Victoria Tower Gardens & Westminster Abbey Gardens Teaser

Houses of Parliament from Victoria Tower Gardens, www.urban75.org 

PRETTY GREEN IN WESTMINSTER

Trying to catch the same gorgeous view of the Victoria Tower... :

...without changing the angle at all:

Victoria Tower Gardens is a pretty little green patch next to Houses of Parliament where you can rest mind and body when out and about in central London. It makes a nice green change from the many famous tourist attractions.

Here are said famous tourist attractions at an earlier and more grey occasion, photographed  out of a bus window and from a duck bus, respectively. Decent photos and none of the claustrophobia that usually comes with a visit to Parliament Square.

Big Ben

Houses of Parliament from the Thames

RIVER + TOWER VIEWS

The side-view of The Victoria Tower from the Gardens is striking; especially when the trees are in bloom. You won’t get it to yourself, but there is certainly less crowded here than in front of the Westminster Palace.

The Lambeth Bridge from a distance...

The Gardens are located on the north bank of the Thames, so grab one of the benches facing the river and watch the traffic go past as you enjoy an ice cream or a cold drink, which is exactly what I did...

Getting closer you can make out the characteristically red paint scheme

Had I been smarter, I would have turned left after snapping the above and photographed the green Westminster Bridge as a contrast. 

The colour of each bridge corresponds to the red leather seats in the House of Lords and the green leather seats in the House of Commons. Three guesses which of the two Houses is closest to Lambeth Bridge... 

AN ECLECTIC (?) MIX OF MONUMENTS

What Victoria Tower Gardens lacks in size it makes up for in monuments - a rather odd mix of them if you ask me. 

• The Buxton Memorial: A Gothic drinking fountain commemorating the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834

The colourful Buxton Memorial

A statue of the sufragette Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928)

Mrs. Pankhurst, founding sufragette, www.newworldencyclopedia.org 

One of the twelve existing casts of Rodin's bronze sculpture The Burghers of Calais

The Burghers of Calais, www.wikipedia.org

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO...

Westminster Abbey, www.goeuroupe.about.com

While in Westminster I wanted to visit the the three small Abbey gardens as they are supposed to be an overlooked garden gem. However, someone's wedding or rather all of the live media caravans blocked my way in. I plan to go post-William&Kate. Stay tuned. 

FIND OUT ABOUT....

Closest tube: Westminster, Pimlico


Victoria Tower Gardens is open to the public from 6 am until nightfall.


Victoria Tower Gardens 


Westminster Abbey Gardens 


Westminster Abbey

Houses of Parliament

The Buxton Memorial


Emmeline Pankhurst


Auguste Rodin

Regent's Park

Regent's Park by night, view from my window. Unfortunately, the day shot didn't work.

REGENT'S PARK = MY GARDEN

I am fortunate enough to have lived literally right next to Regent's Park since September 2010 so naturally I have spent quite a lot of time there. I almost feel like part of it is mine alone. 


Sometimes I go there to have my morning coffee or lunch by the pond - just because I can! And the inevitable 'squirrels attack' follows. I have yet to actually feed them. They are so unnaturally tame that they scare me but I'm probably the only person in all of London who doesn't find it endearing.    

Obviously a v. tame grey squirrel

I mainly get excited about the British squirrels because they are grey and exotic compared to their red cousins in Denmark... 

A duck in the Boating Lake in Regent's Park

There is a small coffee and ice cream shop right by the playground close to the York Gate Entrance. It's called the Cow and The Coffee Bean and is just one of many places you can have snacks or drinks while at the park, but if I were you I would make my own sandwiches or buy them (+ coffee) from Pret A Manger near Great Portland Street Tube Station or on Marylebone High Street. 

QUEEN MARY'S GARDEN

My favorite part of Regent's Park is the Queen Mary Rose Garden in the park's Inner Cirlcle. It's true that for a good part of the year it doesn't really seem like much but when the roses are in bloom it is the most beautiful and fragrant place in the whole park. 

