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Historic London pub on the Thames

April 10, 2014 by David Herd

Prospect of Whitby

Historic London pub on the Thames

Historic London pub on the Thames at Wapping is The Prospect of Whitby. It lays claim to being the site of the oldest riverside tavern, dating from 1520. It was formerly known as the Devil’s Tavern, on account of its dubious reputation. Before that it was officially called The Pelican. All that remains from the building’s earliest period is the 400 year old stone floor. In former times it was a meeting place for sailors, smugglers, cut-throats and footpads. A footpad is an archaic term for a robber or thief specializing in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely from the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opposed to the mounted highwayman who in certain cases might gain fame as well as notoriety Why does this Historic London pub deserve it’s own post in my blog? Quite simple really, I have so many fond memories dating back 50 years when I was very young enjoying my first great overseas adventure.

The Prospect of Whitby in December 1964

Here is a classic photo of my friends at the Prospect of Whitby 50 years ago in 1964. There were Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, South Africans, English, and the very drunk lady in the bottom right hand corner was an opera singer from Yugoslavia. 😆

The guy with the pint & mouth open was my best friend & travelling companion, he went back to Oz before me & joined the army. Kieth Wagstaff with the beard was a kiwi who I travelled through Europe with. I have my arm around Shirley a cute pommie I was taking out occasionally. Simon in check jacket was Canadian.

Surely David Herd should be there.

I’m very disappointed my name is not on the sign. 🙂

Fire place at the Prospect of Whitby.

I don’t think this Historic London pub has changed much in 50 years, however the times I was there it was always packed to the rafters.

Historic London pub, naturally I ordered a Fosters

In the 17th century, it became the hostelry of choice of “Hanging” Judge Jeffreys, scourge of the Monmouth Rebellion. He lived nearby and a noose hangs by a window, commemorating his custom. He was chased by anti-Royalists into the nearby Town of Ramsgate, captured and taken to the Tower for his own safety. According to legend, criminals would be tied up to the posts at low tide and left there to drown when the tide came in. Execution Dock was actually by Wapping Old Stairs and generally used for pirates.

Lots of timber walls & creaking floors

Following a fire in the early 19th century, the tavern was rebuilt and renamed The Prospect of Whitby, after a Tyne collier that used to berth next to the pub. The Prospect was listed Grade II in December 1950. If you want to visit an Historic London pub this is one of the best. On the opposite side of the road (Wapping Wall) is the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, now an arts centre and restaurant.

Nooks & crannies everywhere

The public house features briefly in an episode of Only Fools And Horses. When Uncle Albert goes missing in one episode, Del Boy and Rodney travel around London looking for him. Nicholas Lyndhurst is shown in one scene walking out of the pub. There is also a scene from the 1956 film D-Day the Sixth of June starring Robert Taylor and Richard Todd where Taylor’s character is seen with Dana Wynter’s character having drinks together during the Second World War in London.

Historic London pub on the Thames

Sir Hugh Willoughby sailed from here in 1533 in a disastrous attempt to discover the North-East Passage to China.

100 meters from the Prospect of Whitby is Shadwell Basin

A lovely lake just up the road from the pub, you can see Westminster in the background. Shadwell Basin is the most significant body of water surviving from the historical London Docks. It is situated on the north side of the river Thames east (downstream) of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and west (upstream) of Limehouse. Unlike the rest of the London Docks which has been landfilled, Shadwell Basin, the most easterly part of the complex, has been retained.

It is now a maritime square of 2.8 hectares used for recreational purposes (including sailing, canoeing and fishing) and is surrounded on three sides by a waterside housing development designed by British architects MacCormac, Jamieson, Prichard and Wright. The residential buildings are four and five storeys with façades of alternating open arches and enclosed structure, echoing the scale of traditional 19th century dockside warehouses, with a colonnade at quayside. Shadwell Basin is a popular public route for cyclists, joggers and pedestrians with a walkway alongside the water as part of the linked open spaces and canals between the river and Hermitage Basin near St Katharine Docks to the west.

Historic London pub

To receive my latest posts please follow me on Twitter Follow @David_Herd Finally back to the 60s, the first photo is travelling to our favorite Historic London pub in Wapping on the tube, everybody is well dressed and in good shape. The 2nd photo is at the pub getting stuck into it. Finally we are all heading home to Earle’s court totally flyblown. 😆

Historic London pub

The pub has had many a TV or film appearances, even a feature in Only Fools and Horses. It is voted as one of the best Historic pubs in London, so a must visit.

