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.
Thanks for the lovely trip.