The gates to Queen Mary's Gardens, http://canadian-turtle.livejournal.com/281126.html

Visits to Queen Mary's Gardens were a must for me during several family vacations in London when I was younger and one definitely on the to-do-list again when my family comes to see me in May.

The red roses could be Ingrid Bergmans, but then that is just one out of hundreds of possibilities... www.wikipedia.org

As you might have guessed from my previous posts I'm no expert on plants... maybe that's also why I become overly fascinated by the glamourous and sometimes just plain odd names given to different rose species. Whenever I pass 'Ingrid Bergman', 'A Shropshire Lad' or 'Moonstruck' I can't help imagining some intricate backstory to each name... 

REGENT'S CANAL AND LONDON ZOO

On the northern edge of Regen't Park flows the Regent's Canal, running through the London Zoo on its way to the Limehouse Basin Lock in East London where the canal joins the River Thames.

There are three possible boat trips on the Regent's Canal between Camden Lock and the canal area Little Venice in Maida Vale. Check the 'about'-section to find out more. 


The canal tour I want to take makes a stop at London Zoo before going to Paddington and Little Venice.  

FIND OUT ABOUT...

Closest Tube: Regent's Park, Great Portland Street and Baker Street


Regent's Park is open from 5 am all year round. Check the website for exact closing times as they vary according to season. 

Regent's Park


Regent's Canal


London Zoo

Kensington Gardens & Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace, http://benbloomfield.wordpress.com/


A LONDON CLASSIC

Granted; Kensington Gardens is hardly a secret, but it seemed like a good choice especially considering my first visit was in February and I needed a park that had a fabulous indoor attraction in case the weather was bad. Kensington Palace seemed like a great 'Plan B' 

It turned out that I would need that indoor alternative but first I wandered up the Boardwalk, tempted to rent a Barclay’s bike at one of the park gates and take a pleasant, not to mention safe ride on the smooth pathways.


Others had obviously had the same idea and despite the grey and windy conditions joggers, dog-walkers and the rest of the usual park crowd were out and about.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niznoz/5262214253/

It is no surprise that these beautiful, landscaped grounds, which used to be private gardens for the royals at Kensington Palace, are still drawing people in and has been since they were first opened to the public during the reign of George II in the 17th century. Together with Hyde Park and St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens form a great ‘green lung’ in central London.

Sky Mirror, 2006 in Kensington Gardens, http://www.zimbio.com

ANISH KAPOOR AT THE SERPENTINE GALLERY

I didn't know about the Serpentine Gallery inside the park, but they had an outdoor Anish Kapoor exhibition on while I was there called 'Turning the World Upside Down'.


It consisted of four different sculptures set up around the Gardens, all mirroring the surroundings - turning them upside down. One of them was the above 'Sky Mirror' which stood by the Long Water where I also found the famous statue of Peter Pan. 

My personal favourite from the exhibition was the 'C-Curve', 2007:

C-Curve, 2007 in Kensington Gardens, http://speculumspectator.aurora-publishing.co.uk

A better photo of 'C-Cuve', 2007 in Brighton, 2009: 

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-work/anish-kapoor-sculpture-trail/

Apparently, the Serpentine Gallery often use the gardens as an outdoor exhibition space for their many contemporary works, which makes for a great and very different art experience compared to any of the more classical museums in the Kensington area.

On a practical note, making use of the outdoors also means that you are never as crammed together as you sometimes are for indoor exhibitions. 

I should add that I have recently visited the V&A to see 'The Cult of Beauty' exhibition as well as 'Sexual Nature' at the magnificent National History Museum. Both are of course well-worth a visit, crowd or no crowd. 

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see all of Kapoor's works. I blame the winter weather and the fact that they were quite spread out - just look at the map: 

http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2010/03/anish_kapoor.html

So I went into the Enchanted Palace instead... 

http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/Palacehighlights/EnchantedPalaceintroduction.aspx

AN ENCHANTING PALACE

Fortunately for me the crowds had stayed at home and I had this truly amazing, theatrical installation art exhibition almost to myself. Ahh, the luxury of being able to visit museums on week days!     

