These are just a few data bits from my recent stay in London:
- Someone on the forum posted about a Dale Chihuly glass exhibition at Kew Gardens, which immediately went to the top of my list for London. It runs through October 27. There's no extra charge, but the regular Kew ticket is pricey. Non-solo travelers should check out the 2-for-1 offer. I've always used the Tube to go to Kew Gardens, but I believe there's a regular rail options as well, which should qualify ticketholders for the 2-for-1 deal. You need to have the appropriate form.
Edited to add: See also my second post (below) for a recommendation at the Imperial War Museum, running through January 5, 2020.
Kew is huge. You should pick up the a little flyer showing the location of the Chihuly pieces, but it's not super-precise. In particular, it's useful to know that though there's just one location dot shown in the large glass house, there are actually at least 4 Chihuly installations in there. I spent virtually the entire day at the garden, primarily tracking down the Chihuly pieces. There was not time for a lot of the small specialty gardens.
In walking from the Premier Inn Country Hall (near Waterloo Station and the London Eye) to the Imperial War Museum, one must at some point cross under a cluster of elevated railway tracks. I fortuitously chose to use Royal Street. To my very pleasant surprise, I discovered about two dozen ceramic artworks by different artists installed along the dark street where it runs under the tracks. Each is about the size of a window in a house, and they are all based on the works of William Blake, who lived in that area. Very cool.
This is the 40th year of the BP Portrait Award competition conducted by the National Portrait Gallery. I've been able to see the winning portraits exhibited at the gallery the last two years and have really enjoyed them. There is no extra charge for the exhibition, which continues through October 20; the museum itself is donation-requested. This year I believe there are 42 portraits displayed, so it doesn't take a great deal of time to see the exhibition. The gallery is located very near the National Gallery on St. Martin's Place. The exhibition will travel to Edinburgh and Belfast after closing in London. The London dates vary somewhat from year to year.
There's a freestanding artisan chocolate stand at Borough Market. I don't know exactly what those chocolates cost, but they are pricey. That sort of thing is in the $40- to $50-per-pound range in the US--more than I spend on chocolates for myself. But at the Borough Market stand there is usually a bin of little bags containing seconds (misshapen pieces). I didn't count them, but I guess there must be about 10 pieces in each bag. The bags cost £2.50 each. This is one of the best food bargains in London.
I agree with whoever posted that the war rooms part of the Churchill War Rooms is rather small. What's time consuming--and frankly what I think makes the sight worth the time and high cost--is all the information about Churchill's life and activities before, during and after the war. I think those who aren't interested in museum-like displays related to Churchill should consider skipping the War Rooms and using the time elsewhere. I happily spent the entire afternoon there, but the price of £22 (for adults) is pretty high if you don't care about the Churchill Museum section.