On the way to Wapping

Everybody is quiet and well behaved.

At the pub

Things get messy very quickly.

Heading home

Totally flyblown.

Use THIS LINK for a very good hotel discount in London.

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Pattaya Hilton

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.

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Piccadilly Earls Court London

April 9, 2014 by David Herd

Kensington-Piccadilly-Buckingham-Palace-Harrods

Earls Court Station

Piccadilly Earls Court London

Piccadilly Earls Court are great parts of London to explore and watch the passing parade. I like to stay in Earle’s Court because there are many hotels & I can take the underground straight from Heathrow.

You can buy a one day ticket for the underground for around 9 Quid which gives you unlimited travel, including to or from Heathrow.

Mowbray Court Hotel

Just around the corner is the Mowbray Court Hotel, the rooms are rather small but the price is right and the staff are very helpful, throw in free wi fi & it’s the perfect place for a traveler on a budget. The underground is so convenient, you can ride the tube direct from Heathrow or Piccadilly Earls Court.

Masala Zone Earle’s Court

I don’t often dine in Indian restaurants, however after reading the Trip Adviser review I visited Marsala Zone and enjoyed the food & the excellent service. Ranked 1,335 of 18,211 restaurants in London.

Convent Gardens

I saw Les Miserables a few years ago and admit I was a little disappointed compared to other musicals I have seen.

Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus connects to Piccadilly, a thoroughfare whose name first appeared in 1626 as Piccadilly Hall, named after a house belonging to one Robert Baker, a tailor famous for selling piccadills, or piccadillies, a term used for various kinds of collars. The street was known as Portugal Street in 1692 in honor of Catherine of Braganza, the queen consort of King Charles II of England but was known as Piccadilly by 1743. Piccadilly Circus was created in 1819, at the junction with Regent Street, which was then being built under the planning of John Nash on the site of a house and garden belonging to a Lady Hutton. The circus lost its circular form in 1886 with the construction of Shaftesbury Avenue.

Tour buses travel to Piccadilly Earls court

The “hop on, hop off” bus is a great way to see London.

Harrods

The store occupies a 5-acre site and has over one million square feet of selling space in over 330 departments making it the biggest department store in Europe.

Harrods food hall

Up to 300,000 customers visit the shop on peak days, comprising the highest proportion of customers from non-English speaking countries of any department store in London. More than five thousand staff from over fifty different countries work at Harrods.

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Guard Mounting, a formal ceremony in which sentries providing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries.

Changing of the Guard

I must confess I don’t really know if this was the “Changing of the Guard” ceremony or some other British pomp, however the crowd was there in thousands. You can spend weeks around Kensington Piccadilly Earls Court, there are so many great places to see & explore.

London 1964

I thought I would throw this in for no particular reason. 🙂

Thanks for visiting my Piccadilly Earls court photo blog.

One of my favourite songs about London.

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Tower Bridge River Thames London

April 6, 2014 by David Herd

Tower Bridge London

Tower Bridge River Thames

Tower Bridge River Thames London is a combined bascule & suspension bridge in London which crosses the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name, and has become an iconic symbol of London.

The Bridge took 8 years, 5 major contractors and 432 construction workers to build. Two massive piers were sunk into the river bed to support the construction and over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the Tower and Walkways. This framework was clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone to protect the underlying steel-work and to give the Bridge a more pleasing appearance.

Tower Bridge River Thames

Certainly it’s the best of all the London bridges.

‘Girl with a Dolphin’

Nice sculpture next to the Tower Bridge

View from the Tower bridge London.

An interesting contrast of structures built centuries apart, the Tower of London with modern glass sky scrapers in the background.

The opposite side of the Thames

Standing approximately 306 meters (1,004 ft) high, the Shard is currently the tallest building in the European Union.

20 Fenchurch Street

20 Fenchurch Street is a commercial skyscraper under construction in London. It takes its name from its address on Fenchurch Street in the City of London financial district and it has been nicknamed The Walkie-Talkie because of its distinctive shape. It is the fifth-tallest building in the City of London.

The Tower of London

The Tower of London right next to the Tower Bridge has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. In the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle.

Lions at the Tower of London

Two medieval skulls found in the Tower of London belonged to a kind of lion that boasted a giant dark mane, according to a genetic study that sheds new light on one of the world’s oldest zoos.

Infamous as a place of torture and executions, and home to the Crown Jewels, the Tower was also home to lions, which were charismatic symbols of monarchy.

