Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • London – Camden (Borough of) – Euston Road Pret

    London – Camden (Borough of) – Euston Road Pret

    Pret have kindly appeased my random mutterings and whingeings of yesterday, so all is well with the world again. And, I wasn’t going to write about these Pret visits, but this one did a kind thing today and that’s nice….

    As an aside, I’ve become a fan of pumpkin spiced lattes. I probably need to get out more to be honest, but there we are.

    Anyway, my riveting story, which I feel I’m over-selling as it is. There was an elderly lady, and I need to use those words to paint at least something of a picture, who came in and looked as if she needed help choosing what to get for her breakfast. A staff member noticed, went over and spent a few minutes with her explaining the options. She then came over to the table, offered help and went through the food options again. The customer seemed rather pleased, with the staff member then coming over with the hot food she ordered and her coffee. As a gesture of goodwill, which Pret staff can do, the lady was given her coffee free of charge. A lovely gesture and it’s reassured me once again about Pret….

  • London – Camden (Borough of) – London St Pancras YHA

    London – Camden (Borough of) – London St Pancras YHA

    I’m booking a bit day to day at the moment, but returned to the YHA yesterday and their hostel which is located opposite the British Library and just a short walk away from King’s Cross St Pancras railway station.

    These are not good times for the YHA as they can’t let out dorm rooms (or at least, they’re not letting them out if they’re allowed to). This meant that this en-suite four-bed dorm room cost me £22 for the night, something which I’m not sure was ever in their financial plan for the year.

    The now switched-off air conditioning unit which is one of the largest I’ve seen and must have been from a previous incarnation of the building. There was also a working heater and fan in the room though to manage the temperature.

    My own Dyson hand dryer for the evening.

    And a rather lovely view from the window. That’s the British Library on the left, reminding me that I haven’t used my Reader’s Card recently. The building on the right is the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, the hugely impressive hotel designed by George Gilbert Scott. It’s out of my price range as it’s five-star luxury, but it’s worth noting that British Rail tried to demolish it in the 1960s. Great foresight as ever.

    And the same view at night.

    The staff at the hostel were friendly, engaging and helpful, with everything being clean and organised. Hostels aren’t quite the same when they’re nearly empty, but that did at least mean that it was all quiet and calm. I also liked the sound of traffic outside, but it wasn’t that loud as there was some sound protection going on with the windows.

    As an aside, this is a really well reviewed location as well, one of the highest of its type on TripAdvisor in London. It’s picked up just 17 one-star reviews over the years, a really low number given the variety of things that can go wrong in hostels. Although one person left a one-star review saying that she had stuff nicked from her bag, just as she had done in the same hostel the year before. She was brave to return. The guest that wrote “the ceiling collapsed leaving my bed filled with water and items of clothing and accessories were stolen from my case” didn’t seem to have had the best time….

    Anyway, I thought it was excellent value for money, all rather lovely.

  • London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Lord Napier Pub

    London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Lord Napier Pub

    This makes for quite an impactful sight, the former Lord Napier pub in Hackney Wick. Opened in the mid-1870s, it was just a typical back-street pub until it closed in 1995. It then became known for graffiti, raves and adventure. I say adventure, but I have no idea what would have gone on here as raves aren’t quite my thing.

    There were plans announced last year to turn it back into a pub, although I can only imagine that it’ll need a complete refurb inside both structurally and design-wise. Given the rise of craft beer pubs in the area, I imagine that it will do well, although there’s no sign of work having started yet. It has become regularly used by graffiti artists, as in the professional ones who do decent work, so there was talk of somehow allowing that to continue in a measured way.

  • London – City of London – Faceted Column by Stephen Cox

    London – City of London – Faceted Column by Stephen Cox

    Unfortunately, I fear that my art knowledge has let me down here, as this is probably an amazing work. However, I thought it was World War Two bomb damage initially, until realising it was too new. It has though been put here deliberately and has graced the pavement of Finsbury Square since 1999. I don’t like it as I can’t understand what it is, but I’m sure many do.

  • London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Changed Priorities Ahead

    London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Changed Priorities Ahead

    Well, quite….

  • London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Howling Hops

    London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Howling Hops

    As an aside, I’ve been trying to ensure that my London posts get put in the right borough, rather than just putting London. It looks like by just a metre or two that this bar is in Tower Hamlets and not Hackney, not that it makes a great deal of difference to anything….

    This was one of Nathan’s bar suggestions, the brewery of Howling Hops and their own tap room. There was a prompt and friendly welcome from one of the staff members when I arrived, with the menu available by scanning a QR code. Table service was then offered and the surroundings were all comfortable and on-trend. The place is just outside of Hackney Wick overground station and it’s well reviewed on-line.

    The beer is poured from the tanks and they also have a wider selection of beer available in cans as well. I opted for the Soft Top, which is the brewery’s stout, and this was rather lovely, all the appropriate temperature and with a richness of taste. The brewery use the word decadent in their description of the beer, so that’s another selling point to me.

