First, thank you to all those who provided suggestions on my brief but excellent trip to London. It is so helpful to have the knowledge of others. I was not able to do a lot of what I had thought I would do, but I did indeed walk through some Christmas markets and see Christmas lights.

I spent a very brief (5 days) in London the second week of December. I love history and am really interested in the Tudor dynasty, so my trip was planned around a desire to do as much as I could in that space. I checked into my hotel (The Rookery in Clerkenwell). The Rookery was once three Georgian structures on Cowcross Street that were once shops. They were combined into one facade. ("In the Middle Ages, Cowcross Street and Turnmill Street were part of a main route out of the City of London to the North, eventually joining up with King's Cross Road. Cowcross Street was known as 'Cow Cross' until the end of the 18th century.") The hotel stands with a frontage on Cowcross Street – near Smithfield (previously known as Smoothfield) One of the buildings was built in 1780–2 .

The Rookery is a small, gorgeous hotel, The rooms are beautifully appointed and it is indeed like going back in time. My bedroom was up on the top floor, perhaps the attic many years ago. (No lift). All beds are (I believe) 17th or 18th century bed frames. My bed was SOOOOO comfy. The one problem was that my room at the top of the hotel was freezing. The afternoon I arrived the man who checked me in (maybe a manager or owner) was not very nice about the temperature. He said the radiators went on and off for several hours every day and night. That night I slept in my winter coat, hat and gloves. The next day I took this up again and was brought a large space heater. I said the heck with it and bought an electric blanket at John Lewis (an outstanding store for clothing and homewares - highly recommended). Fabulous decision. Also others must have complained because from then on the radiators were on 24/7. The best part of the hotel without doubt were the staff. I have never in my life met nicer people and didn't see that first guy again for the remainder of my visit. I would recommend this hotel which was spotless and lovely and serves excellent food highly, maybe not in the dead of winter.

The following day I met my Blue Badge guide at Waterloo train station (under the clock) and we travelled to Hampton Court Palace. For those of you who watched (or read) Wolf Hall, it was filmed largely at HCP.

The original Tudor Hampton Court Palace was begun by Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century, but, it was so over the top that Henry VIII was jealous and in an attempt to prevent his arrest, Wolsey gave it to the king, who brought all his six wives here. Absolutely stunning. My tour was great, although there is little art, but it's gorgeous, but to stand inside a palace that Henry visited in the 1500s, blew my mind. Highly recommend, you need a reservation. It is super easy to get to, you just have to have a credit card to beep you into the metro/underground and the train takes about an hour to HCP. It has its own stop and was an easy 10 minute walk to the palace.

We had lunch across the street at the Mute Swan, (must have a reservation) which made an incredible cheese and potato pie (I am TOTALLY into the pies!) We traveled back to London and Vivien took me to All Hallows by the Tower, founded in 675. Some history straight from the web:

• Founded in 675 AD by the Abbey of Barking, making it one of the oldest churches in London.
• A Saxon arch was rediscovered in the church during World War II after it was bombed.The arch's top is made from Roman tiles.
• A second-century Roman pavement was discovered in the church's crypt in 1926.
• The church survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 thanks to the efforts of Admiral Penn and Samuel Pepys, who watched the fire from the church tower.
• The interior was beautiful and very moving, well worth a visit.

The following day we visited Westminster Abbey, which blew my mind, started in 1066. It was impossible to take in the magnitude of what that building houses. For those interested in this: ," it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100"

For those interested in art (me) there is so much to see. The most moving thing to me was the earliest contemporary painted portrait of an English king (Richard II). It is painted on six oak panels. The painting dates from about 1395. It shows the young king enthroned, holding an orb and sceptre. He died in 1400 and his tomb is in the Abbey. The tombs are magnificent and overwhelming and range from Edward III 'The Confessor' (r.1042-1066) to Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Mary Queen of Scots, etc. Obviously Westminster Abbey is a "must see," in London. I'm sure all of you have been there. Absolutely must have a ticket in advance. I advise going early as it is slightly less crowded.

I then went by myself on an afternoon tour of The Charterhouse, another "must see" if you are interested in history. Again from the web: "The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Clerkenwell (my hotel neighborhood) , dating to the 14th century. It was originally built (and takes its name from) a Carthusian priory, founded in 1371 on the site of a Black Death (plague) burial ground. Following the priory's dissolution in 1537, it was rebuilt from 1545 onwards to become one of the great of Tudor London. In 1611, the property was purchased by a weathly businessman and , who established a school for the young and an almshouse for the old. The almshouse remains in occupation today," This was truly a magnificent place, with so much history, and I highly recommend it. You can take a "Brothers Tour" which is led by one of the current "Brothers." I did and it was great! Highly recommend, you need a reservation and look ahead when planning, they do not do tours every day.

The next day I went shopping! I visited Selfridges which I didn't like. Way too big and the store is set up by designer, which made simply looking for a sweater difficult. I then went back to John Lewis which I LOVED! (and got a sweater at). That night I met friends for a concert and we stopped in afterwards at Ye Old Cheshire Cheese for a pub stop. Re built in 1667, it was so much fun. We couldn't get into he Chop Room but the laughter and enjoyment poured out. Highly recommend.

My last full day was rainy AND cold, so it slowed me down. I visited the Wallace Collection. Also recommend but not as highly. There are hundreds of gorgeous things to look at, a huge collection of Sevres porcelain, furniture, chandeliers, but I am most interested in the art, which in many cases was so hard to see. There are four gorgeous Bouchers in the hallway going up, but you can't see them -- they are hung too high and the lighting is bad. So that was disappointing. There are some beautiful paintings, including a Rembrandt portrait of his son, and others well worth seeing, but I only spent about 1.5 hours there. Then I went to Fortnum and Mason and bought food gifts, honey, jam, tea fixings, a teapot, and much more and had it all shipped home. Friday night I had dinner with a friend at a pub called Town of Ramsgate who "have been beside Wapping Old Stairs Since 1545 (or even earlier) and known by many as the Oldest pub on the River Thames". I love pubs! I love that everyone gets together drinks (way too much) hugs, laughs, bitches about problems, hugs again and goes home feeling better. We need that in America. Food was OUTSTANDING, ambiance was exceptional. Highly recommend, but no possible way to get a taxi there, we had to walk a distance to get home.

All in all, a great time and I can't wait to go back and do more - in warmer weather! The next morning I hit the road for Heathrow and that concludes my trip to London.

Makes me want to return to London yet again. I have the same feeling as you when in Hampton Court. Anne was here! Henry!

I'm interesting in learning what London will look like in 900 years.

Comforting to know London is still there in 900 years!
Thanks for the trip report, the title made me smile

SusanG, can you ask the Moderators to tag your report as a trip report? (This is the airplane symbol.) This way people will know that it is a trip report at a quick glance. You can do this yourself next time you write a trip report. There is a box to check off.

Great report! I am also interested in history, so nice to get all that information. I agree with you about Hampton Court, it's amazing.

Corrected title, changing 2924 to 2024, and added Trip Report flag

Haven't read the whole thing yet -- but from the beginning . . . the Rookery - isn't it great! I stayed there once in 2022. Surprised the first manager was such a pill. Everyone I met in the hotel was super friendly / helpful. This is part of my description "Settled on the Rookery - I had heard about this place for years (sister property to Hazlitt's) and it was a super bargain for the dates I needed. Beautiful (!!) property - like staying in an 18th century townhouse -- so no lift . . . but less than a 2 minute walk from Farrindon station (super convenient for getting back to LHR) on the Elizabeth Line, and about a 10 minute walk to the Barbican theatre. As long as one can handle the stairs - highly recommended. No restaurant on site but lots of places nearby". And if I lived in London John Lewis/Peter Jones (same company) would be my downfall. Such great stores.

Now back to the report . . .

Wonderful report - you did quite a bit in such a short visit.

Another bullet point re All Hallows by the Tower: John Quincy Adams was married there (which surprised me).

For others going to Town of Ramsgate - its about half a mile or a little less from St Katharine's Marina so one can use the #15 bus which goes right by the Tower of London and all through the center of the city. But it would still be about a 15 minute walk.

