Tyburn River Walk

Sherlock Holmes' house

Paddington Gardens

                            Westminster Cathedral                                    

 The view from the tower

 Vauxhall Bridge

Where the Tyburn lets out

On Thursday, to take our minds off the school debacle (although we just got good news from Bishopsford and we're meeting with them tomorrow, and I'll most likely start school later this week!), Dad and I set out on another walk from the book, Secret London. This time, we followed the route of the Tyburn River: a stream that runs beneath the city, taking us to landmarks such as Green Park and Buckingham Palace.

We started the walk off at Baker Street tube stop, and ended up taking a wrong turn and seeing the Sherlock Holmes museum and 221b Baker Street. We made our way back to Marylebone and continued along Baker street. Dad pointed out where the street was slanted because of the Tyburn underneath it. I loved wandering through the small streets, little known gardens, and the fact that a river was below my feet. We stopped to get sandwiches and crisps and ate them underneath the shelter of an English oak tree in Green Park, as it started to drizzle. Still following the book, we passed the gates of Buckingham Palace (the river actually flows underneath it) and to Victoria Street. There we found Westminster Cathedral- not Westminster Abbey, which we visited last year, but the impressive Catholic church- the largest in England and Wales. Dad and I took the lift to the top of the tower, where we had a panoramic view of the city- the British Telecom Tower, Victoria Station, the London Eye, and even Wembley Stadium. Some twenty minutes later we arrived at the Thames, and from Vauxhall Bridge we could see the tunnel where the stream we had been following let out! It was a great walk, full of side streets and alleyways that one can only find in the city we are all beginning to think more and more of as home.