Synopsis: Time spent with Laura and Uwe in London for my Birthday. Then back to Exeter for socialising with family and a little walking and cycling. It was so nice that Laura and Uwe thought to visit.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
I was aware my intended coach for London was late, from having searched for it on the National Express coach tracker. This would mean it was potentially possible for Laura and Uwe to join me on my coach at Heathrow. We did see each other briefly at Heathrow, but my coach took on no passengers, and so pulled out without them. Annoying though this, it was only fifteen minutes after my arrival at Victoria Coach Station that we met up. First job, was to check-in Laura and Uwe’s heavy baggage at left luggage, which was soon done.
Laura and Uwe were hungry and needed some supper. Just across the road from the coach station we saw a pub (possibly the Traveller’s Tavern, 4 Elizabeth Street) that was serving food, so we popped in for some food and a pint. Then we caught a bus (170) for Battersea Travelodge. First major problem was soon to arise. No rooms! Despite having booked and paid for rooms weeks in advance, we turned up to find there are no rooms. The word seems to be it is not uncommon for hotels to overbook, just like airlines, in the expectation some people will cancel. Of course, that means they’re sometimes over subscribed. It was a long wait while they searched for rooms, of which there were none locally. We wound up at Wimbledon Travelodge, 14 miles away. Travelodge laid on a taxi to get us there. By now it was midnight and each of us was desperate to get some sleep.
Showered and refreshed, and, in my case, a whole year older, things looked up. At Wimbledon Travelodge reception we were told our taxi was waiting to take us back into central London. We were provided with our, as promised, box breakfasts, basic though these are. After a journey of a little over an hour, we were eventually at the London Eye. Problem No. 2: the taxi driver asked if we were going to pay. Despite protestations that we hadn’t booked the taxi, the driver insisted we pay. We had little choice but to do so. After something of a struggle to reclaim this (£35) from Travelodge. Travelodge, I did eventually get this refunded, rightly so considering the inconvenience they’d put us to.
But, aside from these minor niggles, it was my birthday, and we were at the London Eye, with tickets to join the ride at the start time of 10.00 am. We found a bench within sight of the attraction where we sat to eat our rather meagre breakfasts. I had hoped we’d have been sitting down to full English breakfasts, but that wasn’t to be.
We were soon in our capsule on the London Eye. Although I say soon, the security checks were quite rigorous. After what happened in Paris last week, they obviously didn’t intend for any of their capsules to be sent off into orbit. Our journey up was better than our journey down. It started to rain soon after reaching the peak of the ride, which meant the clear glass was soon speckled with water, which meant taking photographs was difficult. The views were excellent. Little information panels around the capsule provided a guide to what can be seen. For Laura and I, this was our third outing on the wheel, although more than ten years had elapsed since last we’d ridden the Eye. It’s a good experience, one to be recommended.
Upon coming off the London Eye, we had a small amount of time to spare, so we popped into the visitor centre and queued for the 4D experience. We bumped into some old friends of Laura. Yes, who should we meet? but Brad and Angelina. They asked if they could pose to have their photos taken with us, and we said, 'Sure, no problem.'
We were given 3D glasses to wear. These were quite a size, especially on Laura. On a large screen is projected an image of the London Eye and you follow a seagull swooping through its intricate maze of tendrils. A breeze blows and soap suds float through the air as you watch, leaving me covered in foam, and even more grey than usual. We collected some photos taken of us on our way out (see in my Flickr album), part of a package that included a fridge magnet and key ring, all essential paraphernalia, of course.
By now we needed to make haste, as we wanted to be at Buckingham Palace for the ceremony of Changing the Guard. Umbrellas at the ready (one newly supplied to Laura), we set off at a fair lick through the streets of London, passing the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben as we went. In was only a 20 minute walk, and we were in plenty of time to join the sea of umbrellas waiting for the new guard to appear. Sadly, with the rain falling, it wasn’t the colourful spectacle it can be, and catching a glimpse of it through a wall of umbrellas wasn’t a perfect experience. Still, in a way, standing in the rain watching the ceremony take place, was the perfect English experience.
Next off was the coach tour. I’d concluded we could join this, The Original Tour, at a bus stop to the side of Buckingham Palace, the one at which the Queen can often be seen waiting for the No. 24 (Not!). A tour representative scanned the bar codes on my Tesco Clubcard vouchers and presented me with tour tickets in exchange. Within minutes the bus appeared and we were on board and setting out on the tour.
Unfortunately, the rain limited the appeal of this tour. It was impossible to sit out on the upper open deck, as all the seats were wet, and it was still raining. This was a shame, as this was the place to be. Although we could make out places on the lower deck, the view was very restricted and the window rather wet and steamed up. My advice would be, this could work well on a fine day, but isn’t so good on a rainy day such as today. The bus tour does have the potential to speed you around all the most iconic sights of London in the shortest possible time. One of the highlights for me was seeing the statue dedicated to Emmeline Pankhurst, foremost figure of the British suffragette movement, sited in Victoria Tower Gardens.
We decided we would like to alight from the tour bus at Tower Bridge, since we wished to take a closer look at the bridge and the views from it. By now it was around lunchtime, and as luck would have it, at the point at which we got off the bus, we happened to see just across the road, a Wetherspoons pub that looked most appealing (Pommeler’s Rest). Laura and I both settled on a curry, whilst Uwe had spare ribs. All our meals were first rate. It proved a really good lunch stop. And, to top it all, Laura presented me with my birthday cake. This was a muffin with a candle, stuffed in a jam jar (see photo). It was just perfect. We all had a piece each; there was just enough to go round.
After lunch we walked across Tower Bridge taking in the London skyline as we went. We picked up the path by the Tower of London, which we circled around. I spoke of the sea of red pottery poppies that had formed a commemorative display on the anniversary of the start of WWI last year.
At my suggestion, we decided to hop back on the tour bus again. This would take us along the banks of the River Thames. My plan was a four-point walk, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, finishing with the Christmas lights of Regents Street. Trafalgar square was rather grey and damp. We noticed that people had laid flowers around the fountain, in memory of those who had lost their lives or been injured in the terrorist atrocities in Paris of the previous week. Uwe and Laura climbed onto the pedestal of one of the lions, as one must do when one visits Trafalgar Square.
Next, we headed towards Covent Garden. By now, the light was fading fast, which was just as I hoped. By the time we reached Covent Garden, it was quite dark, and the Christmas lights had been switched on. These looked simply splendid. There were so many people milling around or snacking in the cafés; it was the buzz of London that makes it such a magical place, particularly as the festive season approaches.
From Covent Garden, we wended our way through the streets in the direction of Leicester Square. I don’t think Laura or Uwe were quite sure for what Leicester Square is famous. I asked them, and they looked bemused. When I pointed out the Leicester Square Odeon, and mentioned that this was the location where many films premiered in the UK. On a previous visit to London we had watched a film at the Odeon, Leicester Square, many years ago (2004); I think it might have been one of the Spider Man films.
It was only a short hop from Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus, the next ‘must’ for any visitor to London. The lights were ablaze, living up to their reputation. But, sadly, and for an unknown reason, poor Eros was shrouded by boarding, and didn’t exactly look at his prancing best.
And, from the complex road pattern at Piccadilly Circus, we next had to figure out which was our way to Regents Street. Puzzling over our smartphones for a while, I eventually picked out our required direction, and we were soon in this, one of the main shopping streets of London. The lights were aglow, and the street looked wonderfully festive. It was enough to make, even a trenchant Bah Humbug like me, feel a warm glow of anticipation at the season ahead.
We walked the length of Regent Street, finally reaching Oxford Circus. Our plan was to catch the Tube from here, and get ourselves to Victoria Coach station. We had made good time, and could do this at a relaxed pace, which was as well, as the rush hour was in full swing by now, and we had to jostle with the work-a-day crowds to gain a place on a Tube train.
On reaching Victoria Coach Station, Laura and Uwe collected their bags from left luggage. We found some seats to sit, and Laura took the opportunity to change her sodden socks. She had definitely chosen the wrong shoes for a wet day in London. Within fifteen minutes our bus was boarding, and fifteen minutes more, and we were on our way through the streets of London headed home. We tucked into our picnic supper, that we had picked up on our afternoon walk. The bus arrived at 11 pm, bang on schedule, and we were home and in bed by about midnight. It had been a really splendid day, one in which we’d done so much, but now, we were exhausted, and could think of nothing better than sleep.
We decided, rather than wait for Mum to return from the hairdresser’s with the car, that we’d cycle into town. We felt that, after all the coach travel of the previous day, a little fresh air and exercise would do us good. A little Devon drizzle came our way as we cycled into town, but we arrived in the town centre fairly dry.
First stop: John Lewis camera department. Uwe was interested in seeing a camera. Unfortunately, although the camera Uwe was hoping to see was listed on their web site, they didn’t have it in the shop. I wasn’t altogether surprised, as shops these day keep very little stock. It does mean that one is often buying blind now we’re in the age of the Internet.
Next we wandered around various clothes shops. The fashion shops first, then old favourite, Primark. Uwe and I wandered on and were browsing the sports clothes shop whilst leaving Laura destocking Primark. She eventually appeared. By this time we were quite hungry, so we opted for pasties from the pasty shop on the corner of South Street. We wandered into the Cathedral Close to eat our pasties, sitting on a wall by the (appropriate enough) German Market stalls.
One last hope for seeing Uwe’s camera of interest was the London Camera Shop. Despite being a specialist shop, they too didn’t have the camera Uwe was interested in. Defeated in that respect, we returned to our bikes for our ride home. All in all, a pretty successful morning’s shopping.
The family were invited around for a Chinese meal at my place. It was therefore necessary to make last minute preparations such as set the table, warm plates, pick up Mum, etc. We were 12 in all, which was a good number. The meal was nice, and it was good to natter.
Laura and Uwe planned to spend the day with Grandma and family. I dropped them around to Grandma’s. I then walked into town along the river, as I had some banking to do. On arriving back home, I got changed into my running gear, as I was keen to get some exercise in. I have an 8 kms jog circuit from home that I regularly run, and that’s what I did today. I then grabbed a bite to eat before setting off for Tesco. Laura and Uwe were eating lunch at the George and Dragon with Grandma and family, so I reckoned wouldn’t be needing a big meal in the evening. I picked up bangers and mash, and onions and gravy, in Tesco, for our supper. Whilst in store I received a text from Laura to say they’d be home within the hour. On my reaching home, I discovered they had arrived just before me. Excellent bangers and mash made for a simple but enjoyable supper.
The challenge: come up with an outdoor active day that Mum could participate in. A bigger challenge than one might at first imagine. I thought it would be nice to get to the coast. On Uwe’s first visit of last year we’d not seen a lot of the coast, and as Devon does ‘coast’ rather well, that seemed to me a shame. I thought it would be nice to use the train, as the coastal train route is a pleasure in itself.
My original plan was for Laura, Uwe and myself to get off at Dawlish Warren, and meet up with Mum in Teignmouth. On looking at the train times this wouldn’t work very well, so I reversed this idea, with us all travelling to Teignmouth, Mum catching the train back to Exeter from there, and Laura, Uwe and myself walking to Dawlish Warren, catching the train to Exeter from there.
A slight twist to this was the need to plan for supper. We decided that if we were going to eat lunch out in Teignmouth, a light cold snack would be all we would want in the evening. Since it was Sunday, we would need to purchase this early, as Supermarkets close Sunday evenings. This wasn’t a problem. In the morning we scouted around Tesco before 10 am (apparently the doors never close), and were at the till with our supper purchase waiting for the till to open at 10 am. We’d placed a cool bag in the car to store the chilled food until supper time. Now, how was that for planning?
The day went really well, and perhaps miraculously, to plan. On arriving in Teignmouth I gave Laura and Uwe my phone which would navigate them to Brunswick Street. This was where Laura’s grandfather once had a Television and Repair shop. Always nice to trace your roots. Mum and I made our way straight to the café where we planned to eat.
We had a lovely lunch in the Beachcomber café on Teignmouth seafront, sat at a table, looking out to sea. The weather was perfect. You couldn’t imagine a better location for lunch. And the food was, though simple English cooking, cooked to perfection. Washed down with a pint of beer, it was just the ticket.
After lunch we took a brief stroll along the seafront which was busy with other people all doing the same. Then we walked with Mum over to Teignmouth Station. At 14:16 there was a direct train back to Exeter that would get Mum back to the car at Digby & Sowton Station within about 40 minutes. Once Mum was safely on her train and waved on her way from the platform, Laura, Uwe and myself made off back to the coast to begin our walk.
We picked up the coastal wall walk that took us from Teignmouth Sailing Club along to Holcombe Tunnel. Laura and Uwe dropped down and walked near the sea and sand. At Holcombe Tunnel there’s no choice but to venture uphill inland and join the main road. Although there is then a route to a short stretch of coastal path, I decided to keep us on the main road and get us to Dawlish as quickly as possible, both to save time and the good state of our shoes, as I know it can be muddy along this stretch of coast path.
In Dawlish we entered via the small park above Coryton’s Cove, from where there are excellent views. Then we dropped down to Coryton’s Cove, from where we followed the coastal path into Dawlish. With a little time to spare, we quickly popped into Dawlish so that Uwe could see his first black swan.
We then picked up the coastal path once again, and followed this all the way to Dawlish Warren. We missed an earlier train than our intended train by minutes, therefore we had time to spare. We found a bench looking out to sea where we stopped to eat what was left of lunchtime biscuits and take a drink. We ‘played’ with our cameras for a bit, experimenting with different shots of the moon casting it’s rays against the calm and tranquil sea. It was a lovely quiet moment.
As the time approached for our train home we made our way to the railway station. We momentarily took some time to take a look at the interior of the Boathouse. The upstairs we felt would be lovely place to spend time as evening came on.
Our train to Exeter was punctual. It became quite busy in Exeter, picking up many passengers. On arriving at Digby & Sowton Station we made our way to Mum’s. There we had a cheese, ham, crackers and dips supper, washed down with a glass of red wine, one of our favourite meals. Then we spent a little time looking at old photos of the West Quarter of Exeter, which is where my father grew up. Then, quite early, it was home to bed.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 8.4 km / 5.2 miles
Elapsed Time: 2hrs 00min
Buses: (none)
Trains: Digby & Sowton to Dawlish – off-peak day return with Devon & Cornwall Railcard: £3:10/person
…… Normal ticket price, without railcard discount (33%) would have been: £4.70/person
Train out: 10:38 – 11:18 (0hrs 40mins) – no changes
Train return: 14:16 – 14:59 (0hrs 43mins) – no changes (Mum, from Teignmouth)
Train return: 17:29 – 17:58 (0hrs 29mins) – no changes (from Dawlish Warren)
Laura said to me the previous evening, she had an idea for this morning: a traditional English breakfast. And she said it would be nice to visit The Imperial, the place where my wedding reception took place all those years ago. The Imperial Hotel, as it was then, is now a Wetherspoons pub. It seemed the perfect thing to do.
The Imperial has several rooms, all large and lushly decorated, however the most imposing is the old orangery. This I discovered had been significantly smartened up since my last visit. It looked a treat, even featuring in a photo on Tripadvisor. A brief history of The Imperial Hotel can be found on the Exeter Memories web site. It was the perfect venue. The only negative being they don’t serve scrambled egg, which was what Laura hoped; can you believe that? I’d have thought most people knew how to scramble egg. Laura settled for a poached egg instead. The breakfasts were delicious.
We had a little time to spare before Laura and Uwe’s coach was due to depart, and we were in need of exercise to walk off our substantial breakfasts, so we wandered down the hill, past St David’s Station, and on to the river. We strolled up to where the flood prevention barrage is to be found. This is quite some contraption, driven by the speed of water flow in the river, which at a certain level causes huge metal dams to drop cutting off two thirds of the flow, and diverting water over a spillway into a flood channel. Impressive engineering.
We then drove back into town where I parked up whilst Laura and Uwe went off to purchase some food in the Co-Op to take with them on their journey back to Germany. Then it was time to say our goodbyes. They collected their bags from the car and made their way over to the coach station. And that concluded their short break in England, in part inspired by my milestone birthday. We’d had a lovely time, and it had been great to see Laura and Uwe again. I was so pleased they had thought to pay me, and us, a visit.
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