The third and final post of the series ‘The Best Things In Life Are Free – including British Museums!’
Day: 24-29 Km travelled: 42.54km Steps: 65,900
September 30th – October 8th, 2017
I didn’t set out to have a ‘Victoria and Albert’ themed day, it kinda just happened. It’s a popular misconception that my, let’s say, unique fascination with the current Queen extends to all thing royal. While British history is an interest of mine -and yes that tends to involve royalty – I do not feel the need to chase down every single site remotely associated with the monarchy. In a city like London, one would be here for months!
I had one more museum on my London list: the Victoria and Albert Museum. Commonly known as the ‘V & A’, it wasfounded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. You may be familiar with their love story: after the death of Prince Albert after 21 years of marriage, the Queen chose to stay in morning for the remainder of her life, another 40something years. It is said that the love the Queen had for her husband was so great, that she often resented her children for having to share him with them. It is not surprising then, that after his untimely death, many memorials were erected in his honour. So it should be no surprise then, that the borough in which the ‘V & A’ is located is known as ‘Albertopolis’ . The ‘Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’ is also home to the ‘Royal Albert Hall’, the ‘Albert Memorial’ and a host of other museums that are associated with the Prince Consort.
The ‘V & A’ is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. The most impressive feature is found in the main rotunda: a blown glass chandelier. At 11 meters high, this blue and green glass giant welcomes visitors to the museum. It’s an odd yet appealing piece of art.
After a quick tour of the museum’s collection, I decided I was “museum’d-out”. Opting to take advantage of the unusually beautiful and dry October day, I headed out towards Kensington Gardens.
270 acres of green space in the heart of London make up Kensington Gardens. A part of the Royal Parks of London, the Gardens are directly to the west of the famed Hyde Park. Originally created by King Henry VIII as Kensington Palace’s private hunting grounds , they are now opened for the public to enjoy.
Opposite The Royal Albert Hall, a concert hall named in memory of Queen Victoria’s husband, stands London’s most ornate memorial, also in honour of the Prince Consort. The Albert Memorial is as ostentation as it gets. At over 54m high, the memorial cost today’s equivalent of £10 000 000 and 10 years to construct. The gilt bronze seated statue of the Prince is surrounded by a frieze depicts 169 individual composers, architects, poets, painters, and sculptors. There are also groups of carved figures depicting the arts & sciences as well as representations of the different continents. There are several mosaics featuring important figures, both mythological and historical as well as allegories of the virtues. Simply put, it’s stunning.
One of the main features of Kensington Gardens is the Round Pond. This ornamental lake dates back to 1730 and is home to a bevy of swans. *Interesting royal fact: The Crown owns most of the mute swans in London*.
Kensington Palace has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century, and is currently the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and several other members of the extended royal family. It was also the home of the late Princess Diana, both pre and post marriage to Prince Charles.
There are beautiful gardens surrounding the palace, such as the Sunken Garden which take on vastly different looks depending on the time of the year visited. When I was last there, in May 2013, it was colourful, vibrant and neatly manicured. This time around, it felt wilder, untamed and monochromatic. Still, beauty was found in both instances.
Circa May 2013 (left) and October 2017 (right). The years are different yet the sunglasses remain the same.
The Sunken Garden (above & below); sunlight changes the look from one instance to another!
The Palace’s outdoor café provided the perfect opportunity to rest my tired feet and recharge with some sweets and a nice cuppa tea.
A lovely day spent in Albertopolis!