London sightseeing

Three nights in a city, two hotels to test – not a problem for us. Maybe it was a litte bit ambitious... Anyway for the rest of our stay we slept at the hub by Premier Inn Brick Lane. Another reason for the change of hotels were the different rates.

Hence our first task of the day was getting from King's Cross to the Brick Lane. Although we just hopped on and off the tube (and walk for a little) this was time consuming. At least we didn't have to care about the luggage anymore.

Liverpool Street Station

Tube Station

Luckily our room was ready when we arrived, so we could leave our luggage in the room. The accessible room was identical with the one at King's Cross, simply mirror-inverted.

Lobby hub by Premier Inn London Spitalfields

Accessible room hub by Premier Inn London Spitalfields

Bed hub by Premier Inn London Spitalfields

Accessible bathroom hub by Premier Inn London Spitalfields

Shower chair hub by Premier Inn London Spitalfields

Our reward for the morning walk: A visit to the Breakfast Club Spitalfields. We had been here three years ago and it was the right decision to come back. The servings were still huge and yummy.

Breakfast Club Spitalfields

Pancakes &  Berries

Next we walked to the Postal Museum. This was a mistake. The newest addition to the exhibition is the Mail Rail – a train ride through hidden tunnels. I was hoping that in spite of the strict safety regulations I would be able to get on the ride, because I am able to get on and off. I wasn't. So if you are not able to walk at all but you want to ride the Mail Rail: Don't go there.

We didn't care about the alternative movie so we left. We were in a walking/rolling mode again so we walked to Buckingham Palace. There we had reserved tickets for accessible entrance in advance on the official website. We made it to Leicester Square when it was about time. So we changed our plan. I raised my hand and two seconds later a cab stopped for us. Fun fact: The cabs in London look small but inside they are so spacious that you can roll in there with a wheelchair.

Accessible cab

The traffic was dense but at one point our Eastern European driver turned into a side street and stepped on the gas. We raced through the city to techno music. This experience fitted perfectly in my millennial stereotype view of London.

If you want to go to Buckingham Palace in a wheelchair make sure that you don't go to the main entrance. The wheelchair entrance is at the right front gate of the building. When we arrived we couldn't enter immediately. The guards said we had to wait for 'a movement' to pass. Later we learned that Prince Andrew, the Duke of York had left.

Buckingham Palace

With a wheelchair you are chauffeured across the Quadrangle in an electric cart. Unfortunately it is forbidden to take pictures from the moment you go through the gate. Buckingham Palace is absolutely worth seeing. The audio guide is interesting. And although the rooms are packed with visitors it was relatively calm inside.

Green Park

Our next stop was the National Cafe at the National Gallery. No UK visit without afternoon tea! We walked through the not so Green Park and then, on our way, we incidently ran into the King's Man shop on St. James's Street.

Kingsman x MR PORTER shop

At the National Gallery we wandered through the exhibition and admired the paintings. It was special to see van Gogh's Sunflowers live. And it was crazy that most of the people in front of it mostly gathered there to take a picture of the picture instead of getting a good look of the picture itself.

National Gallery

The afternoon tea at the Cafe was ok but I preferred the afternoon tea at the British Museum which offered unlimited tea and more tasty treats.

Afternoon tea National Cafe

For the evening entertainment we took a free walking ghost tour which started from Farringdon Station. Like the Jack the Ripper tour during our last London visit this tour was really good, too. Maciej showed us the dark side of London.

Meat Market Spitalfields

Old Bailey

With all the walking during the whole day we were eager to make it without using a bus. So we had one last walk back to the hotel. The city was quiet and it we had gorgeous nightly views of St. Paul's Cathedral before ending the day with a nice gin tonic at the hotel bar. Continue here.

St. Paul's Cathedral