Now researchers have used DNA evidence to analyse two members of the royal menagerie, the oldest being late 13th to late 14th century (1280-1385) and ‘youngest’ 15th century (1420-1480), the only medieval big cat remains found in England.

They conclude that they were male Barbary lions, a species that hails from north Africa, where no natural lion population remains today.

Lion manes can vary from light blond to black and can be up to a foot long. But the Barbary, a subspecies extinct in the wild, had a magnificently regal mane, their equivalent of the Peacock’s tail that they used to turn on lionesses.

They were members of the royal “zoo”, which survived for more than 600 years after being founded by King John (1199 to 1216) and the lions are a sign that the UK enjoyed good relations with foreign monarchs, who presented exotic animals as gifts.

18 inch Mortars

The mortar on the left is of Spanish design, and dates from the 18th century. Unusually, both the base and the barrel have been cast as one unit. The calibre of the mortar is 13 inches, which seems to be a common heavy mortar caliber, as preserved British mortars at Crownhill Fort, Plymouth, are similar.

The range of this weapon would be around 3,000 yards, and it is likely to have been used as a fixed installation in a fortification, or at sea in a bomb ketch. These were unwieldy vessels but could produce deadly plunging fire against land targets, such as that provided by bomb ketches of the Royal Navy at both the First Battle of Copenhagen (1801), the Second Battle of Copenhagen (1807) and in many other engagements during the Napoleonic Wars.

When installed in a fortification, because the angle of elevation was fixed, the mortars would be carefully sighted (and sited) so that when a target reached a certain point (at a predetermined distance), the battery would open fire with telling effect, hurling their large, 200 lb, explosive shells at the enemy.

The other mortar is also a cast iron weapon (some older mortars and cannon were cast in bronze). This time the mortar has trunions, which allow the weapon to be elevated, in its carriage, to the required angle to engage attackers. It is of 16″ calibre and bears a maker’s mark ‘TW’; it is an earlier piece, and is dated ’1684′. Interestingly, it resembles Italian weapons of the period and is described as this.

The barrel, however, reveals a cast design of the ‘Lion of St. Mark’, the symbol for Venice and the Venetian Republic. This maritime power and trading giant dominated the eastern half of the Mediterranean Sea (and more) during the 17th century. The mortar came from Corfu, as a gift, and since the Venetian Republic ruled that island from 1401 to 1787, the markings on the weapon make perfect sense.

This mortar was presented to the British Government in 1842, during the Victorian era, at a time when Great Britain still ruled Corfu as a British Protectorate (it did so from 1815-1864). The Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands at this time was James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie, a noted Scottish diplomat, so it is quite possible that he was behind the gift of the mortar! All in all, these two weapons are fine examples of an ancient form of artillery.

Executions 1914-16

Approximately 7200 people were executed in the tower of London, most of these executions which took place during King Henry VIII rule. Executions depended on the crime with most executions done in public on the Tower Hill but private executions were conducted behind the tower walls. Private executions were considered too politically sensitive to carry out in the open.

Tower Bridge River Thames 1964

Here I am at the Tower of London in 1964. 🙂

Tower Bridge River Thames

Tower Bridge River Thames London is one of the “must see” icons in this great city, for more on London take a look at my Westminster post. If you would like to visit one of the oldest pubs in London which is off the normal tourist track take a taxi to the Prospect of Whitby hotel on the opposite side of the Thames.

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London Westminster Big Ben

April 3, 2014 by David Herd

You gotta love London

London Westminster Big Ben

London Westminster Big Ben is one of the most popular tourist areas of the city, people swarm like ants around Big Ben, the Abby & Parliament house, they queue for hours to ride on the London Eye.

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of Westminster Palace in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower.

Does anybody know what time it is?

Or as “Chicago” would say, “does anybody really care”?

Westminster Abbey London

Westminster Abbey, was originally known as the Collegiate Church of St Peter, it’s a large, mainly Gothic, church in the City of Westminster, just west of the Palace of Westminster.

Westminster Abbey London

Westminster Abbey London is steeped in more than a thousand years of history. Benedictine monks first came to this site in the middle of the tenth century, establishing a tradition of daily worship which continues to this day. The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. The present church, begun by Henry III in 1245, is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart.

Westminster Abbey Sanctuary

In England, the right of sanctuary and officially recognized places of sanctuary had existed since the Anglo-Saxon days. The foremost among these places of refuge was Westminster Abbey London.

The London Eye

The entire structure is 135 meters (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 meters (394 ft). It is currently Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel, the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.5 million visitors annually.

