Monday, January 30, 2017

Hampstead Village and Covent Gardens

Hampstead Train Station

Our Westminster guide, Rosie, had suggested Hampstead Village for a visit, and we took her advice.  Hampstead is an area of London about 4 miles north of Charing Cross. It is known for Hampstead Heath, artistic and literary associations, and as the residence of more millionaires than any other area of the United Kingdom.  So, you know right away we were going to find a good bakery.  

The Hampstead tube station is the deepest station on the underground network.  We had to take an elevator to exit.  The architecture is mostly Georgian, with notable homes and former residents among them Agatha Christie, John Constable, Henry Moore and Sigmund Freud.  We had a delightful lunch at The Horseshoe and walked a bit on the Heath.
  
Covent Garden Market

Curious about Covent Garden Market, we stopped there on our way home.  Surrounded by upscale designer shops the Market is more of a flea market.  The area was once a fruit and vegetable market and home to prostitutes one of whom was our new friend, Lady Emma Hamilton.  
St Dunstan's

One of the nice aspects of walking to places is little discoveries like St Dunstan's. On our walk home from Covent Garden, we spotted the remains of St Dunstan's hidden among giant skyscrapers.  It has been a site used for Christian worship for one thousand years.  The church was severely damaged in the Blitz of 1941.  Only Wren's tower and steeple survive.  London has turned the ruins into a public garden.  

Christopher Wren's Tower and Steeple, St DunstanS
Pictures of our day at Flickr.