I found myself in desperate need of a walk—defeated by Afternoon Tea! Yep—we had just wrapped up a successful session of Afternoon Tea, and I couldn’t feel any more bloated that I was feeling at this moment in time. The endless supply of sandwiches, cakes, and pastries got the better of me. Oh, and did I mention we had dinner reservations in just a few hours? That’s right—at Passyunk Avenue, a Philly themed dive bar in London. So if I was going to find a way to put down a wiz wit and some wings, a little walk in between would probably do me some good.
A great night for a walk: the October weather provided wonderful views of London during the fall—which, by the way, is beautiful at dusk—and though it was a bit chilly, by no means was it cold. Have a look at where our walk would take us…
Green Park
The Green Park, as it is officially known, is one of eight Royal Parks in London, located at Buckingham Palace.
- Rumor has it that King Charles II’s wife demanded all flowers to be removed from the park after she caught him picking flowers there for another women during the seventeenth century.
- It is the smallest of the Royal Parks
- Before it was made into a park, it was a swampy burial ground for lepers from the nearby St. James’s Hospital (located at what is now St. James’s Palace) during the middle ages.
- During the sixteenth century, the area was enclosed and became a hunting ground for King Henry VIII.
- It is known as a park that does not possess lakes, buildings, or playgrounds—and only has a few monuments
- Green Park was open to the public in 1826
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace was no longer a new attraction to me by this point. In fact, during this trip alone, I had paid a visit to the palace during both the daylight and at night; but this was the first I was seeing during the twilight. When you factor in the time I came to visit the Palace during a previous trip several years back, I’m pretty confident I’ve seen the home of the Queen more times than I have the White House in Washington D.C., just a few hours from my home.
Queen Victoria Memorial
Located at the end of The Mall at Buckingham Palace, the Queen Victoria Memorial was unveiled on May 16, 1911—designed in 1901, and not completed until 1924. It stands at 82 feet tall (25 meters if you’re anywhere other than America).
Wellington Arch
Walking through Green Park, Wellington Arch awaited us at Hyde Park Corner.
- Originally called the Green Park Arch; also known as Constitution Arch
- Constructed in 1823—it stood at a different location nearby. It was moved between 1882-83.
- The original statue of the Duke of Wellington was erected on top in 1846. Due to it’s size it was highly controversial, and replaced in 1912 with the Quadriga.
- The Quadriga, the bronze statue atop the arch, is the largest bronze statue in Europe
- A triumphal arch, it was meant to serve as a gateway towards Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park Screen & Hard Rock Cafe
Our walk through Green Park, past Buckingham Palace, led us to Hyde Park Corner by Wellington Arch. By Hyde Park Corner is the “original” Hard Rock Cafe. The Hard Rock was created by two Americans living in London. Apparently they weren’t fond of British food, so they started up an American style joint. Now they have casinos—bet you didn’t know that backstory.
From here we walked down Piccadilly to our hotel. It was time to change into our Eagles gear—I wouldn’t have gone into Passyunk Avenue any other way. Cheesesteaks awaited us—along with a very unexpected surprise I never saw coming!