    It wasn’t particularly busy, although it was the early afternoon and so I can’t imagine that it’s ever noticeable busy at that time on weekdays. The prices weren’t the cheapest, but my half pint of stout wasn’t unreasonable, and the surroundings are all suitably industrial for a brewery. Definitely one of Nathan’s better recommendations (although he always seems to be in the pub, so he should be good with suggestions).

  • London – City of London – London Liverpool Street – Fur das Kind

    London – City of London – London Liverpool Street – Fur das Kind

    I’ve wanted to take a photo of this numerous times before, but there have always been people sitting either on the sculpture or perched on the seat like thing next to it. Since London is suffering from a lack of visitors and workers at the moment, the railway station is quiet and there were few people around at all.

    The sculpture is designed by Flor Kent and not by Frank Meisler as I had thought, although he designed the sculpture on the main concourse and the one in Gdansk. They commemorate the same thing though, the Kindertransport which saved thousands of Jewish children from death. Unfortunately, the transports were brought to a halt by the start of the Second World War, but the lives of 10,000 children were saved.

    Originally this sculpture was placed on the main outside concourse of the railway station, but just the girl, which is a life size cast of one of the survivor’s grand-children. Along with the girl was a large perspex case of actual items that had been brought over by the children. Today, the figure of a child has been added and the case is no more, and they have been placed in the railway station as a reminder that this is where many children came on their rescue mission. I’m not sure that it’s best placed by the entrance to the underground station as it’s easily missed because of the people who often stand in front of it.

    There are other similar sculptures across Europe which note other parts of the journey that children went on. It’s a very emotive piece and a reminder of what went on here.

  • London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Ibis Earls Court

    London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Ibis Earls Court

    As I understand, this large Ibis hotel is usually busy with conferences and events, so these must be challenging times for them. I’ve never stayed here before, but their room rates are for obvious reasons low at the moment.

    The reception area, all modern in appearance and it seemed welcoming. There’s a separate restaurant area, but this is also the bar area which is in operation throughout the day. The staff were excellent, both at reception and at the bar, so all positive first impressions.

    This put me in a good mood, I wasn’t limited to a welcome drink of Budweiser. It’s lovely to get a welcome drink, but it’s nicer to have something different. I rarely have Leffe, it was better than I recall, so a decent option to have. I noticed afterwards that they also had London Pride, so they are making an effort not just to stock lagers.

    The room, which might not be the most modern in appearance, but I’m more interested in functionality than design. As long as I have a bed, desk, plenty of power points, a window and a door then I’m relatively pleased. There could have been more power points in the room, but it’s probably something that will be addressed when there’s a refurbishment. There were coffees and teas in the room, everything was clean and there was sufficient desk space.

    The bathroom, also clean and with a telephone should I need to contact anyone urgently.

    The view from the window and I could see central London and Canary Wharf by peering out of the window and looking left. Always positive to have an extensive view and to see plenty of the city. There were no noise issues either within the hotel or outside it, so I was entirely satisfied with the night’s stay. I paid for this room with loyalty points, topping that up with 84p which was collected on my credit credit. Not bad at all….

    It seems that the reviews from others are a bit mixed, perhaps the rooms become noisier when the hotel is busier, although many complaints are just guests thinking that the hotel decor is a little tired. I can’t imagine that the hotel is going to be able to afford to start on renovation works in the current climate, but at least what they have seems clean. Anyway, I liked this hotel and that’s the main thing to me  🙂

  • c2c : Basildon to Upminster

    c2c : Basildon to Upminster

    How beautiful Basildon’s railway station looks from the exterior…. It’s a relatively new railway station, opened in 1974 on an existing railway line to deal with the increasing number of people living in the new town of Basildon.

    I’ve seen more beautiful railway stations. I couldn’t buy this ticket on-line using GWR, who I usually purchase from (I get Nectar points), it said that the journey wasn’t valid. There must have been some timetabling issues, but I was able to buy a ticket from the machines as Basildon. It’s quite an expensive ticket at over £6 for the short journey, but there’s no other public transport that I can see that made this journey.

    The train wasn’t particularly busy and nor was it very clean either, with a fair amount of litter around. I’m entirely reliant on Wikipedia to work out what kind of train this is, but it’s apparently a Bombardier Electrostar Class 357.

    And arriving into Upminster on time. The train was getting a little busier by this point, although there were plenty of seats still available. From here, the train goes into London and arrives at Fenchurch Street in the city centre.

    Upminster railway station isn’t really the most beautiful in the world either, with this section of the station being added in 1932. The railway station itself though dates from 1885 when it was built by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Heritage Trail

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Heritage Trail

    I do like a nice heritage trail and this was a perfect length for a walk before the pubs opened, just over one mile long. There’s also an optional extension, which I didn’t do, which goes up to the Tithe Barn and Upminster Hall. The trail includes:

    The Old Chapel

    St. Laurence’s Church

    Clockhouse

    Upminster Windmill

    Workhouse