LONDON, OH LONDON ..........

I LOVE London ....... I've lived on the outskirts all of my life ... we now live in the Hertfordshire countryside, but we are still only twenty minutes from the City of London.

Apart from all of the iconic London landmarks, there is a multitude of wonderful spots to visit and, I have seen a lot of it in my 65 years but I have only touched the surface and will never see everything it has to offer. Here are a few places that you might like to visit if you find yourself in Londinium !!

Sir Christopher Wren's Temple Bar is the only surviving gateway to the City of London and stood at the junction where The Strand meets Fleet Street for 200 years. But, because the road needed widening, it had to be removed.

On January 2nd 1878 it was dismantled. 

Ten years later, it caught the eye of Lady Meux, a banjo playing barmaid who had married into a very wealthy family of London brewers. Forever trying to convince Victorian high society of her respectability, she decided to rebuild the impressive Temple Bar to grace her Hertfordshire Estate at Theobalds Park. My Dad remembered it well as it was only a cycle ride away and he remembered climbing up and looking inside the upper chamber and seeing a dining table, candlesticks and paintings. Lady Meux regularly entertained the likes of Edward v11, the Prince of Wales and Winston Churchill 

Temple Bar then started to fall into disrepair ..... I also remember it well as my husband and I used to park up there for a bit of ' how's your Father !! '  

Temple Bar has now been restored and rebuilt at Paternoster Square and is back in it's rightful place.

One of my favourite places to visit is Dennis Severs House ..... The house is both a breathtaking and an intimate portrait of the lives of a family of Huguenot silk-weavers from 1724 to the dawn of the 20th century. We are going again in December when they dress the house for Christmas.

Wilton's Music Hall is one of very few surviving music halls and retains many original features. 

Sir John Soane's museum, housing his unusual collection, preserved exactly as it would have been at the time of his death in 1837

Neal's Yard in Covent Garden.

St Dunstan-in-the-East ... originally built in 1100, severely damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666, damaged again in the Blitz in 1941 after which it was decided not to rebuild. In 1970 it was opened as a public garden ... a beautiful secluded gem.

Dinner at Les Trois Garcon's ..... an unusual dining experience !!

Strolling along the Thames at dusk, you might just catch the end of Sand Art on the Thames. 

You can even have a Cockney experience when taking money out of the hole in the wall !!

Just a few more experiences of London ... it is never-ending.

XXXX

images 1, 10 & 12: via me, image 2: via architecture, image 3: via open buildings, image 4: via wordpress, images 5 & 7: via buzzfeed, image 6: via hidden london, image 8: via album of random, image 9: via time out, image 11: via hand luggage 

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