Paddington Station, London England

 

In 2022, The Paddington Bear statue was on Platform 1 but it has moved in the recent past so ask information if you don't see it.

Paddington Station is in the London borough called the City of Westminster. It is a central London location on Praed Street.

Here's an aerial view I created in Bing.

The station code is PAD.

The official name is London Paddington

Paddington is a convenient station for travel to Heathrow airport via the Heathrow Express train service.

I often go in and out of Paddington thinking of my grandfather who worked for the Great Western Railway before World War I.

The station dates to the mid 1800s and has connections throughout London via the underground (Tube) and busses. There are also over ground services.

Check out the story boards if you are interested in historic railways--especially in the UK.

Paddington 1864

Paddington 1866

Paddington 1866

Paddington

Paddington 1952

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Southampton, England, UK

Southampton 28 July 2022/ Geoff Sutton

Southampton is a deep water port in the historic county of Hampshire, which is on the south coast of England.

Here's an aerial view created with Bing in 2023. Southampton is a busy port with hundreds of visits by cruise ships each year.

We arrived by train at Southampton Central and took a ferry to the Isle of Wight as part of our pre-cruise plans.

After two days on the Isle of Wight where we toured the historic Queen Victoria and Albert's Osborne House and Carisbrooke Castle, we returned to Southampton and walked about the historic waterfront area.

The Mayflower Memorial built in 1913 for the 300th anniversary celebrations. The transatlantic voyage of the Mayflower and the Speedwell began near here 15 August 1620.

There are two plaques. One for the Wampanoag -- The People of the Dawn-- who were residents of the area where the ships landed for some 12,000 years. The other is for the many migrants who came through Southampton or made it their home.

Historic Tavern and Old City wall, Southampton

The wall dates to about 1350.

Platform Tavern, Southampton, 1873

God's House Tower built in the 1400s to protect the sluice gates.

In the 1700s, it was a debtor's prison and felon's gaol.

Street art, Southampton

Southampton Old Bowling Green--the World's oldest bowling green dating to about 1299 (which sounds older than about 1300).

Related posts

Cruising the UK

Visiting London Sites

Places to visit in the UK

Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

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Travel Notes

We purchased a return (roundtrip) ticket on a direct train from Waterloo station in London after flying into Heathrow.

Visitors may save money with a UK Railcard Pass.

In 2022, you could board a National Coach at Heathrow airport to Southampton.

There are two ferries to the Isle of Wight. One is only for passengers. The other is for passengers and vehicles. It makes a difference where you want to go on the island.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which was within walking distance to the ferry and cruise terminals.

 

Dover Castle England UK

Dover Castle & Port View 2022/ G Sutton

 Dover Castle is a place to discover nearly 2,000 years of history. The present castle dates to the time of King Henry II who ordered the construction in the 1180s.

Dover Castle stands high above the famous white cliffs of Dover--an ideal spot for defending  Britain from invaders from the continent only about 20 miles away.

The Great Tower

Within the old part of Dover castle, actors and furnishings offer a glimpse into medieval times.

Inside the walls is the small ancient church, St Mary in the Castle, which was restored in the 1800s.

The very old part of the castle is a Roman Lighthouse built after the Roman invasion in 43. This is one of three Roman lighthouses that still exist and the most complete Roman building in England.

WW II  and the Dover Castle tunnels

One of the best parts of the castle tour is a walk through the underground tunnels used during WW II when the UK stood alone against the threat of a Nazi invasion across the channel. Photography is not permitted in the area. For us, it was well worth the queue time to appreciate the experience of those defending Britain as the last outpost of European democracy between 1939 and 1945.

Dover Castle was the command centre for navy operations in the English channel. It is also the place where Britain organised the evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk, France during May and June 1940. The evacuation plan was called Operation Dynamo.

As you can imagine from the top photo, the views of the surrounding area are amazing. Here are a few more images.

We walked from the Dover cruise port up castle hill, which does require some energy but offers great views.

Vintage photos

The photos above were from our visit in 2022.

The images below are from the summer of 1980.

Related Posts

Cruising the UK

Sites in the UK

Visiting London England

Notes

There is an entrance fee.

Admission was free with our English Heritage pass.

A guidebook is available onsite and online.

You can download a map of the castle from the website 

You can bring food and drink into the castle or purchase items at the castle from the wartime tunnels tearoom, the café in the Keep, or the NAAFI restaurant.

Link to Dover Castle information from English Heritage

It's a great place to spend a day with some 80 to enjoy.

Google Map of Dover Castle

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Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton