Accidentally London http://accidentallylondon.com Accidental Adventures of the Wandering Scotsman Sat, 19 May 2012 10:07:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 London Picture of the Week – Sardines on the Millennium Bridge http://accidentallylondon.com/london-picture-of-the-week-sardines-on-the-millennium-bridge http://accidentallylondon.com/london-picture-of-the-week-sardines-on-the-millennium-bridge#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 10:07:08 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=286 The very first Picture of the Week on Accidentally London features the Millennium Bridge jam packed full of people. Not a good place to be if you ask me… if you are sane!

One side of the Millennium Bridge you of course have the Tate Modern and there is St Paul’s Cathedral on the other… two must visit places on any tourist’s agenda and even some of the more enlightened Londoners will get out and about and marvel at what their home city has to offer – and why not…

London Picture of the Week – Sardines on the Millennium Bridge

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/london-picture-of-the-week-sardines-on-the-millennium-bridge/feed 0 Bloomsbury Square London http://accidentallylondon.com/bloomsbury-square-london http://accidentallylondon.com/bloomsbury-square-london#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 13:18:21 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=271 Bloomsbury Square located in the Camden borough of London is a pretty little garden which is a great little green space full of trees, flowers, plants, lawns and surrounded by Georgian terraces and the grand façade of Victoria House.

Bloomsbury Square was created 347 years ago by Lord Southampton when it was laid out as the piazza to his long since demolished mansion house. The garden was only opened for the enjoyment of the riff raff in the 1960′s when it became a public garden – prior to that it was for the exclusive use of paid key holders.

Pictures from Bloomsbury Square

Bloomsbury Square is a great little garden that provides a welcoming escape from the hustle and bustle of London life…

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/bloomsbury-square-london/feed 0 Pergola and Hill Garden – An Accidental Discovery At Hampstead Heath http://accidentallylondon.com/pergola-and-hill-garden-%e2%80%93-an-accidental-discovery-at-hampstead-heath http://accidentallylondon.com/pergola-and-hill-garden-%e2%80%93-an-accidental-discovery-at-hampstead-heath#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:56:44 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=250 The Wandering Scotsman was out for a wee stroll. The plan was to walk from Kilburn to Hampstead Heath and then get lost at London’s green oasis. Somehow I ended up at what is truly an amazing hidden gem, the Pergola and Hill Garden.

As per usual I took a wrong turning somewhere along the route. I could have used the GPS system on my mobile phone, but where’s the fun in that and I wasn’t in any hurry. From many previous experiences of getting lost, I knew that something unexpected usually turns up. Admittedly the unexpected isn’t always this good!

Like an oasis in the desert the Pergola and Hill Garden appeared before me. The Pergola and Hill Garden was the dream of Lord Heverhulme, an extremely wealthy individual, who was helped by the celebrated landscape architect Thomas Mawson. Work began on the project in 1905 and was finally completed in 1925.

The Pergola is a fantastic place to explore and enjoy. There are wonderful views over Hampstead Heath as well as the overflowing garden full of plants, herbs, flowers and trees directly down below. The Pergola itself is full of fragrant and colourful plants which are a joy to the senses.

Hill Garden in contrast to the Pergola, is a  manicured and perfectly arranged garden. The ornamental pond full of fish and water lilies is a perfect place to chill out and relax. And the pathways which are lined with plants, flowers and trees are a true delight.

For those of you who are romantically inclined, which should be everyone in a relationship, the Pergola and Hill garden is a great place to spend some quality time with your lover…

The Wandering Scotsman and another of his fantastic accidental finds in London Town, the Pergola and Hill Garden. Go check it out you wont be disappointed…

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/pergola-and-hill-garden-%e2%80%93-an-accidental-discovery-at-hampstead-heath/feed 2 Accidentally Finding the Carnival Girls At Notting Hill http://accidentallylondon.com/accidentally-finding-the-carnival-girls-at-notting-hill http://accidentallylondon.com/accidentally-finding-the-carnival-girls-at-notting-hill#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:14:35 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=224 The day was the August Bank Holiday, and the city was London, and you put the two together and you have of course got the Notting Hill Carnival. For once in my life I managed to get some place early … very, very early. I was there well over 60 minutes before the masqueraders and floats starting slowly moving there way along the streets.

With plenty of time to kill, I had a wee wander around to see what was happening. My wanderings eventually took me to Elkstone Road where I bumped into the masqueraders from the London School of Samba who were getting into the carnival spirit. The girls and guys were dancing, singing, smiling and having lots of fun as they waited for the show to begin.

The London School of Samba’s theme this year was “Zé Malandro and the Forty Thieves” and believe they were an amazing sight to see. Don’t you just love the costumes and the enthusiasm of the young ladies featured in the pictures…

The Wandering Scotsman and another accidental find in London Town.

