We came into the Gardens of Buckingham Palace through the Canada Gates.They look like this:
The left pillar has this inscription. We walked along the side of the Queen’s Garden, isn’t it the king’s garden now, and down the bank to the Saint James Park Lake. There is a children’s activity park there and I noticed this plaque in the walkway.
We stopped to watch the ducks for a while. Isn’t that what people do when they go to the park? The signs definitely say “DO NOT FEED THE DUCKS.” It is not a proper diet for them or us either. Here is a video of the ducks for you to watch. Watch it to the end to see the dilemma and the solutuion.
try the controls in the bottom right corner to watch in full-screen and higher quality.
After burning off some energy on the activities we walked along the edge of the lake towards the Westminster Bridge.
That was when we saw this famous London icon peaking around the corner. You probably know it as “Big Ben” but that is only the nick name of the largest bell within the tower. It was originally called the Clock Tower and Ben was a bell in the Great Clock of Westminster. To commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, it was renamed to the Elizabeth Tower.
I absolutely loved reading this post! It is so informative and highly beneficial for anyone trying to plan a special, historical vacation for their family. I love the historical detail you shared about the Elizabeth Tower—it’s such a great reminder of how much history is packed into these famous London icons. Thank you for sharing your journey and helping us dream up our next destinations!
thanks for the wonderful comment. I learn as much from the research I do when putting together these posts as when I am there in person. Now, I am learning from the wonderful comments left here for me to read.