The Final

Laura: I think that my favorite walk I went on was Regent's Park. Even though we had some trouble on that walk with angry people, and extremely slow people, I really enjoyed it. Partly because I enjoy walking out in nature and seeing all of the beauty around. I just love it.

The other two walks that I really enjoyed are the Bankside and Southward walk and Westbourne Park Station to Notting Hill. I really liked the Bankside and Southward because it was fun to get out into the city and see the Thames. I also thought it was really cool that we got to see the London Bridge. Tower of London is one of my favorite things in London so I always take the chance when I have it to walk past it (You also walk past the Tower on the City (East) walk). I liked the Westbourne Park Station to Notting Hill because it is so close to home. I think it is good for us to get out around where we are instead of just heading to the big things in London. It is really fun to walk down Portobello road and walk through the market. Even though a lot of the walk was residential its fun to see it because its where we live.

Maddy:

I present you with my top three favorite walks (and why):

1. Notting Hill

I loved this walk because it forced us to explore more deeply a part of our own neighborhood. Portobello road is so close and I loved exploring and navigating through with a purpose. It helped that this walk was littered with various bakeries and shops, which added the perfect distractions and pit stops throughout our walk.

2. South Bank

I loved this walk because it brought us to the heart of London. It seemed like we just spent a few hours wandering around and enjoying our landscape more than completing one of the assigned walks. Also, similar to Notting Hill, there were various places to stop for snacks, which always seems to lighten the mood and make for a more jovial experience.

3. Kew to Hammersmith

I know not everyone loved this walk. Yes, it was incredibly long. I'm not sure if I was in an exceptionally good mood, or if the beautiful weather made for an enhanced experience, but this was definitely one of my favorite walks. It seemed as though we just spent the whole time laughing and enjoying our walk through a less-explored part of London.

NOTE: I was the group leader for Sara, Julie, and Devon when they completed the Notting Hill walk. I had already done this walk, which made it especially easy to guide them but still enjoy it myself.

Bloomsbury

March 30, 2011

Laura: This was a great walk! One reason I really liked this one is because I am always in this area of town, but only to go to the British Museum. I never go further than that. I really liked walking Doughty Street where Charles Dickens and Sydney Smith both lived. I don’t think I can express enough how cool it is to be in all of these famous places and to see places where there is so much history. It is definitely one of my favorite reasons for being here. That is also why I love the British Museum so much. It’s amazing how much history is in that building, I could spend hours in there and not get bored. It was kind of cool to walk behind the building, all I ever do is go right to the entrance

Maddy:

As Laura said, we're often in this part of town on our visits to the British Museum. I already enjoy being in the area, but it was especially neat to learn some of the stories and history behind certain parts. For example, I loved reading in the guide book about Handel's concerts for orphans. Sometimes I forget how much history exists in the city around us. Reading about this story and seeing the exact place where the concerts took place served as a good reminder how deeply historical this city is.

Westminster and St James

March 20. 2011

Laura: I went on the Westminster walk at night since everyone said that they liked it best at night. All or the buildings lit up were beautiful. I think it is so cool living in London and just being able to hop on a bus and seeing places like Westminster and Parliament. When people think about London the Big Ben bell tower is what you think of and it is so neat that we are here and can see it anytime we want. Anyway, even though this walk was beautiful at night I kind of wish I had gone and done it during the day to see some of the statues and memorials better. I really liked the Greenwich time/date thing that was on the side walk on Abington Street right by Westminster. It was just a cool thing to see that I stopped and read and tried to figure out.

Maddy:

Similar to South Bank, I loved the scenes along this walk because they're such iconic London landmarks. I think the most intriguing part of the walk for myself was Number 10 Downing Street. Something I've been particularly interested in since coming to London is the way David Cameron and the Queen both act as primary public figures. It's interesting to compare Number 10 Downing Street to Buckingham Palace and the juxtaposition of tradition and modern government working in tandem.

Lambeth and South Bank

March 9, 2011

Laura: I really enjoyed the Lambeth and South Bank walk. It was again nice to walk along the Thames. I always enjoy being around rivers, probably because I have lived so close to one my entire life. I loved walking past the London eye and seeing all of the street performers that were along there. I always find it enjoyable to watch them. It was a lovely day with a beautiful view of parliament across the river. I also loved walking by the museum of garden history. My guess is that it probably would be kind of boring but beautiful to look at. It bet it would be gorgeous when all of the plants and flowers are in bloom.