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/accidentally-finding-the-carnival-girls-at-notting-hill/feed 2 Famous London Quotes That Seem To Make Sense http://accidentallylondon.com/famous-london-quotes-that-seem-to-make-sense-2 http://accidentallylondon.com/famous-london-quotes-that-seem-to-make-sense-2#comments Fri, 27 May 2011 16:04:27 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=168 I have put together a list of my own personal favourite famous London Quotes. I feel that the quotations that I have chosen, actually make sense and that I can relate to them.

My own personal favourite quotation is number 4, which was created by the English poet William Shenstone and he perfectly sums up life in London using only   seven  simple words, which for me has a deeper meaning than just merely money!

Even though most of the quotes that  I have used are from days of old and are well over 100 years old, they still amazingly ring true to this very day.

10 Famous London Quotations

1. “You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Samuel Johnson

2  “London is a modern Babylon.”

Benjamin Disraeli

3. “Nobody is healthy in London, nobody can be.”

Jane Austen

4. ‘It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity”

Prisoner condemned to death in the Tower of London

5. This melancholy London- I sometimes imagine that the souls of the lost are compelled to walk through its streets perpetually. One feels them passing like a whiff of air.”

William Butler Yates

6. “I came to London. It had become the center of my world and I had worked hard to come to it. And I was lost.”

V. S. Naipaul

7. Scores of Iraqi exiles met in London to discuss ways to overthrow Saddam Hussein in a grand gathering dubbed the ‘Iraqi Military Alliance Meeting.’ Of course, these people are no longer Iraqi, they have no military, and there is no alliance. But they did have a meeting.”

Jon Stewart

8. “Flowers are as common in the country as people are in London.”

Oscar Wilde

9. “Hell is a city much like London – A populous and a smoky city.”

Percy Bysshe Shelley

10. “Nothing is certain in London but expense.”

William Shenstone

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/famous-london-quotes-that-seem-to-make-sense-2/feed 6 Gang Of London Cops On Bikes At Battersea Park http://accidentallylondon.com/gang-of-london-cops-on-bikes-at-battersea-park http://accidentallylondon.com/gang-of-london-cops-on-bikes-at-battersea-park#comments Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:41:25 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=147 I was wandering around in Battersea Park enjoying the London sunshine in one of the cities best parks when I came across this gang of cops on bikes. There must have been at least a dozen of them casually cycling along the road looking like they were on a mission to catch some serious criminals.

I wondered if they were on the trail of an unruly duck or perhaps a squirrel that had been drinking the special brew again. It was nothing as exciting as that. Shortly after I took this picture they all got off their bikes at a nearby café for hard earned cup of coffee. It’s a tough job being a mounted policeman in London.

I never knew there were so many cycling cops in London, because I sure as hell I have never came across them before. I guess they are all at Battersea Park doing whatever it is they do best. It must be the safest park in all of London. I wondered why all the ducks, swans and Mayor Boris Johnson were all so well behaved!

Did you know that the Park was featured in Petula Clark’s 1954 single “Meet Me In Battersea Park…well you now!

  cops2

 

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/gang-of-london-cops-on-bikes-at-battersea-park/feed 5 Iconic London http://accidentallylondon.com/iconic-london http://accidentallylondon.com/iconic-london#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:15:14 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=136 London is the capital of cool, as well as being the capital of iconic attractions. I don’t think that any other city in the world can have as many famous buildings, places and attractions as there are scattered all over London.
I know that when many tourists come to London, there are certain attractions, sights or places that are a must visit on virtually everyone’s list. People have seen them featured countless times in magazines, on television and in movies and cant wait to experience them for real.
Who would come to London and not want to see Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, The River Thames, Tower Bridge, Downing Street or to visit places like Hyde Park, China Town, Soho, to name but a few, the list is endless I could go on and on.
I have put together a wee YouTube video, where I feature some of London’s many iconic sights. I can honestly say that London is a city that is even better in real life than it is in pictures. It is one truly buzzing and alive city.

 

 

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/iconic-london/feed 3 Let Me Tell You About The River Thames In London http://accidentallylondon.com/let-me-tell-you-about-the-river-thames-in-london http://accidentallylondon.com/let-me-tell-you-about-the-river-thames-in-london#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:10:15 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=98 The River Thames, which the lower reaches of flow through London, England is one of the best known rivers on the planet, it must surely be regarded as the cities greatest asset. It is a place that has supported human activity for thousands of years as a source of food, habitation, drink, power and water.

The Thames is the second longest river in the UK, of which only a small part actually runs through London. It is the longest river running entirely in England and is 215 miles long or if you prefer metric 346 km long. The longest river in the United Kingdom is actually the River Severn, which is 220 miles or 354 km long. The River Thames begins in the Cotswold Hills near a village called Kemble and spills out into the North Sea near Southend.