One of my favorite places in Westminster

When you tire of the crowds and monuments head for a pub.

Westminster Arms Hotel

The are some terrific pubs in London, check out my London Pub link here.

Only a short walk to Downing St

When I finished lunch I took a short walk to Downing Street. However the street that caught my eye was the one below, reminded me of a couple of people I know.

You gotta love this street

Say no more, wink wink, nudge nudge. 😆

Downing St security

There are so many nut cases in London which explains why they need high security at Downing St.

A very unusual sight

Blue sky in London, must be photoshopped. 🙂

Beautiful at night

London Westminster Big Ben is a fantastic area to explore and enjoy, I will be there again in March 2015.

Sadly five people have died, with 50 injured – some critically – in a terror attack near the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday March 22 2017.

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A short flight from London is the wonderful city of Lisbon

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Here is a terrific London budget hotel. Great location opposite the Holiday Inn in Gloucester Rd. The hotel has just been refurbished and is very close to the underground which takes you direct to Heathrow for 6 Quid. Within 100 metres there are 3 Italian restaurants, 1 Thai and 1 Indian. Also a very good tavern & sports bar at the Holiday Inn.

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Canon Camera Love Travelling

December 25, 2013 by David Herd

Hoi An in Vietnam

Canon Camera Love Travelling. When you grow up in Australia you soon realise that every other country in the world is beyond the sea. Somewhere in my teenage years I was bitten by the travel bug, I have been to 50 countries and 600 cities. Here is a collection of my favourite travel photos in no particular order, however the one above just happens to be my number one favourite.

Here is Bobby Darren with the appropriate song.

Copacabana

Perhaps the worlds best beach for people watching. Since my first trip there in January 1999, I returned another 7 times, with the last time being October 2010.

Future super models in Rio

As soon as I raised my camera they struck a pose, did not have to be asked to do it, the spirit of Rio

My boulevard of broken dreams.

W48th st & 8th ave Manhattan there is a nice French bistro, Pigalle. New York is my favorite city, it seems like six different cities molded together, there is such an exciting diversified collection of people and places make sure you give yourself enough time to soak up the atmosphere.

Tell us what you think Billy.

Canon Camera Love Travelling in Lisbon

Canon Camera Love Travelling Lisbon is recognised as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. It is one of the major economic centers on the continent, with a growing financial sector and the largest/second largest container port on Europe’s Atlantic coast.

Koh Chang Thailand.

Koh Chang is the 2nd largest Thai island after Phuket. Stay in a bungalow on the beach and enjoy the terrific Thai food. In many ways Koh Chang reminds me of Koh Samui 15 years ago. I used to love Koh Samui in the 90′s but the more it developed the more the attraction faded.

Valparaiso in Chile

Valparaiso is by the sea in Chile about 100 kilometres from Santiago. I bet this fantastic house has been photographed millions of times, perched on the edge of a sheer drop you would not want to be a sleep walker. This is one of the escalators (Ascensores) connecting the harbor area to the hills, and the building is the restaurant Las Brujas.

Sanctuary Cove on Australia’s Gold Coast

The Gold Coast has many world class golf courses, it was the home of Adam Scott who is currently number 2 in the world.

Canon Camera Love Travelling in South Beach Miami

The fabulous art deco towers are unique examples of this form of architecture, they along the eight and a half mile stretch of Beach. All told there are twenty five towers guarding those who use the beach. At once functional and decorative, they contribute beautifully to the overall aesthetic of this Floridian resort city.

Beautiful faces in Rio De Janeiro

Carnival in Rio is awesome, it is really the greatest show on Earth. I was at the Sambadrome in 1999 and 2005, then I celebrated Carnival at a Bloco in Ipanema in 2008. I was way up in the bleachers in 1999 so in 2005 I paid about $500 to have a front row seat. Therefore I have been fortunate enough to have experienced Carnival from 3 different aspects.

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Fishing fleet in Nha Trang Vietnam

I went to Nha Trang twice in 2004 and hope to return July 2014.

Take us to your leader.

Once a year, when the great Rio De Janeiro carnival takes place, the coastal town Paraty which is located 250 km south west to Rio, holds a unique carnival. In Paraty’s Mud Carnival – (Portuguese: Bloco da lama) the costumes that its participants wear is black sticky mud which is smeared on their bodies.

