Titchfield

When a friend saw on Facebook that we were heading for Portsmouth, she suggested that we might like to explore a village called Titchfield...so we did! 

A lovely little village with old cottages....

We had seen a church spire so headed down the little side street....

Like a lot of old churches this one had a graveyard...just a few graves at the side but around the back the graveyard was large...all beautifully maintained...

This was the grave of a little baby...so sad.

My friend had mentioned that there was an old Abbey at Titchfield but it obviously wasn't in the village so we programmed the GPS and headed off to find it...

The building originally was home to an order of monks who were driven out when Henry viii basically banned the Catholic Church in England. Henry gifted the building to the Earl of Southampton in 1567 and a fine mansion was built within the Abbey. Sadly it's been a ruin for a long time, but it was wonderful to wander around it...

The view at the back showing where walls once stood...

So thanks to my friend Kate, DH and I were able to wander around a picturesque little village and also wander around the ruins of an old abbey...places we had never heard of and which were not really mentioned in the tourist brochures. :-)

Windsor

After DH and I picked up our hire car we drove out of London and headed for Windsor.

 We stayed at a lovely B&B; the first time I had ever stayed in such accommodation; it was a great experience ! 

A street scene in Windsor...

Our B&B in Windsor...

Of course the main reason for being in Windsor was to tour the castle.

Windsor Castle has been the home of British royalty since 1070, when William the Conquerer started the building work. It has been added to in the centuries since then and the buildings ( and there are many!) cover 5 hectares or 13 acres.

The tower was originally built of wood but eventually it was rebuilt with stone. George iv had the tower extended upwards by 10 metres during his reign.

We were lucky to see these troops marching past...

The Brunswick Tower is on the end of this wing...according to our guide this tower saved the castle from complete destruction during the fire that raged through the castle in 1992. The floors in the Brunswick Tower collapsed during the fire and the tower became like a giant chimney drawing the flames upwards and away from the state apartments. 

After our half hour tour of a part of the grounds we then went inside to the areas that were opened to the public at this time. Firstly we all filed through Queen Mary's Dolls House which was just so impressive. There were also dolls and children's clothing on display as well. Then we were directed through the State Apartments which were very opulent and filled with amazing Georgian and Victorian era furniture. The art works were varied and included huge tapestries. The view from the windows was pretty impressive too...but of course no photography was allowed inside.

After the tour of the inside we walked around some of the gardens which were accessible to the public with tickets. 

The royal standard flag flying on the tour meant the queen was home...but we didn't catch sight of her walking her corgi dogs! Lol

Just before we left DH took this photo showing the statue of Queen Victoria.

Some more of London...

On Saturday we spent most of the day in the cities of London and Westminister. As we walked from the station we saw again the Palace of Westminister which is the actual name for their parliament building...

Our first destination that day was Westminister Abbey...but first we stopped to take a photo of Winston Churchill...

By those queues near that entrance, looks like other people had the same plans as DH and I...but we didn't have to wait very long before we were inside...

As part of our entry fee we received a free audio tour with a pre-recorded commentary about various points in this magnificent old cathedral. The ceilings and carvings were really impressive and the amount of gold gilt in the decorative features was very impressive. As we walked along one of the naves I realised it was the 'aisle' that I had seen in many a royal wedding...what a long way it was to walk for these royal brides? 

As part of the cathedral there are many little chapels that appear to have been built in an ad hoc fashion throughout the centuries...it got quite ' squeezy ' in some of the smaller chapels as there really were hundreds of people trying to do the tour at once! Lol

There are many people buried in Westminister Cathedral including a very ornate tomb for Elizabeth the First. As well as kings, queens, knights, various aristocracy etc, there is also a large section given over to a Poets' Corner where many famous poets and writers are at rest. I noticed that just near where I sat to have a rest after walking around for an hour and a half was the grave of C.S. Lewis. 

Photography was banned in the cathedral but was allowed in the cloisters, so we took some photos there...

In the cloisters was this tribute to the voyages of Captain Cook...I spoke just as this photo was taken :-)

After the tour, as is usual, the exit took us out into a different street...

DH's clever photo gets both the Big Ben clock and the clock tower of Westminister Cathedral together.

We noticed a lot of people seemed to be stopping to take a photo of this statue; when we got closer we saw that it was Nelson Mandela...

More lovely gardens to admire...

Our next destination was Churchill's War Rooms which were a few streets away from the Cathedral. 

The traffic was slow moving as there were a number of demonstrators in the city that day with placards and chants decrying the Tory government's recent budget which doesn't seem very popular. We saw a lot of police vehicles in the area and then just as we were going to cross the road we saw this officer...

The war rooms were secret and hidden underground under government buildings. This is where Prime Minister Churchill directed the course of the war.

In the forecourt of the building above the war rooms was this statue of Clive of India...

Just at the beginning of the war rooms tour...

An old sign in the bunker. 

This place underground was a complete operational centre with offices, communications rooms, map rooms, electricity plants, dining halls, sleeping quarters etc, all secret. A video showing interviews with former civilian staff who explained that they were sworn to secrecy as to where they worked...even to their close family. Read more about this fascinating place at this link.  http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-cabinet-war-rooms

After another couple of hours at the war rooms, it was time to head off to our next destination...Buckingham Palace.

A close up of that statue...

How ornate are these gates?

Looks like we can't just drop in on the Queen for afternoon tea! Lol

So that was our Saturday of sight seeing!