London Walk 29 November 2014

"Temple to the Tower" - City Free Walk

It was a warm sunny afternoon as Pam, Theresa and I set off to London for the WI walk.

We arrived at Temple Tube Station after strolling down from Charing Cross 45 minutes early! So like Samuel Johnson and Dr Pepys we retired to a London Coffee House (Costa's) for coffee and cake!

At 3.45pm we made our way to the meeting point outside the tube as fellow members began to pop up from the underground.  It would seem they were coming from all directions.  In total a 14 strong group of Eltham Palace WI.

Pam went in search of Juliet our guide and to our surprise found we had been joined by a 30 strong group of international tourists, but in true WI "can do spirit" we all set off for St Clement's Danes Church and a tour of the city.

At first it seemed strange to have an Australian showing a bunch of Londoners the city but Juliet knew her stuff as she was studying for a Master's Degree in History at the LSE.

As dusk began to fall and the lights came on.  She took us back on a journey to Tudor times.  We passed the Royal Courts of Justice and onto the Temple Church, home of the Knight's of St John.  As the darkness fell we visited the Sergeants Inn Chambers where Shadlake worked in the C J Sampson novels.

As night descended we slowly wound our way up Fleet Street and paused outside "Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese" pub dating back to 1667 and we then moved on much to my husband's disappointment.  At St Pauls Cathedral, we sat on the steps listening to the history after the Great Fire and the battles over design between Wren and the King.

Then it was down to the river front as the temperature fell and we passed the wobbly bridge along the Embankment on the north side, past Billingsgate and the Customs House.  Slowly our numbers dwindled partly through distance and temperature.

This part of the walk showed off the modern side of  London with its impressive architecture and the lighting of the Shard shining like crystal in the night.  There was also the dome shape of the London Assembly buildings and the New London Bridge with its orange glow reflected on the water.  For the photographers in the group this provided a great opportunity.

Finally, we turned back from the river and made our weary way up to the floodlit Tower of London with Tower Bridge in the background.  Sadly most of the Poppies from the Remembrance Day had gone but we stood and listened as Juliet told us about the history.  She then concluded her tour, donations were given and we said our goodbyes.  At the end of the evening we felt fitter and certainly more knowledgeable about our lovely capital city.

Carole Raine, Vice President