My ticket

The exhibition was set up as a treasure hunt for the seven former royal residents of Kensington Palace, who each had a room dedicated to them.

Map of The Enchanted Palace

The Map came with a Dance Card, where you could note down the seven princesses:

My dance card - all empty...

SOPHIE IN WONDERLAND

The rooms all had huge installation pieces that were often both beautiful and scary - many reflecting the fact that often the life of queens and princesses were lonely and difficult, even if they belonged to a pampered elite.


For example, one room was dimly lid with green and blue tones and had a giant bed like the one from 'The Princess and The Pea' surrounded by a handful of huge string-puppets. 

Room of A Sleeping Princess, www.cratycrafty.tv

In each room a poem, written for the princess in question, revealing her circumstances, were read out aloud and the installation pieces included furniture, clothes, toys and other personal effects. Often you were even allowed to touch certain parts of the art work.

William Tempest's Dress for Dreaming About Freedom, http://www.fashion-stylist.net/blog/2010/03/30/the-enchanted-palace-at-night/ 

All around the palace you could find 'Explainers' aka kind and knowledgable museum staff willing to answer questions and tell you more about Kensington Palace and the people who lived there. These 'explainers' were a great alternative to the usual audio guides, which would surely have ruined the enchanted feel and the multi-media experience of the exhibition.


I can't in any way do The Enchanted Palace justice so I have included two short interviews with core participants, which I hope will inspire you to visit Kensington Palace and experience the pieces for yourself.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Interview #1
Sue Hill from the theatre company WILDWORKS. The company specialises in place-specific theatre and helped create the exhibit:

Interview #2
The designer duo Aminaka Wilmont talk about the Dress of Tears they executed for The Room of Royal Sorrows, dedicated to Queen Mary of Modena: 

Fun fact: Note Markus Wilmont's authentic Danish accent... Lovely.  


I spent several hours enjoying every bit of the exhibit and I will gladly go back for a second visit.

TEA AT THE ORANGERY

Same goes for the exquisite and extremely white Orangery.

The Orangery, http://www.dailymail.co.uk

And from the outside in February:

Someone holding hands, on their way to the Orangery 

I know Afternoon Teas don't have to be that costly (these days they come costlier) but you only live once, so I went and had a lovely, but not spectacular, banana/walnut cake and green tea with lemon in the pale tea room to end the day in style. The Orangery also does lunch and dinner, but I didn't have room... 

It tasted much better than it looks 

FIND OUT ABOUT...

Closest Tube: High Street Kensington, Bayswater

Kensington Gardens is open the public from 6 am to nightfall.

Kensington Gardens


Kensington Palace


Serpentine Gallery


Anish Kapoor

Chelsea Physic Garden

Galanthus nivalis, www.wikipedia.org

A SNEAK-PEAK INTO BOTANY HEAVEN

I don't know what I was thinking visiting a garden full of perennials in February! Maybe I had a sense that this wasn't a great plan. I didn't even bring a camera because I knew the 3.5 acre medicinal garden wouldn't look anything like it does in pictures like this:

Chelsea Physic Garden in summer... , www.wikipedia.org

Chelsea Physic Garden with the House of Chelsea in the background, www.wikipedia.org

However, the Snowdrop Days at Chelsea Physic Garden, the only open weekend during winter, didn't disappoint. The visit was a strong reminder that spring is on its way, although I look forward to my second visit at the end of May when the Garden will be at its greenest.

Snowdrop, Galanthus S. Arnott, http://blog.gardenersworld.com

ON THE TRAIL

The snowdrops (Galanthus spp) didn't grow in large white carpets as when you find them in a forrest clearing but in neat little bundles like above. 