Maddy:

I think I would go so far as to declare this my favorite walk yet. I love the stretch of sidewalk that runs adjacent to the river, alongside the London Eye. There are benches periodically placed along the river and they're the perfect place to stop and overlook the river. I have found this to be one of my favorite places in London--being visibly surrounded by Big Ben, Westminster, Parliament and the London Eye really makes it feel like I'm in London, more so than any other place in the city. This part of town was especially busy for a weekday, there were street performers, business people, runners, rollerbladers, skaters and all over the place. I liked this walk so much that I've been back a few times since, simply to relax along the Thames and overlook the city's signature skyline.

The City (East)

February 25, 2011

Laura: We ended up going on this walk just randomly when we were near the area. It was nice to get another finished before we head into this very packed month. I hadn’t been back to the Tower of London area since we went there our very first week here in London. I liked going back. It is amazing how you can see such an old building surrounded by all of these new places and new technology. My favorite place on the walk was Leadenhall Market. We ate lunch there and did a little bit of shopping and got some delicious French desserts. I could have sat there and eaten all day. I want to go back and go to the museum by the Bank of England. It would be really interesting.

Maddy:

This was a surprisingly interesting walk. The City East walk led us through the aforementioned market and the Bank of England and surrounding area. I found this part of town especially interesting. This part of town was dead one minute and then crazy the next, as everyone was coming outside for their lunch break. Laura and I came back another day to go through the Bank of England museum--just one example of how the walks have pointed out areas of interest in London we might not have discovered otherwise.

Kew to Hammersmith

February 24, 2011

Laura: This walk was really long. It was nice walking along the Thames though. I always seem to find it so relaxing. It reminds me so much of home with the rocky beaches and the weather and the trees and just everything. I liked walking along the river and seeing all of the people out rowing and doing things out on their boats. It made me want to go out there and do something, especially since the weather was so nice. It was amazing how far we walked on this walk, it was incredibly long. I want to go back sometime in March or April and go to the Kew Gardens when they are in bloom. We saw many flowers along the walk that were starting to bloom so we are getting pretty close to that season and the time to go out and see gardens.

Maddy: Undoubtedly, my favorite walk yet. We decided to complete this walk last Thursday, when the weather was wonderful! It was almost 60 degrees out and we loved walking along the shore of the Thames with the sun shining. Blake led our group and did an excellent job of keeping us on task. Like Laura said, the shoreline experience reminded me so much of beaches in the Northwest and I loved being able to see that part of London. Between the bridge, the water, the sun and the flower patch we came across on our way home, it was a great day spent learning more about the area and having fun with each other.

Blake leading us on our walk.

Inns of Court

(Laura let me do her hair and we ended up with matching do's! Everyone in the group teased us throughout the walk. I think Blake was embarrassed to be seen with us.)

February 21, 2011

Laura: This was a pretty good walk. I was most excited when we saw Twinnings. I had been wondering where it was and now I know! We took quite a few detours on this walk and went into a lot of the places we passed. I loved going into Twinnings especially because we learned about it a few weeks ago in history. Everything has so much more meaning when we learn about them before we go. It makes all of the places we go just that much better. I liked going over by Lincoln’s Inn Fields. I had actually wandered around in there before and over by the Royal Courts of Justice. I was over there before when I went to John Soane’s museum. I liked the museum, all of the things he collected were amazing.

Maddy: This was was nice, but not one of my most favorites. Not to reiterate everything Laura said, but I loved when we turned the corner and saw Twinnings! I thought it was interesting there was an entire legal district in London, a place where all of the lawyers congregate and work. Seeing as we were there in the mid-afternoon and all of the lawyers were busy working, it was quiet and almost eerily empty. We passed the Old Curiosity Shop, an interesting landmark that sparked some discussion within the group. Finally, Lincoln's Inn Fields provided a sweet escape from the city. I loved the way the square seemed isolated behind the gate and greenery, truly providing a bit of privacy and escape from the regular hustle of the city. I imagine the lawyers of the legal district enjoy this spot during their lunch breaks.