The purpose of our trek to Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham in the southwest of London was to see a recently recovered bronze bust of the Emperor Caligula but we discovered so much more in the recently restored 18th Century “little Gothic castle” built by Horace Walpole.
London’s Imperial War Museum in Southwark founded even as the First World War raged offers insights into the myriad costs of the wars of the 20th and 21st Centuries. It was a most disquieting but valuable reminder of the myriad costs of war.
The two of us have long been fascinated with the history of canals and their role in the history of transportation, industrialization, and more recently recreation. This stay in London has given us new opportunities to explore and learn more about how canals contributed to the growth of this great city and how they are being used and preserved today.
It was a most educational visit to the newly renovated National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square in Central London. We were intrigued with the contemporary approach to presenting British History.
It was at Bletchley Park that the Allied Codebreakers deciphered German military messages during the Second World War. A free guided tour gave us a good overview of the campus and the activities that occurred here from 1938 to 1945.