London Walking Tour

Well, I’m back in London again and had a weekend layover. I thought I’d find some replica soccer jerseys for my kids and figured I’d check out a REAL football grounds along the way. I took the Tube from Leicester Square to Earl’s Court and walked the rest of the way to the Chelsea FC grounds. After a good look around the store at the stadium (if you want something Chelsea, that be the place), I ended up walking back to my hotel on Aldwych. 4.5mi if you take the direct route (which I didn’t). Saw many sights along Fulham Rd and Brompton Rd, then wandered the back streets of Westminster. Took many pictures.

After my stroll, I grabbed a bite a couple blocks east of Covent Garden in a restaurant called Lowlander Grand Cafe. Belgian-style. Ordered stoemp saucisse and enjoyed it with a Bachhus beer (Flemish brown ale aged in Oak… a little sour, but yummy).

London is a pretty amazing place. Still, I think I’d rather be home

Central London Running

As mentioned a while back in my Edinburgh (Dùn Èideann) post, in mid Aug’07 I traveled to the UK as part of a training project. Paul called yesterday afternoon and told me another opportunity had presented itself, so I’m off to London again this coming weekend for more. It got me thinking, as travel planning always does, what will my work-out regimen be during my trip? Normally, I end up defaulting to more running since my other favorites (swimming and biking) are often hard to coordinate while staying in hotels.

So I hit MapMyRun and dug up my routes from the last trip. If you’re traveling on business and don’t have time to see the sights, think again as you can pack in a lot during a 30min run in the morning. Here are two really excellent runs I devised during my most recent trip to London:

1. Look kids! Big Ben! Parliament!: This 3.79mi route, named after the famous Chevy Chase line in European Vacation, is simply spectacular in the sense that along the route one encounters vistas that include the River Thames, Buckingham Palace, St James’s Park and Houses of Parliament with Big Ben.
2. Strand / The Mall Out n’ Back w/ Buckingham Palace Loop: This 3.72mi route is also loaded with sights including Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch, The Mall, Buckingham Palace and St James’s Park.

BTW… Since both of these runs are along city streets in central London, it’s best to do them early in the day lest you risk getting hit by a car, bus or lorry (truck). Get out there and tour!

*BONUS RUN*
I also visited Belfast, Northern Ireland in Aug’07. It’s a lovely town surrounded by verdant green hills and, to me at least, it does not deserve the tarnished reputation that seems to cling to the name. Almost a decade has passed since the ratification of the Good Friday Agreement and the city seems to have done a lot to distance itself from its violent past. Here’s a dandy little 3.76mi excursion I call River Lagan Loop inc Ormeau Park that runs mostly along tow paths on either side of the River Lagan which runs through he middle of town. Enjoy!