Crystal Palace Park

The Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition in 1851. Once it had closed its doors, the Crystal Palace was moved to its new and permanent home at the top of Anerley Hill. And to accompany it, a park was built. The Crystal Palace burnt down in 1936 but the park lives on. It is famous for its dinosaurs though few dino-scientists would argue that the concrete animals resemble any creature that lived millions of years ago. Despite the advances in our understanding of dinosaurs, it is still fun to see them, which we did on Sunday.

There is a big lake in the park which is home to a large amount of water fowl, most of which are used to being fed by visitors. In the past, we have bought bird food for them from the building opposite the cafe though I'm not sure whether such purchases are now available.

Made in Dagenham at the Adelphi

The reason for the trip into central London on Saturday was to go to the Adelphi on the Strand to see a performance of the musical version of Made in Dagenham. Not a bad performance and the writers certainly seemed unimpressed by the late Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the UK from 1964-70. It was set in the late 1960s.

I have been to a number of performances in London but this was the first time I had been in the Adelphi. If you go there it is worth popping into the Wellington, just a few metres away, on the junction of Wellington Road and the Strand. We did for a quick drink. On previous visits, we had eaten upstairs. A modest menu, prices not too exorbitant for central London.

Studio 6 in Gabriel's Wharf

Gabriel's Wharf on the London South Bank is full of arty craft shops. But it also has a number of food outlets, one of which is Studio 6. We have eaten there a number of times before but chose to eat there again yesterday. Whilst the usual warning about London eating-out prices applies, the quality is good, indeed, very good! I particularly recommend the salmon fishcakes.

A walk along the South Bank

We had a day out in central London yesterday. The reason for the visit was the Adelphi Theatre. We had tickets for a performance. More about that on another post. The train took us to London Bridge. The first sight on leaving the station was the Shard. A magnificent building and one I intend visiting at some point in the future.



Across the road we walked through Borough Market. We had hoped to look around but it was very busy so we headed for the South Bank. This too was busy but gave us great views of London - and the views are free. Lots of famous bridges, St Pauls, the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern: all there to be seen and enjoyed.











And there is often free entertainment to be found:

Crystal Palace Food Market

The Crystal Palace Food Market in London is well worth a visit. It is held weekly, 10am to 3pm on Haynes Lane. The aim is to provide quality food produced as locally as possible. Judging from our visit yesterday, it seems to fit the bill.

Antenna Cafe in Crystal Palace

Hidden away at the end of Haynes Lane, Crystal Palace in London, is the Antenna Cafe. I didn't know it existed until I visited the Crystal Palace food market yesterday.



Pleasant and friendly, worth a visit for a coffee and snack. I had cappuccino.

First class on the East Coast

I am in London for a few days and because I travel regularly on the East Coast, I have built up quite a stash of points on their loyalty scheme. The points are a bit like a railway version of airmiles. 450 points got me a free first class return ticket from Newcastle to London. I came down on Friday and return home tomorrow.

I took the photo above as we were travelling through Durham City. It is one of the classic views from the East Coast.