Buckingham Palace and gardens

16 September

We went up to London to visit the Queen!
Well, just her palace actually, as she was away up in Scotland.


We went by train, meeting on Leatherhead station.



From Victoria we walked along Buckingham Palace Road to the Palace.

We joined the throngs visiting the Palace, a slow trudge through the staterooms.
A highlight was the exquisite wedding dress of the Duchess of Cambridge,
together with her elegant shoes with such high heels, and her little bouquet.
The Royal Faberge collection generated a lot of interest too.
We could not take pictures inside the Palace of course.

Afterwards we were ready for nourishment at the cafe on the terrace.

 



All the marquees, for the cafe, the shop and the toilets, are cleared away
before Her Majesty comes back to the Palace at the end of the summer.
The building at the far end of the terrace is an indoor swimming pool.



After lunch we gathered together for a guided tour of the private gardens.
Once again we were not allowed to take pictures. The gardens were surprisingly extensive
with a splendid collection of trees and a large lake.





A chance to take a few last pictures of the lake before we took the train home.
An excellent day!