We travelled to London on a National Express coach, and after arriving at Victoria Station set off on foot to our accomodation while doing some sight seeing on the way.
The first famous landmark was Buckingham Palace, where the King & Queen sometimes stay, but they don’t live there all the time.
Due to the very mild autumn weather all the geraniums in the flower beds were still in full bloom.
Here I am on The Mall, the road that leads to the palace and where crowds stand when there is some sort of royal event happening. It was closed to traffic hence I was able to stand in the middle of the road!
St James Park was looking quite autumnal, and felt quite peaceful. You might be able to spot Big Ben in the distance.
I paused for a little while to watch the swans on the lake.
My legs felt quite tired so I stopped for a rest on one of the deckchairs in the park. Being a bear I didn’t realise that there is a fee for sitting on deckchairs! There were two young men sitting nearby, suddenly one said to the other ‘quick, he’s coming’ and they leapt out of their chairs. A deckchair attendant was approaching, so I thought I had best leave quickly too as I don’t carry money. After looking at the sign I realised that there is a fee of £4.50 an hour to sit in a deckchair in the royal parks.
There was plenty of space as St James Park wasn’t very busy (this was late afternoon in October)
I sat on the ground to eat snacks brought from home with a drink from the refreshment kiosk.
After leaving St James Park we found the new Banksy statue in Waterloo Place, of a human unable to see due to a big flag blowing in his face. Very thought provoking.
I didn’t venture into Trafalgar Square as there was some kind of Chinese festival taking place making it quite crowded. Nelson is still on top of his column.
Walking on towards Bloomsbury past buildings that all have a history I noticed the shop that used to sell horse clothing.
Finally feeling tired and rather warm in the October heatwave, we arrived at Russell Square.
I could not resist paddling in the fountains, and amazingly I did not get wet!
We finally arrived at the studio apartment which was ideal for a short stay in London as we had a little kitchen in the room.
When in London the easiest and quickest way to get around is using the underground tube trains. The London Underground’s first line opened in 1863 and initally carriages were pulled by steam locomotives. Russell Square station is on the Piccadilly Line, which is a long way down underground and known as a ‘deep-level’ line. The station was built in 1906 in the art nouveau architectural style.
It was quite an adventure getting down to the the trains. A man’s voice announced on the tannoy system that one of the lifts wasn’t working, and warned that there are 175 steps and advised not to use them unless fit. My human likes a challenge and considers herself to be reasonably fit so we set off down the stairs (and came back up them on the return). I hitched a lift in the bear carrier as I was just too slow.
Once on the train it departed very quickly from the platform. I didn’t have a seat so I had to hold on tight to avoid falling over!
We changed trains at Piccadilly station and I managed to get a seat for the next part of the journey.
The tube trains travel very quickly and it didn’t take long to reach Regent’s Park, our destination.
I was very keen to get above ground again, but enjoyed looking at the beautiful green tiles at Regent’s Park Station.
My human wanted a photo of me with a red bus behind and the underground sign, but she nearly didn’t get me in this photo at all!
Our destination was only minutes away from the station, Regents Park, another of the parks known as ‘The Royal Parks’.
There were several heatwaves during the summer and very little rain so the gardens weren’t at their best, but still very beautiful.
After walking through Regents Park we climbed up to to top of Primrose Hill where there is a very good view London.
I was able to identify quite a few buildings including the BT tower on the far right. When I was a young bear it was known as The Post Office Tower.
A panoramic photo without me in!
On our way back to Regents Park we crossed Regents Canal.
Back in the park again I stopped for a moment of reflection in the Queen Elizabeth II garden and remembered her having afternon tea with Paddington Bear. I think she liked bears.
I enjoyed a wood fired pizza sat outside in the sunshine at The Regents Park Bar & Kitchen before setting off back to the apartment.
Seeing one of my favourite bears on stage was the highlight of the trip.
Paddington the Musical is currently showing at The Savoy Theatre.
The Savoy is quite a small theatre and I had an excellent view of the stage.
The show was very enjoyable. Do go and see it if you can!
The next day we left our apartment to head for Victoria Coach Station but we had some time to spare so decided to detour to the London Eye.
I was a bit worried about going up so high.
However once inside the pod I felt very safe.
The pods travel very slowly so you hardly notice the movement.
The view was amazing and the ride not scarey at all.
Big Ben looked quite tiny once we got up to the highest point.
I am always smiling so ignored the sign!
After the ride we continued towards the coach station, passing many landmarks on the way.
I was a bit concerned about the King’s Guard horse guarding the formal entrance to Buckingham Palace & St James Park, as it was a hot day for a horse. Apparently though they only stay one hour and then the guards and horses change. One hour seems a long time to stand still but I am sure the horses are well looked after.
After a bite to eat we headed for the coach to return to Bristol. It was a lovely few days that I will treasure in my memories.
Horace the Alresford Bear 23/10/2026
