United Kingdom | Ray and Shelley's Retirement Adventures

We went to a traditional English Tavern when we were in London called “The Anchor Bankside”. It is located on the Bank of the Thames River in the heart of London. What makes this tavern special and unique is the fact that it is over 800 years old. It is one of the oldest Taverns in London.

p1050557 — The Anchor Bankside Tavern in London England

We walked over the London Bridge in order to get to the Tavern. The London Bridge is a plain-looking bridge and not overly impressive.

p1050491 — View of the London Bridge from the Thames River

There is a small stone marker in the center of the bridge which identifies it as the London bridge.

We arrived at the tavern and saw the unique style of the exterior of the building. It certainly looked like it had been there for many years.

We went inside the tavern and it was very busy. The tavern staff didn’t greet us at the door and we were left to find our own seats. We wandered through the tavern looking for an empty table. Eventually, we found a table we could sit at and waited to be served. After waiting for over 10 minutes I managed to talk to a waitress and she told me that they do not take orders that way.

We were told to go to the bar and place our order with the bartender. So we placed our order with the bartender for Fish and Chips. We paid and waited for our meal which was delivered about ten minutes later.

p1050552 — Authentic English fish and chips at the Anchor Tavern

The meal was good and the atmosphere was unique. It was a strange feeling having fish and chips in a tavern that has been there for over 800 years.

“Bob’s your uncle, Cheerio”

We went to London for a few days to tour the city. We took a hop-on bus, in order to view as many of the sites as possible. The capital of England is a very large city with a population of over 8.6 million people.

We started our day with a tour of the main section of London. We saw some beautiful and historic sites. The tower of London was interesting because the tower is not very high, certainly not what we expected.

We also saw “Big Ben” which is the nickname for the great bell in the clock tower. People refer to the clock tower as Big Ben, but the tower is officially called the “Elizabeth Tower” named in 2012 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The tower holds the second largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and is very impressive.

p1050403 — Palace of Westminster with the Elizabeth Tower.

We also stopped at Buckingham Palace. The exterior of the Palace is very spectacular. We walked around the outside of Buckingham Palace admiring the building.

Buckingham Palace has a large steel fence with several gates at the front. The gates are very large and have the royal coat of arms prominently displayed on them.

p1050610-2 — Ray and Shelley at the front of Buckingham Palace gates

Inside the fenced area of Buckingham Palace, we could see the Royal guards as well as regular police security.

p1050602-1 — Royal Guard at the Buckingham Palace

We then took a riverboat cruise on the Thames River. The views from the water were different from seeing the sites from the hop-on bus. We traveled the Thames River up to the tower bridge which is an iconic symbol of London.

p1050515 — A view of the Tower Bridge in London from the Thames River

p1050533 — Shelley and Ray on the shore of the Thames River with the Tower Bridge in the background

Along, our water cruise, we saw the London Eye which is basically a giant Ferris wheel with observation platforms.

p1050414 — A view of the London Eye from the Thames River

We saw some very interesting buildings along the Thames River including a Pup called “The Anchor Bankside” which was a pup under different for over 800 years. It was also a location for a scene in the Mission Impossible movie.

p1050478-1 — A view of the Anchor Bankside Pup on the south bank of the Thames River in London.

We also saw the London Bridge which was quite a surprise for us. The bridge was not very impressive and was plain.

p1050489 — A view of the London Bridge from the Thames River

We spent the entire day traveling throughout London looking at the many historic sites. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to tour inside any of the sites. We will plan another trip to London in the future to visit this amazing city in more detail.

“Bob’s your uncle, Cheerio”

Ray and Shelley's Retirement Adventures

Category Archives: United Kingdom

Fish and Chips

A visit to London England

Life is too short to wait for adventure!