particularly unique for individuals to rush there. It’s a decent pub through, a comfortable evening and they serve traditional pub food. For tourists to the nearby Tower of London, this isn’t a bad location to walk to for a British pub experience.

June 23, 2021
London – Lambeth (Borough of) – Waterloo Station – Former Eurostar Platforms

Another in my series of niche posts (although, to be fair, I rarely veer into mainstream posts…..). These are the former platforms at Waterloo Station which were used by Eurostar between 14 November 1994 and 13 November 2007, when the services were moved to St Pancras railway station. It was decided that St Pancras was a better long-term solution for Eurotunnel, as that’s the end (or beginning, depending where you’re going) of HS1, not too far from the end of HS2 which is at nearby Euston.

I’m glad to see the platforms back in use, as since December 2018 they have been used by South Western Railway. I’d noticed they were in use before, but hadn’t had a need to use them since they opened.

The platforms are on the left-hand side of the above aerial photo, with the cursor marking where I was standing to take the photos.

This is what the station looked like at the beginning of the twentieth century and it can be seen just how much land these buildings took up, and how much had been demolished to allow for their construction.

On that subject, and apologies it’s not very clear, but there’s the area at the end of the eighteenth century, with the cursor marking where Waterloo Station is today. It’s fair to say that this south river side of London has changed considerably over the last 200 years.

This additional section of Waterloo railway station was first opened at a cost £120 million to provide a connection for the London to France rail link which used the Channel Tunnel. There was an inaugural service on 6 May 1994 which carried HM the Queen and the then British Prime Minister John Major to a formal opening ceremony in Calais. Passengers got to use the platforms a few months later when all the official approvals had been granted.

It seemed a shame that this whole section of the station was closed off after 2007, with just some temporary usage when work was going on in the main part of the terminal. Here, they retain their open look and are now firmly back being used by the rail network. All spacious, with plenty of seating before the gatelines, still I think looking bright and modern.

June 23, 2021
London – Newham (Borough of) – Stratford – Travelodge

Travelodge are doing a promotion at the moment where if you book four nights in London (and I think it’s been extended to Edinburgh and a couple of other locations), then you get the fifth night free. That meant that I had a five night stay last week in Stratford for just over £100, which I think is pretty decent value for money. This all means that I’m not spending as much time at Accor and IHG hotels, but variety is the spice of life (and Greggs).

The room, which looks like most other Travelodges in the country, was clean and too hot. There’s not much that they can do about that given the lack of air conditioning, and there was a fan available in the room. That fan was on the entire time that I was in the room, as it was too hot (London was far too hot last week). They’d put the duvet into the bag in the corner as they said nearly all guests were content with just a sheet, and their judgement seemed sensible to me.

The view from the room, over the delights of Stratford, the Las Vegas of London……

I really quite liked this hotel, although I dreaded getting in it every day as the staff have to open the automatic doors (so they’re not very automatic) and so I had to stand looking confused outside. There is a doorbell, but I felt guilty pressing that (even though that’s the point of it), but the staff always seemed keen to help and said hello when I walked by.

The amount of cleaning I saw here was also impressive, there seemed to be a staff member spending their time nearly entirely cleaning surfaces, the lifts, the floors and the like. There needs to be a bit of maintenance on the carpets in the hotel from Travelodge, but I can’t deny that the staff were making huge efforts to keep everything clean.

As a hotel stay, I was entirely content with the value offered here, and it’s nearly opposite Stratford High Street DLR station, or just a relatively short walk from Stratford railway/underground station. For those going into an area near Liverpool Street, TFL Rail run regular services there as part of what will become the Crossrail service when the thing finally opens.

The reviews of the hotel aren’t entirely ideal (but are much better than some others in the chain), but the problem for Travelodge is that I think it’s great value for the £20 or so per night that I paid, but I’d be less pleased if I’d paid something like £60 per night, which many have done.

There’s a long review on Google about how someone was furious that they’d “booked a room for 3 people” and the hotel wouldn’t let them have four people in the room. I’m not entirely sure how they were planning to fit four people into a room, and seemingly, nor did the hotel. The end result of this exciting saga was that the four people were kicked out, slept in their car and remained very angry at the hotel manager. The hotel do make very clear everywhere that they never accept more than three adults in the room, it was a very brave guest that risked sneaking more in….. Sounds an exciting drama though for anyone watching events unfold.

And there’s the review from a furious daughter that her father was smoking in the hotel and she was most upset that security asked him to leave. Not really a surprise.

Anyway, I didn’t have breakfast or evening meals at the hotel, as adding breakfast would have increased the room price by 50% and it never looks that appealing to me anyway. But, I’d merrily stay here again, I thought it was all comfortable albeit it rather too hot. Thank goodness for the fan.

