London, June 9-10 2010

We arrived in London at 7 AM after a 12 hour flight that departed LA the previous afternoon. Determined to stay up ’till evening in order to get onto UK time, we headed for Westminster to catch a riverboat down the Thames  to Greenwich.

The Thames is a mighty tidal river flowing through central London. It flows inland or out to sea depending on the tides, rising and falling over 20 feet each day. From the Thames, one has a unique view of London’s major and minor landmarks and bridges.

Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and a number of excellent museums relating to Britain’s scientific and nautical legacy.

Within walking distance of the dock, we visited the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum. Dazed as we were by what was by now over 24 hours of wakefulness, rebuked ourselves for leaving our camera at the hotel.

A fragment of the original Roman wall of Londinium, near the Museum of London.

The Museum of London

After a blessed night of sleep, we headed for the Museum of London, which has been recently redesigned to show the history of London from pre-historic times to the present. The Museum of London, like most British museums is free to enter, with a voluntary donation.  On display are many Roman artifacts found during excavations, including a kit for counterfeiting Roman coins–human nature, it seems, has not changed. We walked through the centuries, experiencing a multimedia recreation of the great London fire, exploring London’s role as a center of manufacturing, government and scientific innovation. We window-shopped in a recreated Victorian street and imagined London enduring the hardships of the Blitz. Modern London is featured with an interactive 3-D map but what was most interesting to me and emphasized by the museum is a display of London in the 60′s featuring the art, music and fashion of this time when London finally came alive after the drabness and difficulties of the post-war era.

Exhausted,  we settled into the Museum cafe for a well-deserved cuppa restorative tea.

Near the Roman wall, outside the Museum was a charming historic herb garden maintained by The Worshipful Company of Barbers, one of London’s famed trade guilds.

Kelmscott House, and some personal History

from Bonnie

I lived in London for the winter of 1979-1980 for graduate school. I was attending a course in calligraphy and bookbinding at Digby Stuart College in south London. In the Fall, I lived in a “bedsit”, a London  term for a rented room in a ‘flat”, but when I returned from a winter break in France, I found my belongings in the hall due to my landlady deciding to rent the room to a relative. Fortunately, one of my American classmates, Eva Williams lived in the former town house, Kelmscott House of famed Victorian poet, socialist, designer and fine printer, William Morris. Kelmscott House is owned by the William Morris Society. At the time I lived there, the Society rented rooms to students studying Morris-related subjects. I moved by London cab on New Year’s day and installed myself in former maid’s room in a roof-top garret overlooking the Hammersmith Bridge and the river.

The house still contained Morris’ letterpress, some tapestries and a number of beautiful Kelmscott Press books, bound in limp Vellum. I lived there with an international group of students all studying various aspects of William Morris’ work.

Revisiting Kelmscott House

After the London Museum, we took the “Tube” to Hammersmith and found our way to 26 Upper Mall. The main house is rented to long-term tenants, and the Wm. Morris Society has its headquarters in the adjoining coach house. We were warmly greeted by the gracious staff. The Society Curator, Helen Elletson, was anxious to have copies of any personal photos from that time in the house’s history– I must go through my old photos!

Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, London

Hammersmith Bridge

We had a lovely lunch at the 17th century Dove pub–a place of many memories from my time in London. This lovely pub is well off the tourist track and features “The Smallest Bar in the World”, two fireplaces and a half-timber ceiling, The Dove has been a favorite of many famous people in London’s history including Charles Dickens.

In the morning… on to Glasgow, Scotland!

En route to Glasgow, Scotland by train

We had purchased first class Britrail passes for four days of travel. Our first leg was London-Glasgow on a sleek, modern Virgin train. The Virgin staff made us feel like royalty, plying us with endless cups of coffee, tea and snacks. The English countryside rolled by as we relaxed, and the train’s Wi-Fi allowed us to email our Glasgow hotel for directions. How great it would be if train travel was like this in the USA!

Glasgow, Art, Architecture and the World Cup

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum

Our first Scottish museum was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, situated in a large park within walking distance of our B&B. The massive Spanish Baroque sandstone building was constructed with the profits from Glasgow’s 1888 International Exhibition.

The Museum’s collection is eclectic to say the least! Priceless paintings by Rembrandt, Cassat, van Gogh and Picasso are mixed in with large stuffed animals and the largest collection of armor and weapons in the UK.

We were disappointed to have narrowly missed a recital on the massive Kelvingrove  pipe organ.

