4 Days in London - Tiaras, Highclere Castle, Theatre!

Glad you are off on a good start Judy ! How thoughtful of you to help Kate consider her tiara options !!

Thanks for posting. I've stayed near Lancaster Gate a couple of times - but the last time was in 2001!

Looking forward to hearing about your trip to Highclere Castle.

Day 2, I took the train from Paddington Station to Newbury, about 45 minutes ride. It was a sunny day, my reward after the cold and windy arrival day, yay! I found a taxi and arranged my pickup time, 3 pm so I could make the 15:32train back to Paddington. Easy peasy. I had the best conversation with the driver who is from Glasgow but lives in the village next to Newbury, called Bergclere. He told me Andrew Lloyd Webber also lives in the area and owns oodles of land and wants to keep it undeveloped. He wants to maintain the small village feel for the villagers. He brings a lot of employment to the area.
If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you will recognize the approach to the castle with the marvelous trees framing the magnificent structure. I envision Lord Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) walking with his dog Isis up to the entrance. What a treat to be here, it’s more beautiful than on TV. I walk around the back of the house and find the tea room, gift shop and foundation for the old Parish church which has been moved. I buy a coffee cup with Her Ladyship on it, very tasteful.

Touring the house is self-guided and in each room there’s someone who will answer questions and convey information and tidbits about the filming of the show.

I bought a ticket to the Egyptian exhibit containing original artifacts from the discovery of King Tut’s tomb by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter in 1923. There is an actual mummy, very desiccated. Fascinating!

My overall impression of the house interiors is: it is very grand but homey. The 8th Earl of Carnarvon and the Countess live there. I spotted family photographs in every room and the Queen was a frequent visitor for the horses and there are lovely pictures of her. She was great friends of the horse trainer and the Earl. No cameras were allowed inside.

It wasn’t terribly crowded at 11 am so it is good to arrive earlier in the day. I just loved the drawing room, grand saloon and the library. The red room where the family gathered was amazing too. I chatted with various couples from different parts of the UK who traveled specifically to see the house because of their love for Downton Abbey. It was a happy time talking with other fans! I learned that scenes in Lady Mary’s bedroom were filmed in the studio at Ealing. And in some of the rooms furniture was replaced with things the director and Julian Fellowes wanted.

I had ordered a box lunch (for 2) when I bought my ticket online in February and went to the tea room to pick it up. It was packed in a gorgeous box filled with tea sandwiches, scones with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam. 4 desserts, all of this for 2 people and champagne! It was overwhelming so I offered to share with the people seated at tables near me. Then we started chatting as strangers do when thrown together. I learned one lady was from a village east of Bath, Cirencester. She was impressed I knew of it, from Father Brown and Grantchester, British shows on PBS. I learned an American couple from Wisconsin were heading to Portugal for a Douro River cruise. I packed up the remainder of my lunch and unopened champagne into a smaller container, I had to leave the beautiful box behind, way too big. I had to take the train back to Paddington.

I saw someone walking by with several beautiful dogs (like on the show) and I thought they were part of the estate. They were! The Earl and Countess had been walking the grounds and these dogs belonged to them.

To be continued.

Highclere Castle day: Walking around the grounds and in the gardens I encountered 2 English ladies and we were sharing our thoughts about the Coronation. One lady commented she didn’t want to see a crown on that woman’s head! Her friend was in the other camp with me, if the Queen loved Camilla, then we forgive her too. She’s been loyal and makes Charles happy. The past is past, it was all very good natured.

My taxi arrived and I was on my way home on the train. A wonderful day! I went back to my room and took a nap. Got up and went to the Swan Pub in the same block as the hotel. The bar opened my champagne and I drank it with my supper. A perfect ending to a fun day.

That sounds like a such a fun day of you’re a fan of the show, mainly because you get to chat to other people who enjoy it too. I am really surprised the pub let you drink your own champagne!

Thank you for living out my Highclere fantasy!

Loving your trip report, someday I hope to follow in your footsteps!

I had bought a ticket online for a special exhibit at the National Gallery: After Impressionism: Inventing the Modern, 95 paintings and sculptures of amazing artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse and Munch. At least 5 Van Gogh paintings, never before seen in public, came from private collections! Impressive. I really enjoyed it. Then went down to the cafe for a delicious lunch, grilled salmon with fresh green salad and a Diet Coke. I sat next to an English lady and got into a lovely conversation about art, books and British history and culture. She was waiting for her friend to see this special show; they went to school together when they were 18, became teachers and now retired, still keep up with each other! This lady told me about the Duke of Wellington and his home, Apsley House, filled with marvelous paintings especially Spanish masterpieces. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke, apparently saved Europe from Napoleon and a grateful King made him a Duke. He was a very wealthy and famous man after the Napoleonic Wars. I guess he is comparable to Churchill? So I went off to find this hidden gem.
It was a lovely home filled with beautiful furnishings and amazing paintings as described to me. And more about his life and his nemesis Napoleon. Now I know a little bit more about British history.
I rushed to catch the 74 Bus and then the tube to reach my hotel for a quick nap to rest up before the theatre tonight.

All day- bright sunny skies, cool but beautiful. It was pouring rain when I stepped out for the play so I opted to take a taxi. Oh dear! Expensive, but the rail planner app said the bus I needed wasn’t running at Waterloo Bridge (National Theatre location) so the taxi was the best option given the downpour.

Side note: my small umbrella wouldn’t open in the rain but the taxi driver told me “Love, I have an umbrella for you at the end of the ride” and he did! One with a cane handle which works well as a disguise. On the train, people offer me their seat. He did me a great kindness.
Dancing at Lughnasa was the play and it was worth all the effort to make it. It’s an Irish memory play by Brian Friel about the summer of 1936 when he was a boy living with his mother and his four aunts. The Alliance Theater (Atlanta) did it 30 years ago.

My 4th and last day in London! I signed up online with London Walks for a Brunel Tour of bridges he designed and built. Also the famous first tunnel under the Thames River started by his father. Isambard Kingdom Brunel is his full name and he and his father Marc were responsible for helping launch the Industrial Revolution in England, another aspect of British history I was keen to learn. We met our fun and very British guide at 10:10 am at the Embankment station, we then took a cruise on the (forgot the name) Clipper to see the city and bridges from a different vantage point. We ended up at the Mayflower Pub in Rotherhithe where the Pilgrims met on their way to Southampton to sail to America in 1620! Very old building. It was Friday and we had fish and chips, I shared mine with 2 ladies who were college roommates at NYU. Really fun day even in the drizzle and cold weather!

Our guide told us about the Thames Walking Path back to the city that takes us over the Tower Bridge . The two NYU roommates and I decided to do just that. One of them said there is a church nearby London Bridge on the other side, St. Magnus Church, that has a scale model of the Old London Bridge from 1400! So we set our sights using GPS to find it. Not easy, so many tall modern buildings around it. We were amply rewarded with a delightful old church and this scale model with intricate detail. The organ was playing just for us I’m sure!
Serendipity is the best part of travel.

We parted near the Monument tube station and I hopped on a train back to my hotel. It’s amazing how extensive the underground is in London, you can get almost anywhere. It was 4:30 and I took a quick nap before my evening plans.

Then another train to Charing Cross station for the show, Six, a rock musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. It was fun but I was ready to crash for the night.
I have to pack for Canterbury tomorrow!