I had a week off work at the beginning of January so decided to spend a day in London, as I hadn’t been back to the capital in more than a year.
I didn’t have much of a firm plan, other than tickets to see Holbein at the Tudor Court at The Queen’s Gallery, so I was happy to see where the mood took me.
Tokyo Diner
It was early lunchtime when I arrived at Paddington and feeling peckish, I headed towards Leicester Square to visit one of my favourite Japanese restaurants, Tokyo Diner.
The restaurant is tucked away down one of the side streets in the Chinatown district, behind the famous square, and serves simple, excellent Japanese fare.
On going inside, I was shown to my table where I ordered a chicken katsu bento box featuring strips of chicken katsu, rice, salmon sashimi, pickles and vegetables (above).
It was washed down with green tea, which comes free with your meal.
The service was attentive but not overbearing, and the food was great, although there was a lot of it and I struggled to eat it all.
The restaurant is unusual in that it doesn’t accept tips – a Japanese custom.
Hunterian Museum
Feeling well sated, I set off through Covent Garden towards Lincoln’s Inn Fields, as I’d decided to take a look around the Hunterian Museum, which is located in The Royal College of Surgeons building (above).
The small anatomical museum is based on the collection of John Hunter, an 18th century surgeon, and is not for the faint-hearted or squeamish.
For Hunter’s 2,000-strong collection features human and animal anatomical remains (above), along with surgical instruments and equipment (below).
The museum takes visitors on a journey through the history of surgery. But it’s most famous for its anatomical specimens of different species, which include a series of human foetuses at various stages of development.
Due to the sensitive nature of the specimens, the museum asks visitors to refrain from photographing them and not to share them on social media out of respect to the people whose body parts are on display.
The museum, which is free to visit, strongly recommends visitors pre-book their tickets.
I hadn’t bothered as I was visiting during a January weekday and thought it would be quiet (which it was) but was told firmly at the reception desk that I should pre-book in future.
The museum recently underwent a £4.6 million refurb and was much slicker than the museum I remember visiting in 2014.
It’s quite small so it doesn’t take long to look around, but it’s a fascinating place. If you’re looking to learn more about anatomy and surgery, it’s well worth a visit.
Lincoln’s Inn
After my trip to the Hunterian Museum, I enjoyed a short stroll around Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the large public park opposite The Royal College of Surgeons that’s home to a bandstand (above) and tennis courts.
The park owes is name to Lincoln’s Inn (above), one of the four Inns of court that barristers in England and Wales have to belong to.
Lincoln’s Inn is the biggest of the Inns of court and dates back to the early 15th century. The complex is home to barristers’ chambers, residential buildings, a chapel (below), a library and more.
But its most notable building is the Great Hall (below). The magnificent brick hall, which opened in 1845, is strikingly beautiful and very photogenic.
You can take a guided tour of the complex at certain times on weekday mornings, but as it was the afternoon I had to make do with wandering around the grounds and admiring the architecture instead.
Slackwater by Holly Hendry at The Artist’s Gallery
From Lincoln’s Inn, I wandered down to Fleet Street, before turning off towards the River Thames (above).
While I was walking near Temple Station, I spotted an art exhibition in The Artist’s Garden above the tube station so I went to have a look.
The garden was playing host to Slackwater, an enormous industrial-style sculpture by the London-based artist Holly Hendry.
The mass of interwoven tubes is an eye-catching and arresting sight, and I spent a little while walking around the sculpture, admiring it from different angles.
I love how they’ve transformed what would otherwise be a plain, empty public space with an imaginative work of art. It was a fun and unexpected surprise.
Buckingham Palace
Having looked around the garden, I hopped on the tube and made my way to St James’s, where I strolled through the streets in the direction of Buckingham Palace.
I was a little early for my timed slot at The Queen’s Gallery, so I went to take a look at the palace while I waited (I’ll write about my visit to Holbein at the Tudor Court in my next blog post to avoid writing a long essay here).
I enjoyed my impromptu trip to London. One of my favourite things about the capital is the way you can wander around aimlessly and always find something new or interesting to explore.