Kelvingrove Interior and Pipe Organ

A WWII Spitfire in the Kelvingrove

Glasgow is a gritty, working, friendly city with a rich heritage of art and architecture. Museums close at 5PM, so that leaves many hours of sunlight. It did not get dark until 9, so after dinner, we headed for a local pub. All eyes were glued to the flat-screen TV where the USA-England World Cup football match was starting. Scottish fans declare that they support two teams: Scotland and whoever is playing England, so everyone was rooting for team USA. The game tied, but I got a few big, wet Scottish kisses when USA scored its single goal. After the game, the band played a John Denver tune to honor us, their American guests.

We slept deeply in a brass bed with heavenly bed linens at The Flower House. Our host, Susan served us lovely Scottish breakfasts with fresh Scottish strawberries in the mornings.

The Burrell Collection, Glasgow

For our second and last day in Glasgow, we visited the Burrell Collection. The collection of Sir William Burrell, a shipping magnate, is housed in a beautiful modern building, situated in a lovely green park,  incorporating ancient stonework into its structure. Glasgow is from a Gaelic phrase meaning “The green place”. A stunning collection of stained glass is displayed against the outer windows. Upstairs is a small but focused painting collection featuring some lovely Degas pastels in one gallery and in a second gallery a collection of Italian oils.

Stained Glass in the Burrell Collection

Glasgow is also famed as the home of architect and designer Charles Rennie MacIntosh. We made our way to the Glasgow School of Art, one of his most famous architectural designs. By wonderful coincidence, the graduating student’s Degree Shows were in full swing, so we spent several hours touring the Art and Design exhibits.

Basement of the Glasgow School of Art

The basement hallways were lined with the School’s historic collection of classical sculpture casts used in the life drawing classes–a reminder of traditional art instruction methods.

You can see portfolios of the Graphic Design Graduates at http://www.gsa.ac.uk.

Glaswegian Street Musicians

Glasgow city center of pedestrian promenades has a lively street life with people of all ages filling streets. The street musicians above performed with such fierce intensity that we could imagine them storming down from the Highlands into battle.

Finally, one can see men wearing kilts, both formal and casual about the streets of the cities of Scotland as normal apparel.

Inverness and the Highlands

The Caledonian Canal leading to Loch Ness

We arrived at the Inverness after another comfortable train ride through endless green fields of sheep and lambs grazing. Our B & B, the Inverglen Guesthouse was clean, comfortable and conveniently close to downtown.

We booked a boat tour down the  Caledonian Canal into Loch Ness. The locals were constantly apologizing for the  cloudy weather, but we did not mind it.

Inverness tourist shops were full of plush and plastic Loch Ness monsters wearing tam-o-shanters or in tartan. Nessie jokes flowed freely from all quarters and it was suggested that a few drinks from the bar might increase chances of a sighting. Would a plaid-topped prehistoric lake-serpent make an appearance?

A lighthouse on Loch Ness

As it turned out, we did have a big surprise on Loch Ness when  a sudden “swoosh” just above our heads announced four RAF Harrier jets in 2-2 formation flying a training run down the Loch. It was a perfect contrast between mythical and modern Britain.

We docked at Urquhart Castle and hiked among its scenic ruins before boarding a bus for a leisurely ride back to Inverness.

Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle Loch Ness

Culloden Battlefield as it appears in 2010

Our afternoon goal was to visit Culloden Battlefield, the site of the historic battle in April 1746 between Jacobites loyal to “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and English troops loyal to Charles Stuart. The slaughter of that day and the following persecution of the Highland Clans spelled the end of the ancient Highland way of life.

We have read many accounts of the Battle, but history cam alive for us as we walked the marshy field of battle, reflecting sadly on the tragic losses of warfare throughout human history.

Stone Clan Marker, Culloden Battlefield

Edinburgh, City of Stone

The View from Edinburgh Castle

In  Edinburgh we stayed in city center, just off of the legendary Royal Mile at the Hotel Ibis. Our room was small, but clean and adequate and cost 1/3 more than our previous B&B accommodations. We easily walked there from the train station.

We arrived in Edinburgh at Noon and after ducking down a narrow  stone “close” for a ham and cheese toastie (grilled sandwich) at the Deacon’s House Cafe, we headed up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle.

We arrived just in time to see the official Piper in full military kilt regalia perform before the traditional daily 1 PM cannon shot.

Official Piper at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is built into the living rock of an extinct volcano. It’s earliest structure, dates to the Norman times, with many additions over the succeeding centuries. We spent several hours enjoying spectacular views of Edinburgh and touring the Castle’s many exhibits, war memorials and museums including a small graveyard reserved for soldier’s dogs.