The carnival preserves the ancient local tradition when the Indians smeared their bodies with black mud for medical reasons, and held ritual ceremonies in order to bring cure to the ill. In contrary to Rio carnival where the participants wear marvellous coloured costumes, in Paraty carnival the fiesta is based mostly on the simplicity of the junction between men and nature.

Fantastic seafood in Salzburg.

So much wonderful seafood on sale at a city nowhere near the ocean.

Salzburg is the fourth largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg’s “Old Town” has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps.

The Old Bridge on the river Arno in Florence

Florence is a beautiful city, I have been there 3 or 4 times and can’t wait to visit again. I saw a lot of the city and surrounding areas thanks to my good friend Francesca.

View from my condo in Pattaya Thailand.

I wake up every morning to this wonderful view of Pattaya beach.

Bookmark my webcam and check it out.

De Wallen Amsterdam

One of the truly great European cities, this is their famous red light district.

Gorgeous girls & Manneken Pis.

Brussels is a great city for food.

Roast pig at Tram Chim Saigon

HCMC or Saigon is a truly wonderful experience, I was there in 2015 and millions of $$$$ are being spent to transform this amazing metropolis.

From as early as 1980 I knew I would Have Camera Love Travelling around the world & often to Thailand, but I never thought I would live there permanently. However in October 2011 I left Australia and moved to Thailand. This is probably the final stage in my wonderful life.

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A-One hotel on Beach Road

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In Monte Carlo you can smell the money

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Penzance Par one bridge too far.

December 24, 2013 by David Herd

The Par Inn Cornwall

Penzance Par one bridge too far.

Penzance Par one bridge too far, well rather than speak in riddles allow me to explain. Where Penzance is a bright & buzzy seaside town Par is quite the opposite, cold & bleak without too many redeeming features. My sincere apologies to the residents of this tiny Cornish fishing port.

I had a very good reason to visit Par, my grandfather Sam Tippett was born there around 1900. We stopped in the pub and asked if anyone had heard of the Tippetts but sadly no luck. Seeing we were in Cornwall I ordered a pastie, it was the worst I have ever tasted & I mentioned this to the barman. He said “talk to the fellow beside you, his wife makes them”. 😳

My friend Bill Austin & I had a good laugh about this and I surreptitiously hid the rest of the awful pastie in a paper bag ready to throw it in the garbage.

David Herd & Bill Austin in Par

Notice the small oven on the right? That’s where the terrible tasting pasties are lying in wait for an unsuspecting customer. 😥

A typical street in Par.

I did visit Par way back in the 60s to meet Minnie, one of my grandfathers (Sam Tippett) sisters. Penzance to Par is 61 miles or about 1.25 hours by car. Obviously I had a good reason to visit Par, otherwise I can’t see any features worth going there for.

Pop Tippett’s sister Minnie.

This is Minnie, one of my grandfathers (Sam Tippett) sisters.

This was Minnie’s home in Par

I should have taken this photo with me because I’m sure somebody in the pub would have known its location.

Penzance Par one bridge too far

Par is quite a lonely part of the English coast.

Penzance main street.

Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, in England, United Kingdom. It is well known for being the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London.

Beachside

Penzance is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles (121 km) west of Plymouth and 300 miles (480 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount’s Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan.

Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 21,168 (2001 census).

Main St Penzance

Luck was with us providing a beautiful blue sky.

Penzance Par one bridge too far

I can imagine it would be freezing cold in winter.

St Michael’s Mount

St Michael’s Mount meaning “grey rock in the woods”, also known colloquially by locals as simply the Mount) is a tidal island 366 metres (400 yards) off the Mount’s Baycoast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parish and is united with the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite setts, passable between mid-tide and low water.

In prehistoric times, St Michael’s Mount may have been a port for the tin trade, and Gavin de Beer made a case for it to be identified with the “tin port” Ictis/Ictin mentioned by Posidonius.

Historically, St Michael’s Mount was a Cornish counterpart of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France (which shares the same tidal island characteristics and the same conical shape), when it was given to the Benedictines, religious order of Mont Saint-Michel, by Edward the Confessor in the 11th century.

St Michael’s Mount is one of 43 (unbridged) tidal islands which can be walked to from mainland Britain

In conclusion I guess I may be a little harsh on my description of Par, however travelling between Penzance Par you will find many interesting towns & villages worth a visit, St Ives for instance is a wonderful seaside village.

Without a doubt AGODA is the best online Hotel booking site.

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Holiday Inn

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Sabai Wing North Pattaya

The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

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Lands End in Cornwall

December 15, 2013 by David Herd

Beautiful blue sky in…..

