A wander through London at Christmas

Following some really bad news earlier in the week which has rocked my family, I wanted to really appreciate what is there on my doorstep rather than simply stay on autopilot. I might post about this news a little more in the coming weeks once I’ve digested it. For now, please enjoy this wander through the wonderful City of London at Christmas.

I was reading this week about how we need to break out of our normal routines and experience the world around us. Every day on the Underground to work I would pass literally underneath the route I will take you on in this post, but I only ever actually experience what London has to offer maybe once or twice a year. Experiencing Christmas was inspired by , so thank you Sarah.

I work in Waterloo station so naturally this is where I started. This is just across the River Thames, off to the right of the map below. Helpfully, I started my Strava App recording just as I reached the Houses of Parliament so that you can see where I walked. This is a great part of London to explore with so much history. For orientation, Oxford Street lies just to the north of this area.

In Waterloo Station we seem to have a Haribo sponsored Christmas tree! For those not familiar with London, Waterloo station one of the busiest commuter stations in the city. Not the prettiest station in the world but it does the job I guess. It is located just south of the River Thames across from the House of Parliament and Big Ben - a great place to start an exploration of London’s Southbank. Not on this walk though. Today we are heading north into the West End.

From Waterloo, it is a short walk through past the London Eye to the river where you get a great view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. I squeezed past a torrent of tourists taking selfies to take my own photo. Big Ben (or the Elizabeth Tower to give its proper name with the bell being called Big Ben of course) has recently been renovated for the Queen’s Jubilee and is looking fantastic.

Wandering from here across Westminster Bridge gives you a view of the City of London financial district to your right and a view down towards Chelsea to the left. Then a quick turn back the way I came and took this photo below of the London Eye. To the right of this is the London Aquarium (worth a visit) and the London Dungeon (not visited yet as my kids refuse to go anywhere near the place - probably wise given the price!).

With my back to Big Ben I’m looking down Whitehall in the next photo. Everyone turns to take a photo of Big Ben at this point, so I won’t bore you with another of those. I think his captures one of the more ornate entrances to a tube station in London and of course one of Boris’ London Buses in the background. At one point he was on a mission to replace London’s buses with older style hop on hop off buses.

I was planning to take a few photos along Whitehall, but it appeared many of the streetlights were turned off and it had a pretty dark feel to it. Cost saving maybe… To be honest, I was a little nervous to take photos at the entrance to Downing Street given the number of police with automatic machine guns on parade. Onwards to Trafalgar Square….

At this time of year, Trafalgar Square comes alive with a street market in front of the National Gallery. People spill out of theatreland and Soho areas to the north. A great place to wander, grab some mulled wine and do some Christmas shopping in some of the sheds laid out.

Obligatory London themed Christmas bauble stall. Which to choose?!

Onwards towards Leicester Square. We’re into the West End now and the lights take a step up in quantity. It was only just after 17:00 but the restaurants were starting to fill. Great place to grab a bite to eat before your evening show performance starts.

A quick detour north into China Town. In the next few photos, I’ve tried to capture the incredible lights and bustling nature of this part of town. What I can’t capture is the sound. Most restaurants have someone outside beckoning you in with offers and the promise of the best meal ever.

Many restaurants offer an all you can eat menu. The Hong Kong Buffet below caught my eye where the plethora of dishes set out in the buffet has caused a serious case of condensation on the window. Love it.

And a quick peek inside. Looks good…. maybe I’ll try this one day, but I couldn’t stop. Onwards…

Arriving next at Piccadilly Circus, this was the first picture I took and I’m pretty pleased with this one. The big screen turned slightly less bright for a split second which meant it didn’t dominate the frame so much and brought the colours of the Underground sing into better focus.

Leaving Picadilly Circus now to head West towards Green Park Station. Next stop, Fortnum and Mason. We visited here last year on a walk about just after Christmas and they had turned their whole building into the biggest advent calendar in London. Magically, they have done the same again this year and it looks fantastic.

You can see in the windows that they light up the number when we get to that day. Love this so much - and so did the people standing around me talking pictures too!

Nearly at the station now but a quick glance back towards The Ritz where there were people sampling the amazing afternoon teas they serve. Didn’t think it right to take a photo though! I might have got some looks.

I’ve given you London buses, Big Ben, Black Cabs but no red phone boxes. So, here you go. Box ticked. This lady was taking the same Ritz picture as me. Nice.

Home now. Down into the depths of London and onto the Jubilee Line for home. For orientation, to the left here is Green Park. If you walk about 5 mins through here, you will get to Buckingham Palace.

I hope you enjoyed that trip through London. It was a little bit of a last-minute change to what I was going to publish this week.

Thank you for reading.

This week I’ve been diving into the Substack universe to find new and interesting writers. Here are a couple that I think you should check out:

• writes and provides some brilliant advice around exercise and getting enough sleep. I'm one week into trying his advice on hot shows before bed and its incredible.

• writes , an inspiring newsletter on getting out there and giving running a go.

Until next week, enjoy the Christmas period and don’t forget to appreciate what is around you.

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