Edinburgh Castle seen from the Elephant Coffeehouse

The Harry Potter, LOR connection

Lovers of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings should look no further than Edinburgh for evocative stone architecture. JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter books in the Elephant Cafe with a commanding view on Edinburgh Castle.

The Elephant Coffeehouse, Edinburgh

14th Cent. Cross from Eilean Mor, Argyl

The National Museum of Scotland is housed in a striking, modern stone building. We could have easily spent a full day touring its exhibits chronicling Scottish history from prehistoric to modern times.

Pictish Stone

There was a special exhibit devoted to the Lewis Chessmen, a fascinating and historically unique set of artifacts.

Lewis Chessman Knight

Holyrood House, The Queen's Scottish Residence

Edinburgh is a great walking city.

Most of the major landmarks are within easy walking distance. Holyrood House anchors the other end of the Royal Mile, and easy walk from Edinburgh Castle. We had a glorious afternoon with clear skies and sunshine. On the way, we stopped at one of many Royal Mile kilt shops and bought a flat wool cap for Jim.

House in Deans Village, Edinburgh

The National Museum of Scotland is located across from the train station at the foot of Edinburgh Castle. The museum contains paintings and sculpture from the renaissance through post-impressionism.

On our way to the Edinburgh Gallery of Modern Art, we walked down into Dean Village, an enclave of stone houses in a former milling town.

Edinburgh is  a city of stone, with centuries of masonry adapted to modern use. The city is classified into two areas, the old town with medieval structures and the narrow covered alleys known locally as “Closes” that provide an atmosphere reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

The new city was built at the end of the 18th Century and features wide streets and large parks in the Georgian style. Here we visited a house returned to the way it was in the time of Jane Austen. Called the Georgian House it provides a fascinating visit into life two hundred years ago.

The last museum we visited in Edinburgh brought us back to the present day.

The Museum of Modern Art. Located in the a large stone structure in the north of town, the galleries are filled with modern art with an emphasis on Scottish and Scottish influenced artists. One of my favorites was the largest Lichtenstein I have had the pleasure to view.

Of interest was a sculpture carved into the lawn in the front of the gallery, called the Landform, visitors are invited to use the sculpture to rest, to walk and to enjoy. This is an excellent example of the innovative spirit of contemporary Scottish art.

Landform by Charles Jencks, 2002

Edinburgh is a city of museums to rival London, many attractions like the School of Art The Dean’s Gallery and the National Photography Museum will need to wait until our next visit to this fascinating city.

Return to London and Kew Gardens

We returned to London for two days to prepare for the flight home. Of course with so many museums and gardens to visit, we returned to our tourist obligations and began visiting the attractions.

After a brief shopping expedition in Harrods, we walked down the few blocks to Kensington to visit The Victoria and Albert Museum. This museum is dedicated to the decorative arts and contains the world’s premier collection of kitchen ware, hardware and decorative art from Roman times through the present. On the way down Brompton road to the V&A, we took a short detour into the Brompton Oratory. This beautiful Renaissance style church was erected by adherents to the Oxford Movement, a group of Victorian Anglican priests who converted to the Roman Catholic church. We took no photographs, as this is very much a working church

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The Glass House, Kew Gardens, London

On our last day in the United Kingdom we decided to visit London’s largest garden, Kew Gardens. To visit Kew Gardens we took a river boat up the Thames. This little boat, the Kingwood, turned out to be a wonderful suprise.

The Kingwood, had a heroic history. Built in 1915, she had been used in the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk during the Second World War, bringing over 300 soldiers at a time, above are some of the plaques and medals displayed on the bulkhead. We had difficulty imagining how this shallow-draft riverboat could have navigated the English Channel loaded with hundreds of men.

Again, traveling on the river is an especially interesting way to see London providing a unique perspective on this city. Above modern architecture contrasts with with the more classic design of the Vauxhall bridge.

The Dove Pub, Hammersmith viewed from the river

We were delighted to get a river view of the historic Dove pub where we had enjoyed a pint and lunch on our second day in London.

Kew Gardens is quite a long walk along the river after disembarkation but definitely worth it. This garden contains examples from 12 and a half percent of the world’s land plant species, this is accomplished with six large glass conservatories. In order to maintain the many programs of the Garden, Kew Gardens, unlike British museums requires an entry fee of 13 pounds 50.

Kew Royal Botanical Gardens was a lovely way to finalize our Artpoints 2010 visit to the museums, galleries and historical locations of Scotland and The United Kingdom, the large grounds and relative lack of crowds allowed us a restful respite from the rigors of museum touring.