Lands End, Cornwall.

Here we are at England’s most westerly point. Wind levels in winter reach around 20-25 knots, which is windier than most of England. The highest temperature recorded is 28.9 °C, and the lowest temperature recorded is -3.4 °C.

Penwith House

This historic building dating from 1860 houses a hotel, a gift shop with maritime gifts, toys and confectionery. Coordinates: 50°3’56″N 5°42’51″W.

Beautiful old building

In 1987 Peter de Savary purchased Land’s End for almost £7 million from David Goldstone. He had two new buildings erected and much of the present theme park development was instigated by him. He sold both Land’s End and John o’ Groats to businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey in 1991. The current owners purchased Land’s End in 1996 and formed a company named Heritage Great Britain PLC. Attractions at the theme park include children’s playgrounds and recorded music. Twice a week in August there are firework displays. Nearby is the Land’s End Hotel. In May 2012, Land’s End received widespread attention as the starting point of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.

Blue sky and lots of wind.

Land’s End is a headland and small settlement in western Cornwall, England. It is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England. It is on the Penwith peninsula, about eight miles west-southwest of Penzance.

Rugged coastline.

This is certainly not a good place for a swim. 🙂

Lands End England’s most westerly point.

The sea pounds these rocks 24/7.

Lands End Hotel.

We were so lucky to have the beautiful blue sky, photos look so much better. What you can’t see in the shots is the howling wind that nearly blew us off our feet. 😆

Air Ambulance.

I guess this choppers working days are over. 🙂

Neihboring property

Not too inspiring realy 🙂

David Herd, intrepid traveller. 😎

Many thanks for visiting my Lands End post, please pass it on to your friends and Follow @David_Herd

St Ives is a 40 minute drive, put it on your list.

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Holiday Inn

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Sabai Wing North Pattaya

The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Europe before Covid-19 & mass immigration.

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London pubs people food

December 3, 2013 by David Herd

The Colbert in Sloane Square

London pubs people food

London pubs people food are favorite pastimes of mine, even though London is not famous for great cuisine you can find hundreds of terrific places to eat.

London pubs people food

This is the same restaurant as the Colbert, in 2009 it was called Grande Brasserie.

The Colbert

Like most of the restaurants in Sloane Square this is a great “people watching” place, one tends to go there for that reason more than the food. The food however is fine and the place is always busy.

London pubs people food, The Botanist

The Botanist is definitely one of the good London pubs, a great place to watch the super trendy crowd go through their mating rituals. It gets so busy the crowd spills out onto the footpath, sometimes it’s a struggle to get to the bar for a refill.

Did I mention the super trendy crowd?

Well here are three people that don’t fit that description, I am enjoying drinks at the Botanist with friends Teresa & Debbie.

Da Scalzo restaurant.

Good food, nice atmosphere and great music.

Great Jazz trio at Da Scalzo.

I went back just to hear the band again.

15 minutes walk from Sloane Square

Da Scalzo is a nice little restaurant about 15 minutes walk from Sloane Square at 2 Elizabeth St, London SW1W 9RB, Phone:+44 20 7730 5498. The food is good without being great, so don’t expect too much, however at weekends they have a very good jazz band playing all the old fashioned songs which really adds to the atmosphere. Have a look at them on the video below.

Aint misbehaving at Da Scalzo

Watch this video on YouTube

OK, lets go upmarket

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

68 Royal Hospital Rd, London SW3 4HP

Fabulous food as you would expect at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay with a price to match. However lets face it, you need to spoil yourself every now & then and the food is great. Check out the menu for this rather special restaurant. I will be back in London in March 2014 and another visit is certainly on my agenda. 😎

Gordon Ramsay’s wine list 2009.

As you would expect it is rather expensive.

Cafe Rouge.

There is a chain of these excellent restaurants all over London, very good French food at a reasonable price.

Cafe Rouge French Bistro.

Definitely no complaints with the food. I also enjoyed their branch at Brighton.

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Courtfield London pubs Earls Court

Situated at 187 Earl’s Court Rd the Courtfield’s is one of the good London pubs, not very flash but the upstairs restaurant serves very good pub food at reasonable prices, worth a visit if you are in the area.

London pubs people food Mozzarella and More

Mozzarella and More Italian Kings Rd Chelsea good food & nice atmosphere, certainly worth a visit.

Jump on a London bus

A very good way to see this fabulous city.