Enjoyable trip report.

​​​​​​​If my TV is to be believed, wasn't there such a place in Boston ?

SusanG, I really enjoyed reading your report. Love all the detail and your enthusiasm! Your TR makes me want to return to London. I was there in the 70’s, and haven’t been back yet. We hope to combine a trip to England with Ireland. Maybe in 2026. So many places to see and not enough time.

I've no idea why you can't get a taxi to the Town of Ransgate. Getting one back would be a bit more difficult so maybe a case for Uber. But there's a straightforward public transport option. From Farringdon by train you just take the Elizabeth Line two stops to Whitechapel and transfer to the Overground two stops to Wapping station, about 15 minutes. From there the pub is a 6 minute walk along Wapping High Street.

Hi everyone, so glad the trip report was useful.
rncheryl: I know it! It's hard to believe that we are standing within the same walls as these people. I think all of his wives were there. On the outside gates (and in the courtyard, there are roundels with the faces of the Roman emperors....my guide specifically pointed those out as the are original to Wolsey's time! It's mind blowing.

Obviously I added a date that is incorrect, good eyes. I can't even find it, but my apologies. KarenWoo, I will remember for next time, thank you for that info.

Janisj: I was trying to hold onto the London glow and got online to see if I could buy anything else from John Lewis, but ... you really need to be able to try things on. Anyway, I agree, that will be my go to from now on. And thanks for the name of the other store. Thanks for posting what you did about the Rookery, it was indeed lovely, and I also agree about the staff. I wish I had gotten their names so I could post a thank you.

PatrickLondon - funny. I am not part of the club/bar scene in American any more, but I really felt like the Londoners I met with just jolly nice people. I had only one taxi driver who was racist, so I steered him to talking about his grandkids (works every time!) but I had the best talks with taxi drivers. Same as in NYC. Everyone was SO NICE. I don't really find that here any more, except we are like that in my neighborhood. This is one reason why when I take early retirement (next year) I will be spending a LOT of time in Europe and elsewhere. My sincerest apologies for this next statement, I don't mean to offend, but honestly at least in my area (DC, NYC) most people are so busy (or late, or angry) that some can't be civil anymore.

JohnEW2912, I had no problem getting a taxi to Ramsgate - it was getting back to my hotel. It wasn't a big deal, I walked up to Oxford Street (about 10 minutes) and got one there. I highly recommend that pub.

Again, everyone so glad you liked the report - and a huge thank you to those who helped me narrow things down. And thanks to the moderator who made this a "Trip Report!" Brilliant.

Lovely report, SusanG. Thanks for taking the time to share your trip.

I was lucky enough to visit some pubs in the late 1960s....since then, I've read that the breweries have taken over many and that the food quality has become more "lowest common denominator"...wonderful to read that isn't totally true.

Not nit picking -- but I'm pretty sure you diidn't walk 10 minutes from The Town of Ramsgate to Oxford Street since that would have been about four miles Maybe you are conflating two different walks??

In the late 60s it would have been pretty rare for any pub to be offering food, let alone food of any real quality. They would mostly also have been owned by breweries then, although there were a lot more of them, so a lot more variety. Now there are several large chains which run pubs and the food can at best be mediocre and very samey. But there are also plenty of gastro pubs where the food can be anything from decent to very good and even to Michelin standard. But for most at the better end, whilst calling themselves pubs they are not really the places to just go for a drink.

TDudette, glad you enjoyed it. I ate at the Rookery (they offer room service and bring food in) that was a potato, onion and cheese pie) also breakfast every day which was delicious, and came with an oat milk latte the size of a dinner plate....) the Mute Swan (that was a a leek and chicken pie) and the Ramsgate pub (turkey and vegetables) and I'll tell you what, that was some of the best food ever. I love "pub grub!" Truth to tell I do not remember seeing a single brewery. So all I can say is that I saw pubs everywhere and the food I experienced was some of the best I've eaten.

Janisj, you are right! I totally mixed that up. On that night my friend called an uber for me. It was about 14 GBP to get back to the hotel, thanks for correcting me. I definitely do not want to mislead anyone.