It is of course no coincidence that London was built next to the Thames, that was the whole reason for the city beginning life there. There are countless historic and iconic buildings built near to the banks of the river, including West Minister, St Pauls Cathedral, Greenwich Naval College, Tower of London and modern day structures such as the Millennium Dome and the London Eye.

river thames boat

River Thames Facts

1. The Thames is not only the oldest place name in London, but in the entire UK

2. The River Thames is 265 metres / 870 feet wide at London Bridge.

3. In Greater London there are a total of 34 bridges, which cross the Thames River, including road, rail and pedestrian.

4. The oldest Bridge across the Thames in London is London Bridge, which was originally made from wood. In 1209 it was replaced by a stone bridge with shops and houses along its sides. This was followed by a granite bridge in 1831, and the present concrete bridge in 1973.

5. The newest bridge across the river is The Millennium Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge that was erected to connect the Tate Modern and St Pauls Cathedral. It was originally opened on the 10th of June 2000, but closed on the 12th of June, due to it wobbling like crazy. It was reopened on the 27th of February.

6. The River Thames has a charted depth of about 1.8 metres at London Bridge.

7. The Thames path which follows the river for 184 miles (296km) is the longest riverside walk in Europe.

8. The Thames River looks so brown because of five-metre tides, which means mud on the river bottom is continually being stirred up, giving the river the water its brown colour.

9. A baby Northern Bottlenose whale swam up the Thames to Chelsea in 2006, it was the first ever recorded sighting of that species in the Thames. It only survived for a few days.

10. Tower Bridge is the tallest bridge in London going across the Thames and stands at 61 meters (200 feet) in height and 244 metres (801 feet) in length.

The River Thames in London is a great place to go  for a walk or a river cruise in order to enjoy the many amazing sights that this crazy city has to offer.

river thames

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/let-me-tell-you-about-the-river-thames-in-london/feed 2 The London Eye Or If You Prefer The Millennium Wheel http://accidentallylondon.com/the-london-eye-or-if-you-prefer-the-millennium-wheel http://accidentallylondon.com/the-london-eye-or-if-you-prefer-the-millennium-wheel#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:48:40 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=87  The London Eye or the Millennium Wheel as it is sometimes also known is the most popular paid for tourist attraction in not only London, but in the whole of Europe. It was formally opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair on the 31st December 1999, but it was not opened to the public until March 2000. Which was a great shame because it was meant to be open in time to celebrate the new millennium, you just cant get the workers!

The London Eye is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe and stands at a height of 135 metres or if you prefer 443ft. The wheel has 32 glass pods, each of which holds 25 people and you are allowed to wander around freely during the 30 minutes that the journey takes.

london eye 3

As you would expect you will get a fantastic view of all over London during your 30 minutes on the Eye and it has been said that your total view from the highest point is 40 kilometres on a clear day. That is some view but whether it is any better than the free views you can get from places like Primrose Hill or Parliament Hill is debateable.

london eye2

The London Eye has become one of the most recognisable sites in London and it sure is an amazing site, espciallly at night when it is all lit up. I sometimes wonder if it is better looking at it all lit up nicely at night, which is of course for free, or paying the not so cheap at over £15.00 for your journey on the Eye. I suppose there is only one way to find out and that is pay your money and find out, why it is the number one paid for tourist attraction in Europe.

london eye1

]]> http://accidentallylondon.com/the-london-eye-or-if-you-prefer-the-millennium-wheel/feed 2 The Cutty Sark Has Got Rabbie Burns In Its Soul http://accidentallylondon.com/the-cutty-sark-has-got-rabbie-burns-in-its-soul http://accidentallylondon.com/the-cutty-sark-has-got-rabbie-burns-in-its-soul#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:37:09 +0000 William K Wallace http://accidentallylondon.com/?p=75 One of London’s most iconic and historic tourist attractions is  the Cutty Sark,  which  is the only surviving tea clipper in the world. The Cutty Sark, which was launched in Dumbarton in Scotland in 1869 and  travelled between Britain and the Orient transporting tea.

The Cutty Sark is permanently moored at King William Walk, Greenwich in London. The ship was built for a John “White Hat” Wills who wanted it, to be the fasted tea clipper supplying tea from China to England. The Cutty Sark actually broke the world record at the time, by completing the journey in 107 days.

The Cutty Sark unfortunately is still under going renovations from a devastating fire that it had over a year ago and will reopen in March 2010. I for one cant wait to get the opportunity to visit one of the most famous ships in the world.

The Cutty Sark’s wonderful and unusual name comes from a tale called “Tam o Shanter”, which was written by the legendary Scottish poet Rabbie Burns. The name cutty sark is an old Scots word, which means short undergarment and was worn by the beautiful witch Nannie in Burns classic tale. Incidentally the Sark’s orginal figurehead was also named “Nannie.

The tale “Tam o Shanter” immortalizes the legend of Tam’s escape from Nannie, a beautiful witch, who could not catch Tam because he escaped over a river. As we all know witches cannot cross bodies of water.

When The Cutty Sark reopens and they have their fancy opening ceremony, I hope the organisers have the ingenuity and foresight to have someone recite, “Tam o Shanter” in honour of  Rabbie Burns  and his connection with providing the name of the ship.

London is cool and the Cutty Sark is one of the coolest attractions to visit in London, well it will be when it reopens.

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