Super travel tips. Great Britain has an excellent rail service, save up to 80% by booking your ticket before you arrive, just click here. London Underground’s Piccadilly Line provides the most cost-effective rail route between Heathrow Airport and the capital, so look for accommodation around Earl’s Court, Gloucester Rd or Knightsbridge. For more information click here.

Jump on a train and visit Bath

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For London & UK hotels there are great discounts through this link.

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Bangkok Grand Palace

November 28, 2013 by David Herd

Iconic Bangkok Temple

Bangkok Grand Palace

Bangkok Grand Palace is quite remarkable, put it at the top of your list of places to see. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam since 1782.

The photo above is Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha as seen from the Outer Court.

Big crowds arrive every day.

The late monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), used to reside at Chitralada Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand.

Phra Si Ratana Chedi

Phra Si Ratana Chedi, a 19th-century stupa built in Sri Lankan style enshrining ashes of the Buddha.

Entrance to Wat Phra Kaew.

As regards the historical legend of Wat Phra Kaew, it was originally known as the “Wat Pa Yia”, (Bamboo Forest Monastery) in the Chiang Rai province of Northern Thailand. The wat was struck by a lightning storm in 1434, when the octagonal Chedi broke up and revealed the Emerald Buddha (made of Jade), locally known as Phra Kaew Morakot. From there it was moved, initially to Vientianne and finally to Bangkok where it was deified in the temple by the original name, Wat Phra Kaew.

Another legend mentions that attempts made by the King of Chiang Mai to possess the statue after it was found in 1434; these failed thrice because the elephants transporting the statue refused to proceed beyond a crossroad in Lampang. The King of Chiang Mai considered the incident to be a strong divine directive and allowed the Buddha statue to remain in Lampang, where it remained for the next 32 years in an exclusively built temple.

Lots of photo opportunities at the Bangkok Grand Palace

The Palace is a photographers paradise.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Royal Pantheon)

The Royal Pantheon was constructed during the reign of King Rama IV in 1855. He intended to place the Emerald Buddha here but the building was not completed until after his death. His successor, King Rama V, considered the building too small to accommodate the congregation at royal ceremonies so the Emerald Buddha was not placed in this building. A small gilt stupa belonging to King Rama IV was placed there instead.

Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat

The throne hall forms the front or the facade of the entire building group. In front of the throne hall is the Rathakit Field; on either side of the throne hall are the Phrom Sopha Gates. The throne hall is constructed in an eclectic style, a blend of Thai and European (more specifically Renaissance or Italianate) styles. The lower part of the structure is European, while the upper part is in Thai-styled green and orange tiled roofs and golden spires or prasats.

Bangkok Grand Palace, Monks at the Throne Hall.

Their orange robes are a great contrast to the trees in the background.

Bangkok Grand Palace

The Bangkok Grand Palace is probably Thailand’s number one attraction.

Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat.

Two elephants and one lonely guard on duty.

There are lots on nice hotels along the river with fabulous views.

Fantastic monuments.

Absolutely spectacular.

Gold, gold, lots of gold.

Give yourself plenty of time as the Palace is huge.

Smile

Mother & daughter having fun at the Bangkok Grand Palace.

The students wanted to interview us for a project.

I guess they had a project from school to interview a foreigner.

We could be twins.

Thanks for visiting Bangkok Grand Palace photo blog, put it on your bucket list.

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When I’m in Bangkok I like to stay in Sukhumvit Soi 11, here is an excellent budget hotel, if you USE THIS LINK you will get a great rate of around B1100 per night, or $30 USD.

The best Bangkok budget hotel I have ever stayed in.

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Everything you wanted to know about Bangkok but were afraid to ask. 🙂

Amazing shopping mall

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Sintra town near Lisbon

October 25, 2013 by David Herd

Historic Portuguese Village

Sintra town near Lisbon

Sintra Portuguese town near Lisbon is only 30 kilometres west of Lisbon near the coast. The bus tour also took me to Casais another interesting destination.

Sintra town near Lisbon

Sintra has become a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon. In addition to the Sintra Mountains and Sintra-Cascais Nature Park, the parishes of the town of Sintra are dotted by royal retreats, estates, castles and buildings from the 8th-9th century, in addition to many buildings completed between the 15th and 19th century, including the Castelo dos Mouros, the Pena National Palace and the Sintra National Palace, resulting in its classification by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1995.

I have copied all this information from Wikipedia.