June 23, 2021
London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Ibis Styles Kensington (Again)

I stayed at this hotel about ten times last year, and have done so again this year several times. I stopped posting about the hotel given that I had little new to say (not that this usually stops me to be honest…..), but thought I’d do a little update here. Nothing much has really changed at the hotel, although breakfast is no longer included in the room rate. It was just a takeaway bag which was lacking a little in innovation towards the end, and I suspect that quite a lot of the food and drink was just being wasted. It’s possible to pay for this takeaway bag, but I haven’t yet been tempted to do so.

The free welcome drink offered to me lacks in excitement, they don’t even have Tiger any more, so I selected a bottle of Budweiser. I see this as useful, as I’m trying to lower my average Untappd score (I don’t want to sound like I enjoy everything) and this is a perfect way of doing it.

My room rate was £22.50 per night and I was staying for two nights, making this really quite excellent value for money. The hotel is just a short walk from Earls Court underground station, so is convenient for central London. There’s also a Greggs around the corner for those who need food and drink, as well as the Bolton pub which is nearby.

For that price I was entitled to a solo room (since that’s what I booked), but I was upgraded for what I think is now the fourteenth time in a row in this hotel. What they lack in decadent welcome drinks and welcome gifts, they make up for in room upgrades. I even had my own little corridor in the room, as can be seen in the above photo. As an aside, the staff members here are always friendly and helpful, with no change to that on this visit.

And the rest of the room, which was air conditioned, clean and comfortable. I didn’t have any noise problems from either inside or outside the hotel, so I still like staying here as it feels a safe and reliable environment. It’s a series of houses which have been joined together and turned into a hotel, hence the rather strange shape of the rooms. I think it all adds character to the arrangement though.

Richard was staying at the same hotel, and was on the floor above. He laughed when he discovered the lift was out of order, as he likes carrying his giant bag up two flights of stairs. And, as an extra treat, there was a football outside of his room. Someone must have known that one of Norfolk’s biggest football fans was staying there. On a more petty level, I was very pleased to note that Richard didn’t have his own corridor in his more expensive room (although he did have larger cardboard cups than I did for his drinks, so he had a win there).

Anyway, for £22.50 per night, this remains excellent value, and highlights how there remain problems with so few tourists coming to stay in the city. I can’t imagine the prices will be anything like this again in future years, so I will continue staying in London for as long as they are……

June 23, 2021
London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – London and South Western Pub

As we were walking back to the railway station from the Brewdog in Clapham, we thought we’d pop into this new JD Wetherspoon outlet near to Clapham Junction. I don’t do the whole argument of “I don’t visit Wetherspoons because they don’t pay staff” as I’ve heard that piffle before, but each to their own, as I’ve decided to work through the Good Beer Guide and there are too many outlets from this chain in there for me to avoid.

This pub only opened a few months ago and it has been converted from a Revolution bar, apparently at a cost of just over £850,000. They already have the relatively nearby Asparagus pub, which I rather like (but that one is more traditional than modern), and I’m not sure whether they’re planning to keep both. This one has more of a Lloyds feel to it, although I think that branding has pretty much gone within the chain now.

There’s a history about the building outside (too few pubs do this….), noting that before the building was used by Revolution, it was constructed in 1935 as a flagship store for Hastings, a furniture showroom. The pub name is taken after the railway company, a nice nod towards the local area. We had a bit of a wait to get inside, although there was plenty of seating available so it just seemed to be a matter of managing numbers rather than it being particularly busy.

Richard had already had his decadent cheeseboard at Brewdog, I went for a rather more affordable pint of Punk IPA with burger (classy, eh?…..). I did note that the pint of Punk IPA here is only slightly more expensive than at Brewdog, but it comes with a free burger. Anyway, they’re different places, and there are usually more exciting alternatives to Punk IPA for anyone who is at Brewdog.

I had a quick half pint of Urban Dusk from Redemption Brewing, as it cost the grand total of just over £1. Perfectly well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and all that. The service in the pub was also fine, everyone seemed friendly, with the environment feeling safe and well managed.

The burger. There is a Facebook group now where people post photos of their meals (which I accept is ridiculous enough as it is for me to do here) and they then count the chips and post that total number. I decided even I wouldn’t be doing that…. For the money, this was entirely reasonable, but I won’t spend too much time describing JD Wetherspoon food.

Anyway, I suspect this pub will end up in the Good Beer Guide in due course, although it’s too early for the current edition as they weren’t open at that stage. There’s more of a cafe style in the day it seems with its outdoor seating for those who like sitting outside inhaling traffic fumes. The reviews so far aren’t great, but I’m not sure that JD Wetherspoon are too much bothered about that since they’ve withdrawn from social media. For those who hate the chain, then that’s easy, don’t go, but, for others, this was a clean, modern and seemingly well managed JD Wetherspoons with a few real ales to choose from.

June 23, 2021