Travels Near and Far: Travels in England and Beyond, Autumn 2025

The view from St. James' Park, London

We recently returned from a short trip abroad! Here's a travelogue.

Mike had been asked by Peter Greenberg of CBS News to be part of his media crew on a river cruise along the Danube River through Eastern Europe in October. Mike was able to get Peter to cover his airfare to London a week ahead of time, so (as always when Mike goes on a "Greenberg Trip") we only had to cover the cost of my airfare to and from London. (I declined the river cruise part of the journey, since minimal time would be allowed for seeing the sights on land.)

Mike and I arrived in London on Friday, 9/26. To help ensure we stayed awake until it was actually time to go to sleep (helping to ward off jet lag), we walked around Hyde Park and Kensington Palace, near our Airbnb basement flat. The young Queen Victoria was there to welcome us.

On Saturday 9/27, Mike took the train to Southampton to attend a large boat show. After spending some time at the Portobello Road antiques market (surrounded by several tour buses' worth of Italian tourists), I made my way across London by Tube to visit a small museum in the former home of Sir Emery Walker, a typographer who was involved in the Arts & Crafts movement with William Morris.

The tour guides don't allow you to take photos inside the house, which is just as well since the space was crowded and cramped, with narrow stairwells, and it would have taken hours for all nine of the tour members to take photos. But we were allowed to photograph the garden in the back -- right up against the Thames River.

On Sunday 9/28, we both went to the part of London that was the home of my dad's mother's ancestors -- Southwark. The locals were staging an annual event called the Woolmen Sheep Drive and Livery Fair, which involved herding sheep across Southwark Bridge to raise funds for charity. The Livery Fair featured traditional crafts like woodworking and weaving.

A replica of the Golden Hinde is being renovated in this same area. It's odd to see it in dry dock, surrounded by buildings older and newer.

Southwark Cathedral was majestic. It has a current ministry focus on social justice and calling for an end to modern-day slavery. Over the centuries, the church has undergone many physical changes. The builders and restorers truly knew how to use light as an architectural feature.

I like to visit old church buildings, partly because people in my family tree found strength and solace (and a lot of great music) inside. I like what Peter Ross wrote in his book Steeple Chasing:

"Churches are all around us. They remain landmarks in our towns, villages, and cities, even as their influence and authority has waned. A map of churches is a treasure map. They contain art and architectural wonders, and might be regarded as one great hoard scattered, like a handful of jewels, across these isles.

"...Even if you only attend church for marriages, baptisms, and funerals, isn't that enough? These are among the most important times of our lives, moments when we speak most deeply of ourselves: our love, our hope, our sadness. Churches hold within them Britain's history, national and personal. That smell they have is not just damp and dust, but faith and time."

Southwark Cathedral is one of several historic churches in England with a resident cat. His name is Hodge; he is a "rescue cat" who has the run of the building (ostensibly to keep the rodent population at bay) and his own social media account.

Hodge greets visitors on Sunday morning.

Hodge made an appearance during their Sunday morning service and, as soon as it was over, made himself at home in some of the choir seats so the tourists could admire him. He is named after Samuel Johnson's favorite cat.

After leaving the church (and buying a Hodge-themed bookmark in the gift shop), we ate a very nice lunch of homemade soup and bread at the Cathedral's cafe'.

We also stopped by tiny St. Olave's Church, which is not too far away, up a side street. It's one of the smallest in the city and one of only a few churches that escaped the Great Fire of London in 1666. It actually dates back to the 13th century, and is dedicated to the patron saint of Norway, King Olaf II, who fought with King Aethelred the Unready against the Danes in the year 1014. The church seems to have been built atop the site of the battle.

I'm grateful to whichever long-dead St. Olave's employee (priest, vicar, curate?) wrote down all the marriages and baptisms that took place there in the 1600s, because some of those records mention my dad's mother's ancestors. They themselves were probably illiterate, so the record of their lives depended on that person with a pen who knew how to use it.

Monday 9/29 we visited the Tate Britain art museum, which holds a large collection of paintings by J. W. M. Turner, as well as many Pre-Raphaelite works.

Later we went to St. James' Park, near Buckingham Palace...

Pelicans vainly hoping the humans in St. James' Park happened to bring a few extra raw fish with them.

... and in the evening we went to see "The Importance of Being Earnest" starring Stephen Fry, in the West End.

Tuesday 9/30 we visited the National (Art) Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Since our last visit there, they had opened a refurbished wing of the Gallery, so it was worth another look inside.

Mike examines one of many JWM Turner paintings on display in London.

Afterwards, we took a picnic luncheon to St. James' Park, where we made some new friends (whether we wanted to or not). I did not need to use the zoom function on my cell phone camera; Goose came right up to us to pose for its picture.

Goose Friend.

Unfortunately for His Majesty's feathered and furry subjects, we heeded the "DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE" signs.

Squirrel Friend.

Squirrel did not believe me, and climbed halfway up my leg to prove it, but I persevered in resisting his cuteness.

Then we watched the changing of the King's Life Guard at the historic Horse Guards building. As opposed to the more elaborate Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, this daily ceremony swaps out the horses and riders who stand guard along the road, waiting for tourists to have their pictures taken next to them.

(If you're on Facebook, you can see a couple of short videos of the Changing that I posted there.)

On Wednesday 10/1, we took the train from London to Hampton Court Palace, home of Henry VIII and some of his successors.

The property is quite large, with water features and herds of deer (too far away to photograph) in residence. The buildings were interesting and the gardens were outstanding.

Mike in one of the many kitchens where Palace staff kept Henry VIII and his party guests fed.

Hampton Court Palace also boasted a nice small restaurant, where we had lunch.

On our last day in London, Wednesday 10/2, we attended a midday concert by the a capella group The Gesualdo Six. It was held at Wigmore Hall, smallish Art Deco concert hall in the middle of London. The concert was called "Radiant Dawn," and the ancient and contemporary songs conveyed a theme of darkness-into-light.

Then went back to The Wallace Collection, one of our favorite art museums. Landseer's iconic "The Arab Tent" dominates the entry hall.

Horses + History = Smiling Teresa

The Wallace family also collected European armor....

...and Rococo paintings.

On Thursday 10/3, I returned home, and Mike went on to join the river cruise, which travels through some smaller, former Soviet Bloc countries. Here he is with the rest of the media crew (minus Mr. Greenberg).