Sintra Portuguese town near Lisbon

The earliest documents describe a built-up town in the 11th century by the Arab geographer Al-Bacr (who was later supported by the poets Luís de Camões and Lord Byron). The Moors built their castle atop a nearby promontory around the 8th-9th century. When Afonso Henriques finally captured Sintra (after the fall of Lisbon) in 1147, he ordered the construction of the Church of São Pedro de Penaferrim, within the castle walls. In 1493, Christopher Columbus sailing for the Spanish crown, was blown off course by gale force winds and fearing for the survival of his ship, spotted the rock of Sintra. Despite the awkwardness of seeking safe harbour in Portugal, Columbus had no choice under the circumstances and sailed from there into the port of Lisbon.

National Palace

The National Palace is the best preserved medieval Royal Palace in Portugal, having been inhabited more or less continuously at least from the early 15th up to the late 19th century. It is an important tourist attraction and is part of the Cultural landscape of Sintra, designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The National Palace of Sintra is the only surviving intact medieval royal palaces of Portugal. Most likely, it was built on the former residence of of the Muslims wallis, and since the beginning of the Portuguese monarchy, monarchs had a palace here. Much of the palace dates from the times of King John I, who sponsored a major building campaign starting around 1415.

Inside the Palace.

The history of the Palace goes back to the times of Islamic domination, when Sintra had two different castles. One of them, located on top of a hill overlooking the town is the so-called Castle of the Moors, which is now a romantic ruin. The other, located downhill, was the residence of the Moorish rulers of the region. Most buildings around the central courtyard – called the Ala Joanina (John’s Wing) – date from this campaign, including the main building of the façade with the entrance arches and the mullioned windows in Manueline and Moorish styles, the conical chimneys of the kitchen that dominate the skyline of the city.

Sintra National Palace.

During the 19th century, Sintra became again a favourite spot for the Kings and the Palace of Sintra was frequently inhabited. Queen Amélia, in particular, was very fond of the Palace and made several drawings of it. With the foundation of the Republic, in 1910, the Palace became a National Monument. In the 1940s, it was restored by architect Raul Lino, who tried to return the Palace to its former splendour by adding old furniture from other palaces and restoring the tile panels. It has been an important historical tourist attraction ever since.

Spectacular ceiling

Check out this short video,

Sintra, near Lisbon in Portugal

Watch this video on YouTube

Here is the exact location, N 38° 47.846 W 009° 23.436

Sintra town near Lisbon, the Palace kitchen.

Looks like it has not changed in hundreds of years.

Imagine the meals that were prepared here.

Thanks for visiting my Sintra town near Lisbon photo blog.

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Prospect of Whitby

The Prospect of Whitby in December 1964

Surely David Herd should be there.

Fire place at the Prospect of Whitby.

Historic London pub, naturally I ordered a Fosters

Lots of timber walls & creaking floors

Nooks & crannies everywhere

Historic London pub on the Thames

100 meters from the Prospect of Whitby is Shadwell Basin

Historic London pub

Historic London pub

On the way to Wapping

At the pub

Heading home

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Earls Court Station

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Tour buses travel to Piccadilly Earls court

Harrods

Harrods food hall

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Changing of the Guard

London 1964

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Tower Bridge London

Tower Bridge River Thames

‘Girl with a Dolphin’

View from the Tower bridge London.

The opposite side of the Thames

The Tower of London

Lions at the Tower of London

18 inch Mortars

Executions 1914-16

Tower Bridge River Thames 1964

Tower Bridge River Thames

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You gotta love London

Does anybody know what time it is?

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Westminster Abbey London

Westminster Abbey London

Westminster Abbey Sanctuary

The London Eye

One of my favorite places in Westminster

Westminster Arms Hotel

Only a short walk to Downing St

You gotta love this street

Downing St security

A very unusual sight

Beautiful at night

Hoi An in Vietnam

Future super models in Rio

My boulevard of broken dreams.

Canon Camera Love Travelling in Lisbon

Koh Chang Thailand.

Sanctuary Cove on Australia’s Gold Coast

Canon Camera Love Travelling in South Beach Miami

Beautiful faces in Rio De Janeiro

Fishing fleet in Nha Trang Vietnam

Take us to your leader.

Fantastic seafood in Salzburg.

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Roast pig at Tram Chim Saigon

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The Par Inn Cornwall

David Herd & Bill Austin in Par

A typical street in Par.

Pop Tippett’s sister Minnie.

Penzance Par one bridge too far

Penzance main street.

Beachside

Main St Penzance

Penzance Par one bridge too far

St Michael’s Mount

That’s all folks

Beautiful blue sky in…..

Penwith House