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Visiting London and East Sussex
Page 1 2 3	October 5 to 13, 1979

Thursday, October 11, 1979

At half past eight in the morning, I left Stonehouse farm on my Yamaha SR500 for a daytrip to London.

On my way to London I had a some serious fog but despite the cold fog I had a nice ride and after a while I parked my Yamaha near the Tower of London and started my day of sightseeing in the capital of Great Britain.

A real London taxi

The Tower of London

The Tower of London was build in 1066 by William the Conqueror and in 1536 Queen Anne Boleyn is beheaded on Tower Green. The Tower of London is the place where the Crown Jewels are stored The Crown Jewels are part of the Royal Collection and are still regularly used by The Queen of England.

Another picture of the Tower of London

From the Tower I walked to the Tower Bridge. It was build between 1886 and 1894 and is a combination of a bascule bridge (because it has to open to let ships pass it on the river Thames) and a suspension bridge. It is named Tower bridge because it is close to the Tower of London.

The road to Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge from a distance

I crossed the Tower Bridge and enjoyed the view from the bridge over the river Thames. From the Tower Bridge, I could see London Bridge in the distance.

The view from the Tower Bridge

From the Tower Bridge, I walked around the Tower to the bank of the Thames. On the bank of the Thames, near the Tower of London, were a number of old canons in a row.

Old canons

Then I walked back to my bike and via Fleet Street and Trafalgar Square, I rode to Buckingham Palace.

The statue of Nelson on Trafalgar Square

I could not park the Yamaha near Buckingham Palace but after riding around for a while, I found a parking spot with a few more parked motorcycles on a roundabout near Queen Anne's Gate.

Via St. James park, I walked to Buckingham Palace.

St. James Park

When you are in London, you have to see Buckingham Palace. It is an impressive building and the traditional dressed guards, named "The Queen's Guard", are a tourist attraction in itself.

Buckingham Palace is build around an older building, that was the original Buckingham House, built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703.

The Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

The entrance gate of Buckingham Palace

Ofcourse I had to take some pictures of Buckingham Palace before I walked back to my Yamaha, through St. James Park. (I had written down the name of the street where my Yamaha was parked, just to be sure, but I didn't need it).
After I checked if the bike was OK, I wandered a bit around the neigbourhood and walked past the "New Scotland Yard" building that I had seen in british detective series on TV.

New Scotland yard

In a shop nearby, I bought a new roll of film for my photo camera before I walked in the direction of Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey with the official name "the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster", is a large, Gothic style church to the West of the Palace of Westminster. It one of the most famous buildings in the United Kingdom mainly because it has been the place of coronation and burial site for British monarchs.

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Last modified: 7 April 2021

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Visiting London and East Sussex