Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Train takes the strain on a postcovid adventure
We are very lucky living in Kent to be so near to London. Not only can we commute to the capital to work (deep joy) but we can let the train take the strain for a day of sight-seeing. It had been a while since I last took up the latter option, mainly because I didn’t want to catch Covid. But having finally caught the bug I threw caution to the wind and climbed on board a Southeastern special in search of adventure.
Luckily, I am now of an age where I have one of those old people’s railcards, otherwise it’s unlikely I could have afforded the extortionate fare.
I took my two grown-up sons with me. It was great. The last time we shared a train journey was when they were toddlers. It involved manhandling buggies and other paraphernalia into carriages and across the Underground.
This was a much more pleasant experience.
We alighted at
Victoria just in time to catch the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace.
Even after all these years it was a delight to see.
But by this time the boys were hungry and pining for brunch.
It seems they hadn’t taken a tip from their dad and feasted on porridge before a trip into the unknown.
We landed in a perfectly adequate cafe in St James’ Park and then tackled the War Rooms deep underground where my late father helped Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the map room during the Second World War. The experience was eerily brilliant.
But you can’t do London without a visit to Covent Garden where we caught a gentleman performing a limbo dance under a burning broomstick. London is excellent for stuff like that.
Another meal (the boys, again) and then tickets to Back To The Future The Musical which was totally stunning. A bit like our day out!
‘We caught a gentleman performing a limbo dance under a burning broomstick... London is excellent for stuff like that’