Last day in London. A bad night’s sleep unfortunately.
We had planned to take a boat up the Thames to Kew gardens but as we were waiting on the dock Simon had the bright idea that we could visit Hampton Court instead, since it was one stop further on on the same boat. When he checked online, he discovered that it was closed for two days. He then took the next step which I must confess I wouldn’t have done: he looked up whether Kew Gardens was open. And Lo and behold, they closed today at 1pm, with last entry at midday, 15 minutes before we were due to get there.
This prompted an immediate change of plan, just as our boat was arriving at the dock. Since it was a nice day, although a bit windy, we decided we’d like to do something outside, so settled on the famous London Zoo. Getting there involved a trip on the tube and then a walk through leafy suburbs to Regents Park.
On arrival, our first port of call was the advertised Otter talk, but this was cancelled due to a fallen tree – obviously the winds were worse than we thought! So we just wandered about with no clear plans. It was very nice but to be honest no better than Wellington zoo. We found no one home in either the tiger or the lion enclosures which was disappointing. The highlights were probably the various apes and monkeys.
From the zoo we took a double decker bus back to Trafalgar Square and found an old pub to have lunch in. Properly old this time, dating to the 17 hundreds.
We were near the club by now, which was where we’d stored our luggage, so we went back for the rest of the afternoon for Simon to clear his inbox and me to try to find a quiet sofa somewhere for a little nap.
At 6 we took our luggage and headed to Euston station on the tube.
I missed a phone call on our journey saying that there was a problem with our double room with en-suite on the Caledonian sleeper train, and we’d have to do downgrade to a twin bunk room. A little disappointing but they’re apparently going to give us a 50% refund which is nice.
We got the use of a lounge before our train boarded, which was useful for a shower and a quick dinner of haggis, neeps and tatties.
We boarded at 8:30, had a lovely baked cheesecake and a cheeseboard in the dining car, and I have now settled myself into bed. Simon refused to sleep in the top bunk but that suits me; it’s always been my favourite. The room is indeed tiny – 1.34 by 1.8 metres – with a tiny en-suite which features a shower over the toilet. I think I’ll wait until we arrive in Aberdeen for my morning shower. The gentle rocking of the train is making me feel quite sleepy – hoping for a restful night.