Round The World and other travel

A wintry day in London!

There was no particular need to be up and about early today, but nor did I want to waste an inordinate amount of time lying in bed. I got up when I felt like it, went for some breakfast, packed, checked out and stored my luggage with the concierge at the Crowne Plaza St James. After all that, it was still only 0930 or thereabouts. Having realised that the wind was bitterly cold, I abandoned previous thoughts of visiting the Tower and/or HMS Belfast in favour of something a little more indoor-orientated. I decided to return to Covent Garden and visit the updated and re-opened London Transport Museum. During the bus ride, I noticed that there were snowflakes blowing in the wind. Yes, it was the middle of April in Central London and it was at least trying to snow - remarkable! My visit to the museum was fairly enjoyable but, perhaps predictably, the place proved to be all too popular with people with young children in tow, the latter - again all too predictably - usually screaming and running around like crazy.

When I had finished there, I made my way across the river to the vicinity of the Royal Festival Hall, pausing to take a look at Somerset House on the way. I was due to have lunch with frequent-flyer friends Andrew and Ross, both of whom I'd met for the first time at the recent Malta Do. I was very much looking forward to catching up with them. Both turned up on cue just before 1230 and we decided to have lunch in a restaurant called Canteen, the style of which could probably be described as modern British. It was very pleasant swapping stories of recent and planned travels and goings-on such as the T5 opening debacle. It was getting on for three o'clock before we split up. Many thanks, guys, for taking time out of your busy schedules for this

Although time was getting on, the improving weather helped me decide to press ahead with my plan to pay a quick return visit to Hampton Court palace, which was (and probably still is ) a relatively short train ride away from nearby Waterloo. I almost regretted the decision when the train left late due to the absence of its assigned driver. Apparently they had no idea where he was, but managed to rustle up a replacement. By the time I reached my destination it was getting on for four, but that just meant a quieter visit, which was fine with me. I had a good - but necessarily rapid - look around and braced myself against the strong, icy wind every time I had to venture outdoors. The train journey back to Central London was also delayed by around ten minutes, this time due to police attending a disturbance on board the incoming train at Wimbledon. Train travel in the UK certainly has its issues

I changed at Clapham Junction onto a Southern train bound for Victoria and returned to the CP St James to collect my luggage. Then it was a case of tube, HEX and Hoppa to get me to my next overnight stop, the Crowne Plaza Heathrow. It was around eight when I eventually arrived, so my first priority was to order something light from Room Service. I spent some time updating my diary and making sure that I had everything ready for the following morning.

London Transport Museum