They were set along a Snowdrop Trail that allowed you to compare and contrast the many different kinds of snowdrops as you walked through the garden. 


I never knew there were more than 75 species, not all on display, but the surrounding galanthophiles (my new favourite word!) pointed it out and told me that one of my favourites among the snowdrops wasn't even a snowdrop, but 'in the same family'. I see.  


A few examples, my two favorites:

Galanthus Brenda Troyle (I wonder who she was...),  http://www.galanthus.co.uk/snowdrop/Brenda-Troyle

The snowdrop that isn't a snowdrop but a Spring Snowflake, http://www.life-rostam.de/print/auwaelder-english.htm

A BIT OF BOTANY BACKGROUND

I thought it would be interesting to join a 1-hour tour done by a volunteer from ‘Friends of the Garden' and it was. I think the garden experts around me also enjoyed it. Here are some highlights:

Chelsea Physics Garden was founded in 1672 as a training ground for apothecaries. Exotic plants and seeds were exchanged through a botanist network that still exists today and explorers such as Captain Cook and Francis Drake brought specimens to Chelsea from their many expeditions. 


Cook even took home lava stone from Iceland for the apothecaries’ rock garden, which also consists of rubble from the Tower of London.

Sir Hans Sloane in Chelsea Physics Garden, owned the garden,co-founded the British Museum and introduced hot chocolate in the U.K., www.londontown.com

Today, the garden still maintains over 5000 different species from all over the world for conservation, education and research. This impressive collection includes Britain’s largest outdoor flowering olive tree, beds of perennials and herbs as well as many poisonous plants. 

She pointed out the winter flowering clematis and the deadly nightshade that someone apparently felt the need to taste a couple of years back. They spent four days in intensive care.  

Deadly Nightshade, www.wikipedia.org

On a lighter note: The garden café with the enticing name Tangerine Dream serves breakfast, light lunch and afternoon tea and they do it well - had a really delicious salad.   

FIND OUT ABOUT...

Closest tube: Sloane Square

The Chelsea Physic Garden is open to the public from April 1 to October 31 and for the Snowdrop Days in mid-February. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 12-5pm Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays 12-6pm.

Entrance: Adults: £7, Students and children (5-15 yrs old.) : £5 

Chelsea Physics Garden


Snowdrops

Postman's Park

Postman's Park, www.wikipedia.org

A WELL-KEPT CITY SECRET 

This small memorial garden north of St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London is a green spot I came upon by chance, after a visit to the Museum of London.


Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera that day but I won't let that stop me because Postman's Park deserves the attention.


The semi-secret green enclosure, between King Edward's Street, Little Britain and Aldersgate Street, stands out as one of the few places in London that commemorates the heroic deeds of ordinary working-class Londoners, who would otherwise have been forgotten.

Postman's Park, Colin Wing, http://www.opensquares.org/ 

I admit that the small open space, formerly a lunch-break garden for the postmen at the General Post Office in one of the neighbouring streets, comes off as rather unspectacular: It is slightly elevated and lined with the usual benches and flower beds. But who needs pomp when you can have a calm private moment in the centre of the financial district?

MEMORIAL TO EVERYDAY HEROES

The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice, www.wikipedia.org 

The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice, found in one corner of the park, is as unimposing as the park itself, but must not be overlooked. The structure, set up by the artist G.F. Watts, dates from 1900 and consists of around 50 beautifully decorated ceramic tablets hung within a simple open gallery. 

I wonder if the stranger and the foreigner were one and the same?, www.wikipedia.org

www.wikipedia.org

Some of the tiles are quite tragicomically worded but that in no way lessens the real tragedy, drama and necessity of the memorial. The tablets provide interesting glimpses into a different era and lend a melancholy quality to the tiny green space.

FIND OUT ABOUT...

Closest tube: St. Paul’s, Barbican, Moorgate

Postman's Park is open to the public from 8 am to 7 pm or dusk, whichever comes first.


Postman's Park


The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice