Feb 19-23: London

The few days in London were mainly spent on various tours, and other sightseeing.

The time in London started with a Wembley tour, which was very informative and entertaining, in contrast with the Lords tour. I had previously done the Lords tour, and was really looking forward to going on the tour again. However, we were not allowed to take photos of the Ashes, and inside the dressing rooms, which was disappointing, as this was allowed in the past. I also went on the Wimbledon tour, which was also very good, although Centre Court was closed for redevelopment (they were putting a retractable roof in – how quaint).

In addition to the tours of sporting venues, I managed to get to a Premier League match, which I found was much better being there live, then watching on TV.

I also managed to get to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich (to do the standing on both sides of the prime meridian), but found that they closed really early, and I had to make do with a photo of the sign saying that the line passed through here. I also went on the London Eye, which I felt was a bit of a disappointment.

With such a sporting focus, I did manage to go to the London Transport Museum, which chronicled the development of public transport in London, which was interesting. One amusing thing was that in the tube carriages in the museum, advertising from the period was displayed. One interesting ad was for Halifax Building Society in the 70s, which promoted Halifax as the safest place your money can go etc. How things change…

There would have been more museums, except I managed to catch a cold and twist my ankle the day before I left London, so the rest of the holiday had to be less busy.