Brian and Jackie Cross: St Albans, London, Harpenden and pussy cats!

Monday 13 September 2021

St Albans, London, Harpenden and pussy cats!

With Gina and Stephen in Camden Lock Market

Monday and Tuesday were hot, so we went walking. No I don’t understand either! Monday for a change we thought we’d get the train back, which sort of worked, except that the train was a bus, but apart from that that!

Wednesday was even hotter, so we did very little. Brian had wanted to go into London, but I’d managed to get it postponed to Thursday as someone on the TrustedHouseSitters forum had posted they’d be in London and would love to meet some other sitters. I’d said “what about us?” And so a plan was hatched.

This was a photo from our walk on a very hot Monday. Knowing she wasn't very keen I picked a nice stroll along the river Ver, a lot of it in the shade. It was a mere 6 miles (could have made it much longer without telling her) and I planned a nice trip back on the train after a lunch out. What could be nicer? Unfortunately no pubs serving food were open on Monday on our route, but there was a fish and chip shop! Sadly we had to pass the train station to get to the shop and, there found the next train was in 10 minutes time. Why does it say 'Bus' under the train announcement? Ah, that'll be a bus replacement service while they do work on the line. 'Didn't you check this beforehand' she asked: No! However, it worked out well and we got back to have lunch in St Albans a bit late

We met Gina and Stephen, an American couple who have sold up to travel for at least a year. They have a 19 year old son, a dog, and Gina a wish to start her own business so the travel may be indefinite or it may come to an end. They did a couple of months in the US in their jeep and R-Pod (American in size for car and caravan I think!) before coming to Europe to walk the last 100km of the Camino de Santiago, Housesit in Ireland, Scotland and Guildford, and now return to Spain for a sit in Madrid and some Workaway in Morocco.

And then we went out on Tuesday, again in the hot sun, but this time mostly in the shade. This is the remains of Sopwell Nunnery in St Albans after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. I planned to follow this with a boardwalk amble through a nature reserve along the river Ver all in shade. However it was closed due to maintenance work so we did a big detour to follow another path mainly in shade for some distance until she decided lunch was calling in St Albans centre

Back to London and the filming location of Sherlock

We met outside 122B Baker Street, or actually outside 187 N Gower Street Which was used as the outside for the Benedict Cumberbatch version of Sherlock Holmes. We then walked to Baker Street to find that where 122b should be is an office block, but a little bit further on the Sherlock Holmes Museum has randomly claimed 122b out of sequence! We then walked to Abbey Road recording studios, via the outside of Lords Cricket ground, to recreate the Beatles walking across the zebra crossing. We weren’t the only ones irritating the traffic, but we were the only ones who gave Brian’s camera to some innocent bystander, who just couldn’t make it work. Fortunately Gina got some good pictures on her phone! Through Regents Park where we nearly got rained on, fortunately it was only a very brief shower so we continued to Camden Lock Market. I’d been reading about the food options there, how would you manage a metre long hotdog? We never found that so we didn’t have to decide, but we did all find something very yummy. Lamb jalfrezi burgers for Stephen and I, beef rendang for Brian and some Argentinian beef for Gina from the Yorkshire burrito stall, she didn’t fancy the beef dinner wrapped in a Yorkshire pudding....

And here we are in the real Baker Street at the Sherlock Holmes museum that claims to be at 221b, they even have the number on the door. However, it's between numbers 237 and 239 as the correct location is within a huge building called Parkview Residences covering the numbers 215 to 229, but it doesn't seem to upset anyone and most people probably wouldn't notice. We didn't go into the museum, too many other things to do!

We’d walked and talked for nearly 5 hours, and our time was almost up, Gina had a business call at 16.00 so we walked them down Camden High Street to the tube station passed all the weird and wonderful shops. We had a lovely time with them, whether we gave them any useful information or advice who knows , but we thoroughly enjoyed our time and hope we can meet up again, somewhere sometime.

We went past Lords Cricket Ground, home of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club). We couldn't get in, there was nothing on on that day, I'd checked. Anyway, we were too busy!

We then walked back to Camden Lock to look at the market before walking along the canal back to Kings Cross to look at platform 9 and 3/4 important to lovers of Harry Potter (actually between platforms 4and 5) and the outside of St. Pancras. We then got on the train back to St. Albans after a great circular walk of about 20km, some great free sights, yummy food and some brilliant company. The only thing missing? The vagina museum, it had jumped off the map at me, when Gina had said they wanted some cheap hidden gems, it’s free and in Camden but sadly only open on the weekend. She’s booked tickets for the Friday!

So then on to Abbey Road and a recreation of the album cover of the same name by the Beatles. Unfortunately I was the only one of the four of us around at the time it was made and the initial reaction from them to do this was mediocre at best. I did insist however and we had a thoroughly enjoyable visit. I even removed my shoes and socks, as Paul McCartney had done in the original. We had to have several attempts and a lot of photos, this one being the best. Much traffic was held up in the process, not only by us, but the many other people there doing the same thing

If that wasn’t enough excitement for the day, Thursday was the only day Dream Horse was showing at the Odyssey cinema and we really wanted the experience, and it sounded like the best film. It was a thoroughly enjoyable feel good film, and the experience was grand. Comfy chairs, nachos, dips and olives delivered to your table and a bottle of wine!

Here's the original. We were close!

Friday I stayed in with the cats who obviously needed me, to watch them sleep, while Brian went on a long walk. He has a thing about long distance walks, I also have a thing about them. My thing means I think the idea ridiculous and have no interest, while his thing means he wants to do them! He’s decided on the Ridgeway, it starts from Avebury (relatively close to Bev and Iain our last Housesit) we walked part of it when we were in Faringdon, and it finishes on the Ivinghoe Beacon very close to Jonathan, Lucy, Charles and Caroline.

And here's the actual Abbey Road studios where not only the Beatles but many other bands such as Pink Floyd have recorded there

He thought that a long day out, after a long day out made good sense so he walked to Hatfield and back, it wasn’t far enough so he walked there and back for a second time!

The wall in front of the studios. John Lennon recorded his album Imagine here

Saturday, obviously, was a chilling day, though we did manage to book ourselves on a Tudor tour of St. Albans for an hour and a half in the afternoon which was very interesting. It ties in nicely with the cathedral tours that we had done, not to mention King Henry VIII who we’ve been following through the Mary Rose and our trip to Winchester. Thought we deserved a pint and we hadn’t been in the pub, a minute away, at the end of the road, seemed rude really. Had a lovely pint from the Tring Brewery, that wasn’t there when I grew up in Tring!

Here's the zebra crossing from the other direction and, oh look, there's someone else recreating the walk! I said to the lady taking the photo 'I hope you got a good photo', 'I do too' she replied looking nervous!

Sunday we got the train (or actually bus) to Harpenden for a Highland Gathering, well we had to really. Stalls, snacks, ferret racing, Highland games (though only four competitors doing all the activities) Scottish dancing and pipe bands. Who knew that, Harpenden, Bedford, Nene Valley, Milton Keynes and the 5th one I’ve forgotten, all had drum and bagpipes? A lovely day out, mostly for its weirdness.

So today we’ve been for a run, I’ve written the blog on the bed with Tatty, while Brian is upstairs with Max but we are now looking at rooms along the Ridgeway. It’s all looking quite expensive!

After our visit to Camden Lock Market we strolled down Camden High Street to look at the outrageous shop fronts down there. It's worth the walk just to see them. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Gina and Stephen. We hope we will met them again somewhere, we had a lot of fun

We caught the train to St Pancras and it was here, between platforms 3 and 4 apparently that a scene for one of the Harry Potter movies was filmed. We don't know, we've haven't seen any of them, but Gina and Richard mentioned it

I have to put a photo on of the fabulous front of St Pancras station, which really is amazing for a railway station. It's a time lapse panorama with lots of vehicles going past, hence the bits of vehicles you can see

We came back from London and, in the evening went to the Odyssey cinema in St Albans, an old traditional cinema that's been completely restored to its old glory days with soft swivel armchairs and tables with a bar and serving food

Ready for the movie with wine and snacks. Good film too, Dream Horse, we had a great night!

My long walk. I won't bore you with the details, it was along an old railway line, now a cycle path between St Albans and Hatfield. I like this sign, it's pointing to an old station, now just a platform by the cycle and walkway. They've called it a ghost station. I wanted to walk 19 miles to make sure I could still walk that far after walking 12 miles the previous day. I managed it ok in just under 6 hours, feeling quite tired at the end but reasonably OK the next day. On the strength of that I'm going to do the Ridgeway trail, a 6 day 85 mile walk along a way dating back to pre-Roman times. 4th October is my start date! The walk here from St Albans to Hatfield is only about 5 miles, so I walked to Hatfield, back to St Albans and then did it again!

This was on our guided walk through St Albans on a busy Saturday, pointing out all the Tudor buildings. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a fabulous tour and talk. Have a look at our short Relive video containing more photos and info: https://video.relive.cc/9357236806_underarmour_1631379113221.mp4?x-ref=site

This picture I like, also on our guided walk. The narrow street in front is just off the main street in the town and was the original main road between London and Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales. Apparently Elizabeth I would have travelled up that road

Finishing with a lovely pint of beer from the Tring brewery at our current local, the White Hart Tap

Our Sunday trip to Harpenden and the Highland Gathering (who knew!). I won't put on the video with sound as you either love it or hate it. We did find in really quite nice and there were all very professional and good. It just seemed a bit weird when they announced the 'Milton Keynes Pipe Ban'. Should they at least have called it the McMilton Keynes Pipe Band?

There's ferrets loose! Better scoop them up and get them into those tubes for the racing!

Sitting on the grass in front of the stage waiting for the band to come on, the Wight Hot Chilli Pipes' all the way from the Isle of Wight. Due on at 2:30 they eventually got it together just after 3:00pm. They were OK, we watched a bit but then wandered off

Here's a man in kilt throwing a big 58lb weight. And here you can see what a Scotsman wears under his kilt! Hope he lets go of it in the right direction!